Sabres Prospects Report: Rosen, Poltapov, Kisakov & More

Poltapov earned 11 shifts in a 3-2 loss to Amur playing with CSKA at the Moscow Mayor’s Cup, and looked good skating with the best players in Russia. He played a simple game and didn’t try to do too much, which is usually a fatal flaw of younger players like himself. He got involved in the forecheck in the offensive zone, played a sound game in his own zone, and gave reason to keep him in the lineup throughout the season.

At the minor league level in the VHL, Poltapov would likely play more minutes, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he were eventually sent down to play there. No matter what happens this season, though, the expectation for him to make an impact on the Sabres roster one day is there, and management will be keeping a close eye on his play.

Kisakov Splitting Time In KHL and MHL

Kisakov earned a spot in Dynamo Moskva’s lineup in the KHL, playing three games with them and recording no points to date. In preseason play with Dynamo, he helped his team to a 2-1 victory over Admiral Vladivostok, and stood out among the other skaters with his speed and skill. The Sabres were high on Kisakov heading into the 2021 draft, and ultimately decided to select him because of that speed and skill.

In Russia’s Junior Hockey League (MHL), Kisakov has one goal and one assist for two points, and is probably better-suited to play at that level than in the KHL this season to best serve his development. While he didn’t appear to look out of place in KHL action, even being tapped to play three-on-three overtime and creating some chances, he could benefit more from racking up the points at a lower level.

Novikov Thriving In Russia’s Top Hockey League

Out of the three Russians mentioned in this prospects report, Novikov is perhaps the best-performing player to date, and has been a mainstay with Dynamo in the 2021-22 season so far. In eight KHL games with Dynamo this season, he has one goal and two assists for three points, scoring the first goal of his KHL career last month. He jumped into the rush in the offensive zone and picked the corner with his shot, continuing his strong offensive play ever since.

Novikov was the sixth-round pick of the Sabres in the 2021 draft, and while late-round picks typically take a longer time to develop than players taken in the first two rounds, it’s a good sign that he’s playing so well and showing his skills so early in his development path.

Other Sabres Prospects Updates

Sabres 2021 first-overall pick Owen Power and goaltending prospect Erik Portillo are playing at the University of Michigan in the NCAA, hoping to win a collegiate hockey championship with a stacked roster. The Sabres Prospects Challenge took place this past weekend, as the Sabres hosted the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins for a round-robin tournament featuring each team’s top prospects. Notable players for the Sabres included goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and forwards J-J Peterka and Jack Quinn. Standout players from the games included Oskari Laaksonen and Mattias Samuelsson, who will likely start the upcoming season with the Sabres’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Rochester Americans.

Sabres Prospect Tracker (2021-22 Season)

If you’re like me and have trouble keeping track of where all the top Sabres prospects are playing during the NHL season, then not to worry – I’ve taken the liberty of compiling them into a nifty 2021-22 Sabres Prospect Tracker. Here is a list of all the prospects playing everywhere other than the NHL and the AHL.

That wraps up this edition of the Sabres Prospects Report. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks as we move into the NHL preseason and the approach the start of the 2021-22 regular season.