Although he was overlooked for two previous National Hockey League entry drafts, Nathan Lieuwen made it very difficult for scouts to do so again this time.

After helping lead the Kootenay Ice to the Western Hockey League championship and a berth in the 2011 MasterCard Memorial Cup, the goaltender was rewarded on Saturday: the Buffalo Sabres chose him in the sixth round, 167th overall.

The WHL playoff's Most Valuable Player was in Abbotsford at the time.

"I was at home kind of manning the computer with my family and everybody and I got the call," he said. "It's pretty exciting to see everyone get excited and to be around everyone when that stuff happens."

Kootenay coach Kris Knoblauch - although surprised more Ice players weren't taken - said he would have been shocked had Lieuwen's rights gone unclaimed at this draft, given his strong play in the postseason.

"It's tougher to be drafted when you are older, just because scouts just look at the future (with 17-year-olds) rather than the player they are right now. They're very optimistic," said Knoblauch. "As a 19-year-old having gone through two drafts, it's a lot harder to impress the scouts but Nathan obviously found a way to do it."

Lieuwen seems inextricably linked to Brayden McNabb. They were Kootenay's first picks in the 2006 WHL draft, and now their NHL rights both belong to Buffalo.

"We were texting the other day. (McNabb, a 2009 draft pick) said, 'Welcome to the club.' It will be nice to have a familiar face there when I go down there," said Lieuwen.

The Sabres are hosting a development camp in just over a week, but Lieuwen likely won't be able to make it as he continues to recover from sports hernia surgery.

He had the work done two weeks ago. His recovery is just at the stage where he's walking around again.

"At first when the injury happened, it was a lot worse," he said. "It actually got a little better as it got bigger, which is common with this kind of injury. Then I got a second one at the Memorial Cup and it started up again."

Knoblauch said playing through that injury spoke to Lieuwen's character.

"The NHL - no different than the WHL - is looking for players that have skill but also a lot of character. I'm sure that impressed the scouts a great deal, that he was able to persevere through the situation and still play as well as he did."

Lieuwen said the Sabres expressed the most interest in his services.

"I've had my sights set on making an AHL team since about the end of the season. You start thinking about what you're going to do next season and that's still my goal, to be able to crack their team."

He is optimistic about his chances.

"I'm very excited. (Buffalo is) a great place to play hockey, a great organization and I'm in a good position with their crop of goaltenders right now. It looks like there's room for me to squeeze in there, so I'll do my best to get there."