ORCHARD PARK – Over the 2021 and 2022 drafts, the Sabres took some big swings by drafting six Russians, including four in the second and third rounds.
Just one, defenseman Vsevolod Komarov, a strong prospect with the Rochester Americans, finished last season in the organization.
So far, zero have played an NHL game. That could, however, change next year.
Assistant general manger Jerry Forton, who’s in charge of amateur scouting, said winger Prokhor Poltapov, the highest drafted of the group and perhaps the most talented, could join the Sabres next year.
The Sabres selected Poltapov in the second round in 2021, 33rd overall. His contract with CSKA Moscow, a Kontinental Hockey League team, runs through 2026-27, according to multiple reports.
Poltapov, 23, has spent the last four seasons and part of another in the KHL, scoring 43 goals and 103 points in 266 games.
Forton said Poltapov doesn’t get “talked about too much, at least outside Buffalo.”
“We consider him almost a plug-and-play prospect the day he’s ready to come over, which I think should be next year,” Forton said Saturday at One Bills Drive following the end of the NHL Draft. “(He) had middle-six qualities that I think will be pretty unique for our organization.
“When we talk sometimes about our pieces that have gone out of this organization, or even some of the pieces that have come in in the last year or two, you don’t hear his name as much. I think he’s very much a guy that can come in and make an impact the day he gets over here.”
What happened to the other Russians the Sabres drafted?
– They loaned defenseman Nikita Novikov (186th overall in 2021) from Rochester to the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, last season.
Novikov played 183 games for the Amerks.
– They traded winger Viktor Neuchev (74th overall in 2022) to the Carolina Hurricanes last season, and he finished with the Chicago Wolves, their AHL affiliate.
Neuchev played 130 games for the Amerks.
– The Sabres did not give winger Aleksandr Kisakov (53rd overall in 2021) a qualifying offer last year. He spent last season in the KHL and the VHL, a Russian minor league.
Kisakov played 93 games for the Amerks.
– The Sabres did not offer a contract to forward Stiven Sardarian (88th overall in 2021). He spent last season at Western Michigan University.
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Forton said defense prospect Adam Kleber, a second-round pick in 2024, 42nd overall, will be returning to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for his junior season.
“We’re thrilled with him as a prospect,” Forton said. “If he wanted to come out this year, he would’ve had an NHL contract waiting for him. I think he felt like another year in that league would suit him well, and we’re never going to push a kid to make that decision one way or another. He knows what’s best for himself. But we view him as a pretty high-end NHL prospect for us.”
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The Sabres have the first of three on-ice sessions of development camp Monday at LECOM Harborcenter. They closed camp with a scrimmage at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.