Buffalo Sabers acquire Olen Zellweger – Pro Hockey Rumors

The Buffalo Sabers have acquired a defenseman Olen Zellweger from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for pick No. 45 in the 2026 draft, as well as a prospect center Anton Wahlberg. The teams have officially announced the trade.

Zellweger, 22, is a pending restricted free agent who has no arbitration rights. Zellweger was a second-round pick in early 2021 and has been a full-time NHL player for the past two seasons. He broke into the league as a 20-year-old rookie late in the 2023/24 season. Zellweger is a somewhat undersized defenseman (he’s 6-foot-4, 193 pounds) but has nevertheless managed to move the puck well and produce exceptional offense at the junior and AHL level.

Zellweger, a star in the WHL who once scored 29 points in a 14-game playoff run, carried his strong scoring record from junior hockey to his rookie campaign in the pros. In his 44-game AHL rookie campaign, Zellweger produced 37 points. What has been lacking for Zellweger thus far has been comparable levels of production at the NHL level. While he has shown the ability to be an asset in transition and provide strong puck-moving play, he has recorded 51 points in 164 career NHL games – which is a 26-point, 82-game pace.

Zellweger was the Ducks’ No. 5 defenseman this past season, averaging just under 17 minutes of ice time per game, with just under a minute of ice time per game on both ends of special teams.

That marked a notable step back from 2024-25, when he averaged 18:57 on ice time per game, including 2:24 on ice time per game on the power play, which led all Ducks blueliners.

As his performances in the WHL and AHL showed, Zellweger can be most valuable as an offensive contributor when he can spend some time on the power play and make the most of his abilities as a mover and distributor of the puck. That only showed up in flashes with the Ducks, but the Sabers are hoping they can make the most of his skills in Buffalo.

The addition of Zellweger could be threatening Zach Metsa‘s spot on the Sabers depth chart. Metsa plays a style similar to Zellweger as an undersized defenseman focused on offense, and despite appearing in 43 NHL games, Metsa was unable to secure a consistent role under head coach Lindy Ruff.

He averaged less than 11 minutes on the ice per game. The addition of Zellweger appears to jeopardize Metsa’s chances of playing a bigger role on Buffalo’s defense, although there could still be a spot for him to remain as the seventh defenseman on the roster.

Today’s trade comes in the wake of the trade that sent Bowen Byram away from the Sabers to the Chicago Blackhawks. Byram quarterback was Buffalo’s second power play unit and was the team’s second-best offensive defenseman behind the captain Rasmus Dahlin. Zellweger hasn’t shown he’s at Byram’s level, but he does have significant potential and plays a similar style. He could end up next to the right-hander Louis Crevier on Buffalo’s third clutch.

In exchange for Zellweger, the Sabers sent a second-rounder in addition to Wahlberg to the Ducks. Anaheim has a large number of young defensemen in its system, and while losing Zellweger will hurt to some degree, it’s not a loss the Ducks can’t afford. The Ducks are on the rise and hope to make a deeper playoff run next season. They may prefer to dedicate the lineup spot previously occupied by Zellweger to a more experienced blueliner.

If Zellweger reaches his immense potential at the NHL level, the return the Ducks received may feel a little light. But at this point it is not an insignificant return. Pick No. 45 is a valuable piece in its own right, and Wahlberg is a quality prospect. The 20-year-old was drafted in the second round (No. 39 overall) of the 2023 draft and has spent the past two seasons as a middle-six center for the AHL’s Rochester Americans.

He scored a career-high 38 points in 68 games last season and added three points in three playoff games. The 6’4″, 205-pound natural center was ranked as the No. 9 prospect in the Sabers system by Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, who said he “might have a decent NHL career as a bottom-sixer if developed properly.” This development will now continue in a new organization.

Photos courtesy of Kirby Lee-Imagn Images