What Should The Buffalo Sabres Do With Nikita Zadorov?

At 19 years old, Nikita Zadorov is the youngest defenseman on the Buffalo Sabres roster. The first-round 2013 draft pick made it through his second NHL training camp these past few weeks with the Sabres, but his fate going forward seems uncertain. He’s ineligible to play in the AHL, since he won’t be 20 before the year’s end and has yet to play four seasons of junior hockey with his CHL team, the OHL’s London Knights.

Although Nikita Zadorov is still with the Buffalo Sabres organization at this point, he was announced as a scratch for the opening game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 9. Newcomers Josh Gorges, Andre Benoit and Andrej Meszaros will all dress in tonight’s game, while Zadorov will have a seat in the press box for the time being.

So, the question now lies in this: does Nikita Zadorov stay up in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres this season, or is he sent back to the Knights for his third season in the Ontario Hockey League?

After being drafted 16th overall in 2013, Zadorov attended Sabres training camp and then got a seven-game tryout with the NHL team last season. He scored his first NHL goal in his second game, October 23 against the Boston Bruins. Overall, Nikita Zadorov had one point, four shots and four penalty minutes in those seven games before he returned to London.

There, he played big minutes alongside fellow Sabres prospect Brady Austin. Zadorov put up 30 points and had 43 penalty minutes in the regular season. He was a plus-3o on a Knights team that eventually played host to the Memorial Cup, ultimately flopping in the CHL tournament.

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So – what should the Sabres do with Nikita Zadorov this year?

This may just be my opinion, but I would much rather see Nikita Zadorov playing with the Knights rather than being scratched every night at the NHL level. The kid’s not going to learn much if he isn’t given an actual chance to play. Skating in scrimmages and morning practices is great, but he’d be much better served by playing another season in London if that’s the option.

If the Sabres will actually use Zadorov, then fine – use him. That may be a tough spot to sell, however, with three newbies on the blueline, plus big guys like Rasmus Ristolainen, Mike Weber and Tyler Myers also holding spots right now. Mark Pysyk‘s injury has only slightly lessened the number of defensemen the Sabres have available right now, but even with him out of commission, Zadorov finds himself on the outside.

Either give the kid a chance and let him play with the Sabres, or send him to the OHL where he can do some good, hard work with the Knights, maybe capture a league championship or even a Memorial Cup and then come back to Buffalo in even better shape. Don’t keep him here only to scratch him every night.

Have your say in the poll below, and leave your thoughts in the comments.