The Buffalo Sabres had 11 picks in the 2021 NHL Draft, including top pick Owen Power
At the NHL Trade Deadline, the Buffalo Sabres dealt winger Isak Rosen to the Winnipeg Jets for defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn. Rosen had another excellent season in the AHL and took advantage of more of an opportunity to play higher in the lineup with Buffalo, but the 23-year-old was an RFA this summer and would not be waiver exempt next season.
Here is a quick update of the prospects the Sabres who are not currently in the NHL:
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 matched last season’s point total with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 68 games, and six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 10 playoff games.
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 bettered those totals in his senior season, with 44 points (12 goals, 32 assists) in 37 games. Sardarian has to sign with the Sabres before June 1, or he will become an unrestricted free agent in August.
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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 stayed with the Amerks and showed some progress at the next level with 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in 56 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 logged 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 18 points in 50 games before being loaned to the Ontario Reign for the remainder of the season.
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