Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) – It’s not often that a young Russian hockey player decides to take the U.S. college route in his development.
The Buffalo Sabres took forward Stiven Sardarian in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and he immediately decided he wanted to play at the University of New Hampshire.
Sardarian was just in Buffalo earlier this week for Sabres Development Camp, where he looked good amongst other players close to his age.
"I was in Russia and played junior in the MHL, and the UNH team texted me saying they wanted to see me play college hockey," said Sardarian during Sabres Development Camp at Harborcenter. "I didn’t know anything about college hockey, and people told me it was a really good level with a lot of prospects. A lot of really good players are playing in the NCAA, and I decided to go to college."
Sardarian was going to go directly to New Hampshire as a true Freshman, but one thing stopped him, which put him in the USHL for a season with the Youngstown Phantoms.
"My English was so bad, so we decided to go to the USHL for one season, where I improved my English, and I can understand American Hockey," Sardarian said.
Sardarian was doing all of this at 18-years-old. He was learning a new language in a new country, which does things quite differently than his country does. He got to school at age 19, and now, on top of hockey and a new culture, he had to attend college classes.
"It’s actually hard, because school takes a lot of power and energy," Sardarian admitted. "You have to go to class, you have to do homework, and sometimes hard exams. For our coaching staff, our grades were important because if you have bad grades, the coaching staff will talk to you about this. So you have to be good in school. It was hard for me, but every year it's been better-and-better."
Sardarian says he got through everything thanks to his teammates and his coaching staff. The Sabres also helped him a lot too.
After two seasons with the Huskies, Sardarian went into the transfer portal and decided to go with the Northern Michigan Wildcats. However, all of a sudden, he was back in the portal because the head coach, Grant Potulny, left to coach the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL.
While Sardarian says he enjoyed playing with New Hampshire, he needed a change.
"I love UNH. I love the coaching staff, I love my teammates. But it's like life. I played two years and decided to change," he explained. "I was going to Northern Michigan, but then the whole coaching staff left, so I don’t know where I’m going, but we will see."
There has been no announcement yet on if the winger has found a college to play at.
Many Europeans have an adjustment coming to play in North America. Sardarian is no different.
"I think it’s faster and harder than in Russia," Sardarian noted. "In Russia, it’s more about skill. Also, we have bigger rinks, and it’s probably more easy. But for me, I need to improve and play more harder, be stronger. That’s it."
Sardarian is very excited the Sabres have drafted six Russians in two drafts. He feels it’ll make it easier on him.
"We have [Nikita] Novikov, [Aleksandr] Kisakov and [Viktor] Neuchev playing in Rochester already, and I think it’s great. We’re all friends, and we help each other," Sardarian said. "I hope we will play together in Rochester, and also in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres."
Vsevolod Komarov is expected to be with the Amerks this year, while 2021 second-round pick Prokhor Poltapov is expected to be in Rochester next year after his KHL contract expires.
Sardarian says this summer, he wants to gain weight by becoming stronger. He also wants to work on his skating to be faster.
