Surprisingly, Leenders was not re-signed by the Sabres, and saw his draft rights expire. Given his age, he will re-enter the NHL draft, and will no doubt see his name called again, potentially earlier than at the 219th position he went in 2024.

Leenders helped backstop the Brantford Bulldogs to the OHL playoffs in 2024-2025, before an injury in the playoffs derailed his season. Leenders was in the press box when the Oshawa Generals eliminated his Bulldogs. Although the initial numbers may not look impressive on their own, his goals against average was a top-ten mark in the OHL among goalies with 25 or more games played, and he ranked sixth in save percentage.

Leenders was selected 219th overall by the Buffalo Sabres.

Leenders backstopped the Brantford Bulldogs with a 27-5-6 record and a line of 2.69/.910- good for 10th in the OHL in both measures, so it’s odd that the Sabres chose not to retain or flip Leenders for an asset if he wasn’t in their plans.

His 31-14-3 record, with a 3.11 goals against average and .910 save percentage, marked the best statistics of his three-year career. He will be several seasons away from earning a sniff at the NHL level, but he is the top goalie prospect in the Sabres’ system.

Leenders comes in at #2 in our goalie rankings, but only just barely. In contrast to the calm and conservative George, Leenders plays with a bit more flash, using strong skating, reaction time, and athletic ability to make saves. That is not to say that Leenders is not an excellent technical goaltender; his movements and selections usually leave little to be desired. He thinks the game at a high level and is consistently able to anticipate play and control rebounds at a rate superior to his peers. There may be some concerns with his size as a relatively smaller goaltender, but Leenders appears to have the tools to succeed despite this. – Colin Hunter