Back in April ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline, the Buffalo Sabres managed to acquire a 2021 second round pick (along with forward Anders Bjork) from the Boston Bruins in a trade for forward Taylor Hall. That pick ended up becoming the 53rd overall selection when the season was all said and done.
With the 53rd overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft on Saturday, the Sabres ended up selecting winger Aleksandr Kisakov from MHK Dynamo Moskva in the MHL in Russia.
Standing in at just 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds, Kisakov finished his 2020-21 campaign with MHK Dynamo Moskva as one of the league's most dangerous scoring threats. His 36 goals finished just second in the MHL behind 2023 top prospect Matvei Mishkov, and his 73 points was one back of Stepan Nikulin for the league lead.
While Kisakov does not have the size to his game just yet, the 18-year-old is a gifted goal scorer. He's got a very good release to his wrist shot, while he can also beat you on the backhand. He's got good hands to play the puck in-tight and get creative to score highlight reel goals. Kisakov also has good speed to his game to create space, and has the spacial awareness to find the areas of the ice to put the puck in the net.
Kisakov was ranked as the seventh international skater by NHL Central Scouting, as was ranked as high as 21st overall by ISS Hockey and 33rd by TSN NHL Draft analyst Craig Button.
Buffalo does not have their own pick in the third round of the NHL Draft, after trading it to the New York Rangers for Jimmy Vesey. The Sabres do hold the 88th overall pick in the third round that belonged to the Florida Panthers, as well as the 95th overall selection from the Montreal Canadiens.
