Stiven Sardarian is the lone Buffalo Sabres prospect on this year’s list of nominees for the Hobey Baker award, granted annually to college hockey’s top player. There are also several players with ties to Buffalo and/or the Western New York area on the list of nominees.
Sardarian, 21, is in his first season with Michigan Tech following two seasons at the University of New Hampshire. In 24 games this season, he leads the Huskies with 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 points. He’s already more than doubled his production from last season, when he recorded 14 points in 32 games at New Hampshire.
Sardarian, a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, was drafted by the Sabres with the 88th overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft. He remained in Russia for his post-draft year, then made the jump to North America in 2021, joining the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms before starting college hockey.
Other Local Ties
- Jay Ahearn (Niagara) – 25 points (13-12–25) in 25 games with the Purple Eagles this year; captained the team last season
- Colby Ambrosio (Miami) – Played with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 16U team in 2017-18
- Zach Bookman (Merrimack) – Syracuse native; played with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 15U team in 2017-18
- Ryan Conmy (New Hampshire) – Played with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres organization from 2017-2020
- Michael Craig (Robert Morris) – Played with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres OJHL team in 2019-20
- Tyler Fukakusa (RIT) – 26 points (7-19–26) in 24 games with the Tigers this year
- Matteo Giampa (Canisius) – 21 points (6-15–21) in 22 games with the Griffs this year
- Joey Muldowney (Connecticut) – Lake View native; played with the Buffalo Regals & Buffalo Jr. Sabres organizations and at Nichols School
- Shane Ott (Niagara) – 24 points (6-18–24) in 23 games with the Purple Eagles this year
- Ryan Ouellette (Northern Michigan) – Played with Niagara for two seasons
- Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota) – Father, Dave, played for the Sabres from 1989-1992
- Matthew Wilde (RIT) – 19 points (10-9–19) in 16 games with the Tigers this year
- Lawton Zacher (Brown) – Buffalo native; played at Nichols School from 2019-2022
- Walter Zacher (Robert Morris) – Buffalo native; played at Nichols School from 2017-2020
Hobey Baker Nominees by NHL Draft Team
- Anaheim Ducks: Austin Burnevik
- Boston Bruins: Ty Gallagher, Philip Svedeback
- Buffalo Sabres: Stiven Sardarian
- Chicago Blackhawks: Ryan Greene, Aidan Thompson, Sam Rinzel, Sacha Boisvert
- Colorado Avalanche: Colby Ambrosio
- Columbus Blue Jackets: Guillaume Richard
- Dallas Stars: Ayrton Martino
- Detroit Red Wings: Trey Augustine, Sam Stange
- Florida Panthers: Jack Devine
- Los Angeles Kings: Ryan Conmy, Ben Meehan
- Minnesota Wild: Zeev Buium
- Montreal Canadiens: Jacob Fowler, Michael Hage, Rhett Pitlick
- Nashville Predators: Cole O’Hara, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Aiden Fink
- New Jersey Devils: Ethan Edwards
- New York Islanders: Quinn Finley
- New York Rangers: Gabe Perreault, Noah Laba
- Philadelphia Flyers: Cole Knuble, Alex Bump
- San Jose Sharks: Joey Muldowney, Cam Lund
- Seattle Kraken: Barrett Hall
- St. Louis Blues: Noah Beck, Jimmy Snuggerud
- Tampa Bay Lightning: Isaac Howard, Alex Gagne
- Vegas Golden Knights: Abram Wiebe
- Washington Capitals: Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson
Full List of Hobey Baker Nominees
SCHOOL | PLAYER NAME |
AIC | Josh Barnes |
Alaska | Nicholas Grabko |
Arizona State | Noah Beck |
Arizona State | Ryan Kirwan |
Arizona State | Bennett Schimek |
Army | Mac Gadowsky |
Augustana | Josh Kotai |
Bemidji State | Mattias Sholl |
Bentley | Ethan Leyh |
Boston College | Jacob Fowler |
Boston College | Gabe Perreault |
Boston College | Ryan Leonard |
Boston University | Cole Hutson |
Boston University | Quinn Hutson |
Boston University | Ryan Greene |
Brown | Lawton Zacher |
Canisius | Matteo Giampa |
Clarkson | Ethan Langenegger |
Clarkson | Trey Taylor |
Clarkson | Ayrton Martino |
Colgate | Brett Chorske |
Colorado College | Kaidan Mbereko |
Colorado College | Noah Laba |
Colorado College | Ty Gallagher |
Connecticut | Hudson Schandor |
Connecticut | Joey Muldowney |
Dartmouth | Sean Chisholm |
Dartmouth | CJ Foley |
Dartmouth | Nikita Nikora |
Denver | Aiden Thompson |
Denver | Zeev Buium |
Denver | Jack Devine |
Ferris State | Caiden Gault |
Holy Cross | Thomas Gale |
Holy Cross | Liam Mclinskey |
Lake Superior State | Connor Milburn |
Lake Superior State | Sasha Teleguine |
Maine | Albin Boija |
Maine | Harrison Scott |
Massachusetts | Cole O’Hara |
Massachusetts | Aydar Suniev |
Mercyhurst | Dustin Geregach |
Merrimack | Zach Bookman |
Miami | Colby Ambrosio |
Michigan | Michael Hage |
Michigan | Ethan Edwards |
Michigan | T.J. Hughes |
Michigan State | Isaac Howard |
Michigan State | Trey Augustine |
Michigan Tech | Stiven Sardarian |
Minnesota | Sam Rinzel |
Minnesota | Jimmy Snuggerud |
Minnesota State | Rhett Pitlick |
Minnesota State | Alex Tracy |
New Hampshire | Ryan Conmy |
New Hampshire | Alex Gagne |
Niagara | Jay Ahearn |
Niagara | Shane Ott |
North Dakota | Jake Livanavage |
North Dakota | Abram Wiebe |
North Dakota | Sacha Boisvert |
Northeastern | Vinny Borgesi |
Northeastern | Cam Lund |
Northeastern | Jack Williams |
Northern Michigan | Ryan Ouellette |
Notre Dame | Cole Knuble |
Ohio State | Gunnarwolfe Fontaine |
Ohio State | Kristoffer Eberly |
Ohio State | Damien Carfagna |
Omaha | Simon Latkoczy |
Omaha | Sam Stange |
Penn State | Aiden Fink |
Princeton | Arthur Smith |
Providence | Philip Svedeback |
Providence | Tannder Adams |
Providence | Guillaume Richard |
Quinnipiac | Travis Treloar |
RIT | Tyler Fukakusa |
RIT | Matthew Wilde |
Robert Morris | Michael Craig |
Robert Morris | Walter Zacher |
RPI | Wil Gilson |
Sacred Heart | Felix Trudeau |
St. Cloud | Austin Burnevik |
St. Cloud | Barrett Hall |
St. Cloud | Isak Posch |
St. Thomas | Liam Malmquist |
UMass Lowell | Ben Meehan |
Union | John Prokop |
Vermont | Colin Kessler |
Vermont | Max Strand |
Western Michigan | Tim Washe |
Western Michigan | Owen Michaels |
Western Michigan | Alex Bump |
Wisconsin | Quinn Finley |
Wisconsin | Ryland Mosley |
Wisconsin | Gavin Morrissey |