Buffalo Sabres Prospect Update – 2021 Draftees

Here is a quick update of the prospects the Sabres who are not currently in the NHL:

Isak Rosen – RW - 14th overall

Last season, Rosen led the Rochester Americans with 55 points (28 goals, 27 assists) in 61 games, scored five goals in eight playoff games, earned an AHL All-Star appearance, but when called up played mostly in fourth-line minutes. 

This season, once again, Rosen did not seem to be in any realistic mix to make the NHL club and was sent back for his fourth AHL season, where he has a remarkable 23 goals in 29 games. With a series of injuries for the Sabres up front, the  22-year-old has been given a place higher in the lineup, and that has resulted in seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) in 16 games. 

Prokhor Poltapov – LW - 33rd overall

The 23-year-old winger slogged through his first two KHL seasons, playing a depth role with CSKA Moscow, but after scoring just 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 56 regular-season games in 2024, Poltapov tripled his career-high with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) in 68 games. Poltapov signed a two-year contract extension to remain with CSKA, and after a slow start, he on pace to match last season’s totals with 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists) in 54 games. 

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Stiven Sardarian – D - 88th overall

The 23-year-old Russian winger took a different path, playing in the USHL and then to the NCAA with the University of New Hampshire. After scoring only seven points as a freshman, Sardarian has doubled his totals as a sophomore, with 14 points (7 goals, 7 assists) in 32 games, but last season he used the NCAA transfer portal to go to Michigan Tech, where he led the club with 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 35 games. 

The right winger has already bettered those totals in his senior season, with 38 points (11 goals, 27 assists) in 30 games. Sardarian has to sign with the Sabres before the end of June or he will become an unrestricted free agent in August.  

Olivier Nadeau – RW – 97th overall

A scoring winger in the QMJHL, Nadeau had 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 41 games for Jacksonville of the ECHL and scored a goal in a brief five-game stint in Rochester in his first pro season. The 23-year-old was sent to the ECHL again to get playing time last season, and doubled his point total (28 goals, 22 assists in 48 games). This season, Nadeau has stayed with the Amerks and has nine points (5 goals, 4 assists) in 28 games.

Nikita Novikov – D – 188th overall

The 6’4”, 205 lb. blueliner came to North America after playing two years with Dynamo Moscow and settled in nicely as a regular with Rochester, with 23 points (3 goals, 20 assists) in 65 games. The 22-year-old logs plenty of ice time with the Amerks and last season put up nearly the exact same numbers (6 goals, 14 assists in 68 games). This season, he has equaled his career-high goal mark with six, and has 16 points in 43 games.   

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