Sabres place Zach Benson on injured reserve with lower-body injury

The Buffalo Sabres announced Monday that they have placed forward Zach Benson on the injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

The 19-year-old has appeared in six games this season where he has remained pointless.

Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff was able to provide an update on Benson a few days ago, “Zach is still not right,” Lindy Ruff said that morning. “He’s been nursing this now since Prague, watching his game. I had a long discussion with him this morning and I really feel – and now he feels the same way – that he’s being affected by what he’s dealing with and the best is we give him today.”

Buffalo selected Benson with the No.13 overall pick at the 2023 NHL Draft. Benson made the Sabres right out of camp and tallied 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points in 71 games during the 2023-24 campaign. Benson scored his first NHL goal in spectacular fashion with a between-the-legs move. It was his third point in three games.

The Chilliwack, British Columbia native spent the 2022-23 season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he notched a Winnipeg Ice team-leading 36 goals and 62 assists for 98 points in 60 games. That season, Benson finished second in the WHL scoring race amongst draft-eligible players, trailing Chicago Blackhakws’ Connor Bedard, who was then with the Regina Pats. Benson finished third among WHL skaters in points while ranking second in the league with a plus-68 rating. During the Ice’s postseason run in the 2023 WHL playoffs, Benson registered 17 points in 15 games.

Buffalo is currently 4-4-1 and has seemed to have found themselves back in the win column and piece things together again. The Sabres are slated to face the Florida Panthers on Monday, with back to back games coming up this weekend against the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings.