BUFFALO — After his contract in the Kontinental Hockey League expires next year, the Sabres expect prospect Prokhor Poltapov to come to North America and immediately jump into their lineup.
Where could the Russian, a winger the Sabres drafted in the second round in 2021, 33rd overall, fit in?
Tim Kennedy, the Sabres’ new director of player development, worked closely with Poltapov in his previous role as a development coach. He believes the versatile youngster can play in the top six or top nine.
“He’s like a Swiss Army knife,” Kennedy said following last Tuesday’s session of development camp in LECOM Harborcenter. “He can play with a lot of different players, play a lot of different roles. We love his compete and his skill.”
Poltapov, 23, has spent the last four seasons and part of another with CSKA Moscow, scoring 43 goals and 103 points in 266 games.
He scored 16 goals and 40 points in 68 games last season, nearly identical to his production (17 goals and 40 points in 68 contests) in 2024-25.
Poltapov scored five goals and 10 points in 56 outings as a rookie in 2022-23.
“The first year where he was playing in the KHL, it’s always hard for a young player to get opportunity, and I think he has developed very well in the last few years, and he’s getting more time on the top few lines,” Kennedy said. “He’s getting more power-play time, and the points he’s put up, I think, in the last few years at his age has been great.”
Poltapov’s KHL contract runs through 2026-27, according to multiple reports. He hasn’t signed a deal with the Sabres.
Kennedy said Ruslan Pechonkin, the Sabres’ Russian scout, helps them communicate with Poltapov. Kennedy said he and Jarko Ruutu, the team’s European development coach, watch Poltapov’s games, send him clips and talk to him once a week.
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Sabres forward Peyton Krebs has filed for salary arbitration, the NHL Players’ Association announced Sunday.
Krebs, 25, is the Sabres’ only unsigned restricted free agent.
Filing, of course, doesn’t mean a player will go to arbitration. Negotiations can continue. The sides usually reach a deal before the arbitration hearing.
Players who file for arbitration want more than their qualifying offer would pay them.
Fifteen players filed for arbitration, according to the NHLPA.
The deadline for team-elected arbitration was Monday at 5 p.m.
Hearings will be held from July 20 to Aug. 1.
Krebs, one of the Sabres’ most versatile forwards, set career highs across the board last season, registering 12 goals, 39 points and a plus-13 rating in 82 games.
He just completed a two-year, $2.9 million contract.
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The Sabres on Saturday added goalie depth, signing Matt Villalta to a one-year, two-way contract.
Villalta, 27, gives the Sabres a veteran netminder for the Rochester Americans. He will likely share the net with prospects Topias Leinonen or Scott Ratzlaff, both of whom spent time in the AHL last season.
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Villalta has spent most of his career in the AHL, compiling 123-83-20 record with a 2.93 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage and 10 shutouts in 235 career games.
He spent the last three seasons with the Tucson Roadrunners, the Utah Mammoth’s top affiliate. He was named to the AHL All-Star Classic in 2023-24.
Villalta registered a 16-12-3 mark with a 3.10 goals-against average, an .895 save percentage and one shutout in 33 games last season.
He has played three NHL games, compiling a 1-1-0 record with a 3.64 goals-against average and an .864 save percentage.
The Los Angeles Kings drafted Villalta in the third round in 2017, 72nd overall.
The Sabres needed a goalie for Rochester after trading Devon Levi to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.