At the beginning of the Kevyn Adams administration, the Buffalo Sabres heavily invested in European prospects. Some of them paid off (JJ Peterka taken in the second round in 2020), some of them may still (first rounders Isak Rosen and Noah Ostlund have shown some promise), but others appear to have been a swing and a miss.
Earlier this week, Rochester Americans forward Aleksandr Kisakov signed a tryout contract with Moscow Dynamo of the KHL, the club he played four years of junior hockey with from 2018 to 2022 before heading to North America. After a year of getting acclimated to North America, Kisakov started strong in 2023, but was slowed by injury and ended the campaign with 13 points in 32 games. Last season, he has not been able to earn a regular spot in the lineup.
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In spite of being healthy and scoring three goals in 13 games, there were indicators that the Sabres had soured on the 22-year-old. Amerks assistant coach Vaclav Prospal said he did not see any burning desire from Kisakov to win a spot in the lineup, and in spite of his ample talent, that the window is closing on the Russian winger in the Sabres organization.
The Sabres did not extend a qualifying offer to Kisakov in June to retain his rights, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. The Sabres other 2021 second round pick, Prokhor Poltapov, had a breakout season with CSKA Moscow with 17 goals, but he is unlikely to come to North America in the foreseeable future after signing a two-year contract extension to stay in the KHL.
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