Back in April just before the NHL Trade Deadline, the Buffalo Sabres traded defenseman Brandon Montour to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. When the 2020-21 season came to a close, the pick for Buffalo became the 88th overall selection.
With the 88th overall pick, the Sabres went on to select forward Stiven Sardarian from Krasnaya Armiya Moskva of the MHL in Russia.
Sardarian is the third Russian winger selected by Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams on Day 2 of the 2021 draft. He opened the second round with the selection of Prokhor Poltapov with the 33rd overall pick, followed by Aleksandr Kisakov with the 53rd overall pick from the Boston Bruins.
The 6-foot-1, 154-pound forward from St. Petersburg, Russia spent last season playing with Krasnaya Armiya Moskva along with Poltapov, where he put up 30 points (9+21) in 50 games played. During his 2019-20 season with CSKA Moskva's Under-18 program, Sardarian performed exceptionally well with 85 points (28+57) in just 24 games.
It is expected that Sardarian will make the jump to North America for the 2021-22 season to play for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League. He is also committed collegiately to the University of New Hampshire.
The 18-year-old is another gifted skater with good speed on the attack. He possess good patience with the puck, is a good passer, and finds different ways to get the puck to the net.
Sardarian was ranked as the 73rd international skater ahead of the draft by NHL Central Scouting.
Buffalo's next selection in the 2021 NHL Draft will come at 95th overall in the third round.
***Photo: Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres)
