"It was nerve-wrecking at the very end," Botterill said afterward. "I'm just very, very happy for our fanbase."
The Sabres held the best odds to attain the No. 1 pick, a silver lining following their third last-place finish in the last five seasons. Botterill has already detailed the frustrations of his first season as general manager, and he empathized with a fanbase demanding success.
Two days after the Buffalo Bills drafted the player they hope will be their franchise quarterback, Botterill hoped Saturday was another happy night for the fans back in Buffalo.
"I hope they're ecstatic," he said. "Look, they've been extremely supportive. You felt it in the building this season]. There was certainly a lot of quietness coming into the games, but whenever we did something well, they wanted to cheer. They wanted to be supportive.
"Hopefully people in Buffalo have been excited the past few days."
Buffalo will have the ball in its court when it comes to selecting the best available prospect at the NHL Draft in Dallas on June 22, although the early consensus lends that title to 18-year-old Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
Dan Marr, the NHL's Director of Central Scouting, **[described the 6-foot-2-inch, 181-pound defenseman** as having "the skating, skills and elite hockey sense that can dictate the style of play and pace of a game with or without the puck."
"Dahlin is an exceptionally talented prospect who will be able to contribute, influence and impact a team's fortunes much in the way that defensemen Erik Karlsson (Ottawa Senators) and Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) have in the NHL," Marr told NHL.com.
Botterill wasn't going to make any promises with nearly two months to go until the draft, but he did speak highly of Dahlin after seeing him compete at the World Junior Championships in Buffalo this past winter. Dahlin tallied six assists in seven games and was named the tournament's best defenseman.
"The type of defenseman that pretty much 31 teams in the National Hockey League want these days," he said. "Just that ability to jump up in the rush and create offense and chances but also have that competitive spirit to play against other team's top players."
Botterill said he wouldn't be surprised if four or five players from the upcoming draft, including Dahlin, put themselves in position to make an NHL roster next season.
Whoever the Sabres select will become the third No. 1 overall pick in franchise history, joining Gilbert Perreault (1970) and Pierre Turgeon (1987).
"This is a good day," Botterill said. "… If you look at any of the of the top players, they have a history of being successful players. That's what we need more and more in our organization."
