Cliff Pu, a 26-year-old Canadian forward, has spent the past four seasons in the KHL. On Thursday, however, Slovak club Dukla Michalovce announced the signing of the Buffalo Sabres’ third-round pick from 2016.
“We are extremely happy that another young player drafted by an NHL club is coming to Michalovce,” said club sports manager Marek Mašlonka. “Cliff is a responsible player in the defensive zone, usable on the PK, but capable of producing offensively. His main strengths are his good skating and creativity. We have only received good references for Cliff and we wish him to make full use of his talent.”
In Michalovce, Pu joins French national team goalie Julian Junca, veteran Latvian national team captain Kaspars Daugaviņš and 20-year-old Finnish center Topi Rönni – a second-round pick of the Calgary Flames in 2022 who was cut loose following a rape conviction in March.
As a junior, Pu was a member of the London Knights 2015-16 Memorial Cup championship team and was spotlighted by The Hockey News that spring as a potential first-round draft pick. He ended up going in the third round, 69th overall, to Buffalo. He followed up his draft season with 86- and 84-point seasons – the latter split between London and the Kingston Frontenacs.
Pu spent the better part of three seasons in the AHL while in the organizations of the Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets before signing with Kunlun Red Star – a Chinese-based club in the KHL – in 2021.
While many Kunlun players quickly became naturalized Chinese citizens and played for the national team, Pu’s arrival was too soon before the 2022 Beijing Olympics for this to happen. He played two and a half seasons with the Chinese-based team before transferring to Russian-based Admiral Vladivostok midway through last season. In three KHL seasons, Pu recorded 41 points in 109 games.