Stiven Sardarian’s name sits near the back end of the Buffalo Sabres’ prospect list, but his track record at Michigan Tech makes him hard to ignore.
The 23-year-old right wing, taken in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft with the pick Buffalo got from Florida in the Brandon Montour deal, spent the last two seasons leading Michigan Tech in scoring. He finished his senior year with 44 points in 37 games, adding 12 goals and 32 assists after putting up 35 points, including 11 goals and 24 assists, in 35 games as a junior.
Sardarian’s path to that production started far from the NCAA spotlight. The St.
Petersburg native came through the Moscow Dynamo system before heading to North America in 2021. He skated a season with Youngstown in the USHL, then began his college career at UNH.
There, he posted seven points - two goals and five assists - in 29 games as a freshman. His sophomore year brought a step forward, with 14 points and seven goals in 32 games, before he entered the transfer portal and landed at Michigan Tech.
One notable change has been his body. Sardarian went from 157 pounds at the start of his NCAA career to 180 pounds, and that added strength appears to have played a role in his offensive jump.
Buffalo has not signed Sardarian to an entry-level contract, which means he will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday if that changes does not come. With Jarmo Kekalainen now running the show, it’s possible the organization doesn’t view him as a pro fit. Still, the Sabres’ AHL roster has seen a major turnover through trades and likely promotions to Buffalo, so there’s at least a case for giving Sardarian a short-term ELC.
In Other News...
Sabres Face One Trade Debate They Cant Ignore This Summer
With Alex Tuch gone, the Sabres are staring at the kind of summer that can shape more than a roster, because the forward group may be heading into the new season without a major external addition. Trade chatter around Buffalo has quieted, but the conversation has not disappeared, and it has naturally turned toward the sort of impact names that would change the conversation overnight.
Among the possibilities floating around, Dylan Larkin has emerged as the kind of player Buffalo insiders believe would move the needle, even if getting him out of Detroit looks like a long shot. The Red Wings are said to be protective of their top center and the asking price would be steep, which leaves the Sabres waiting on a market that has not offered many easy answers. Connor Hellebuyck has also been part of the broader speculation, but the more immediate question in Buffalo is whether a bold swing is coming at all. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Just Entered The NHL Tier Fans Have Waited For
The Sabres find themselves in a more interesting spot than they have in a while, at least by the way some around the league are mapping out the NHL landscape. Analyst Nick Iacoban has Buffalo among four teams on his Contention Cycle chart that are positioned to matter both now and in the future, a label that reflects a club moving out of pure buildup and into a phase where expectations start to shift.
For Buffalo, that makes this offseason approach worth watching. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen stayed cautious, passing on splashier moves such as a trade for Connor Hellebuyck or a signing of Patrick Kane and instead leaning into internal development, a bet on the roster growing together as the window opens. The hope from here is less about a one-year leap than building the kind of consistent playoff presence that confirms the Sabres are finally settling into the tier fans have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Sabres Development Pipeline Shifts Again With Another Familiar Face Moving On
Rochesters bench will look different again when the AHL season opens, and that matters in Buffalo because the Americans remain such an important part of the Sabres development pipeline. Head coach Michael Leone is set to work with a new staff after both of his assistant coaches from the previous two years moved on to other roles, leaving another familiar layer of continuity to be replaced.
Nathan Paetsch is among the departures after three seasons with the Americans, and his exit underscores how much turnover can ripple through an organization that leans on its farm team for growth and stability. For the Sabres, the changes in Rochester are more than a personnel note, since the people working closest to prospects often shape the daily habits and details that carry over when players make the jump. [Read more 🡒]