Buffalo Sabres Greatest Draft Pick Ever: Taro Tsujimoto

It's hard to believe that hockey season is on its way back to Buffalo and Western New York, but it is.

The Sabres have wrapped up another NHL Draft, snagging quite a few prospects that should have an impact on the team in the years to come. The Sabres have also made a splash in the free agent market filling a few key holes on the depth chart.

These moves are raising the the hopes of Sabres fans worldwide, which is good for the Blue and Gold.

As we get ready for the season, one thing we can do during the off-season is take some time to remember the greatest move the Sabres ever made during the NHL Draft in the entire history of the team. That is drafting the one and only Taro Tsujimoto in the seventh round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft.

Remembering When The Sabres Drafted Taro Tsujimoto

In a bold move that will likely never happen again in the history of the NHL, 50 years ago the Sabres drafted a fictional player with the 183rd pick in the 1974 draft.

According to historical reports from WGRZ-TV, team general manager Punch Imlach and team director of communications Paul Wieland, were extremely fed up with the draft format in 1974. The draft was conducted in secret and by telephone. The 25-round draft took 3 full days to complete, and in protest to how badly the draft was being run, the Sabres duo decided to have a little fun with the league.

They then teamed up to create a fictional player from Osaka, Japan, who played for the fictional Tokyo Katanas. After some time, the back story was formed, and Taro Tsujimoto was born.

The inside joke of Tsujimoto went on for a few months until team officials finally admitted to the ruse, which, of course, did not amuse NHL officials, especially NHL president Clarence Campbell.

Since then, Taro Tsujimoto has lived on in the memories of Sabres fans worldwide. It is not uncommon to see a Taro Tsujimoto #I 74 jersey inside the KeyBank Center on game days.

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Gallery Credit: Dave Fields