Buffalo Sabres Prospects – #19 Aleksandr Kisakov

The Buffalo Sabres are considered to have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL. This is due to their high selection in recent drafts, their eye for talent, and their organizational choices of either leaving players to develop in their home countries or bringing them to North America. All are 25 years old or younger, whose rights are currently held by the Sabres or are on AHL or NHL deals, and who have played less than 40 NHL games.

19. ALEKSANDR KISAKOV (ROCHESTER – AHL)

Kisakov was the Sabres second pick of the second round in the 2021 NHL Draft (53rd overall), one of seven European selections made by GM Kevyn Adams. The Solikamsk, Russia native was developed in the Moscow Dynamo system and caught the attention of scouts after scoring 36 goals with the Dynamo Jr. club in 2021.

After another year playing mostly in junior with a brief cup of coffee in the KHL, the winger signed an entry-level deal with the Sabres and has been utilized mostly as a bottom-six forward by Seth Appert with AHL Rochester over two seasons. After scoring six goals as a rookie, the 21-year-old started last season shot out of a cannon but was slowed by a lower-body injury and ended up with only 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 32 games.

Kisakov is entering the final year of his entry-level deal with Buffalo and will have to show some improvement this season to earn another deal with the club, but thus far has been challenged to crack the Rochester lineup.

After playing four games in November, the 22-year-old did not play all of December and did not play until January 4th, when he scored a goal and an assist against Bridgeport. He has scored another goal in two games, giving Kisakov three goals in seven games.

The Hockey Prospect Black Book said that Kisakov “is a tricky player to evaluate because he just goes out there and plays, but there isn’t a lot of structure to his game,” while the Elite Prospects Draft Guide said that he plays with “a lot of pace and creativity in his game. He attacks the neutral zone with crossovers, tracing weaving patterns that veil his intentions from defenders.”

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