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Nikita Zadorov News
The Avalanche have assigned Nikita Zadorov to San Antonio (AHL).

Zadorov served as a healthy scratch in three of the last four games. He was a minus-3 in just 10:36 on Thursday and and is a minus-5 on the season. Zadorov was a key piece in the Ryan O’Reilly trade, but is viewed as a bit of a project. He has an extremely projectable frame and a nasty side to his game, but he hasn’t fully developed into an everyday NHL defenseman yet. The AHL will allow him more ice time and freedom to grow.

Nikita Zadorov
Nikita Zadorov has been assigned to the London Knights (OHL).

Zadorov was the 16th overall pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft. He only played in seven games with the Sabres so the first year of his entry level contract will not be in effect this season. He heads back to London where he had six goals and 25 points in 63 games last season.

Nikita Zadorov
Nikita Zadorov, who made his NHL debut on Saturday, will remain in the lineup tonight vs. Boston.

Zadorov was the 16th pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft, is a big, physical defenseman who loves to throw his weight around. The Sabres have nine-games to decide whether or not they want to keep Zadorov on the roster and burn the first year of his entry-level contract, or send him back to juniors. He had no points in 11:01 TOI in his NHL debut.

Nikita Zadorov
Zadorov, who just signed his entry-level contract on Wednesday, is going to be out for about two weeks after needing stitches to repair what Rolston called a "smashed" finger tip on his left hand. Zadorov suffered the injury blocking a shot on the penalty kill Friday night in Carolina. Rather than sending Zadorov back to junior, the Sabres could simply keep him here skating for the two weeks on injured reserve and not have him count against the 23-man roster limit.

Zadorov was the 16th overall pick in this year's draft. He is a huge defenseman at 6-foot-5, 228 lbs. who loves to play extremely physically. He possesses a big shot but is not expected to contribute a ton offensively as he is more of a stay at home defenseman.

Nikita Zadorov
The Buffalo Sabres signed defenseman Nikita Zadorov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Sabres selected the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Russian defenseman with the 16th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. Zadorov, 18, has played in three exhibition games so far this season and recorded his first career goal in the game against Toronto on Sunday. “I think it’s great. It’s a big experience for me to play here in NHL exhibition games,” Zadorov told Sabres.com. “I’ve played three games and I think I did a pretty good job. I just want to try and make the team.”

Nikita Zadorov