DEFENSE FIRST, ENGLISH SECOND AS NOVIKOV CONTINUES TO DEVELOP

Sep 13, 2025

By Andrew Mossbrooks | @ Mossbrooks48

At this time two years ago, Amerks defenseman and Sabres prospect Nikita Novikov couldn’t form a sentence in English. A then 20-year-old out of Moskva, Russia had been two years removed from his 2021 NHL Draft selection by Buffalo in the sixth round.  

Novikov, having spent the 2022-23 season in the KHL back home, was ready for the jump to North America. There were several adjustments needed for the 6-foot-4, 205-pound blueliner, but the most daunting of tasks came off the ice. That was learning the common tongue. 

“It’s pretty hard,” said Novikov, who present day has begun to speak the language quite well. “It was really hard at first, actually. I was getting help with being taught. My wife, Arina helped a lot and a schoolteacher helped with learning English. Komy (Vsevolod Komarov) helped sometimes too last year. If I had a question about how to say something I could ask him because he’s been over here (North America) for a while before me. Now I’m able to do it on my own for the most part.” 

But before Novikov displayed signs of growth in his vocabulary, Amerks fans and staff alike saw the development in his on-ice performance. Over a two-year, 133 game span wearing an Amerks jersey, Novikov has played to the tune of a superb +48 on-ice rating. His +28 from the 2024-25 season not only led the team by a mile, but also ranked the Rochester sophomore fourth overall in the entire AHL amongst all skaters and topped all North Division skaters. 

“It’s a good compliment to have to my game. I feel like I did my work well, but I still feel like I need to make improvements. I think it’s a good time to change some things.” 

Those changes, or rather, opportunities for growth in Novikov’s game are a familiar piece that’s often noticed with players of his size. 

“I want to improve my skating. My mobility has been a challenge because of my size. Especially playing against smaller players. It makes it really hard.” 

At 22 years of age, Novikov’s mobility could be one of few things separating him from wearing an Amerks jersey to the blue and gold of the Sabres team that drafted him four years ago. 

“I think everybody wants defenders at the next level,” said Amerks head coach Michael Leone when speaking to media at Prospects Challenge. “Novi (Novikov) did a really good job last season at gapping out against speed. He had struggled with that in the past and began killing more plays in the defensive zone. I thought he took huge strides. Him and Metsa did a great job for us.” 

“Metsy (Zachary Metsa) has helped me out a lot here,” said Novikov. “I’ve spent a lot of the past two years playing with him. He’s been great to me and a good person to be around.” 

Speed and skating are things Novikov learned to be paramount for success playing hockey in North America. A 2023-24 roster sheet may have shown Novikov as a rookie, but by that point he had played over 100 games (including playoffs) in the KHL with Dynamo Moskva, but international ice and the smaller sheet stateside prove to be two different games of hockey. 

“In the AHL, every guy wants to hit you,” Novikov chuckled. “They want to hit you anywhere on the ice, but in the KHL it was more skill-based and less physical. With the ice being smaller here, the style of hockey is so different. There’s a lot of hitting.” 

Novikov is on a list of several Sabres prospects who have a big year in front of them. He joins other Amerks like Isak Rosén and fellow Russian Viktor Neuchev as they each enter the final year of their entry-level contracts. The goal for Novikov is the same as any aspiring young player wearing a Sabres jersey at Prospects Challenge: to make the NHL. Over the summer, the blueliner spent time on the ice with a pair of back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions in Brad Marchand and Aaron Ekblad. The goal is the NHL. The ultimate goal is hoisting what those two did both in 2024 and 2025.  

“We are all working to make the NHL. I know for me personally, it would be a big step, but it’s not my goal to play just one game. I want to make the NHL and stay in the NHL.” 

Next month begins the third year for Novikov as a contracted player in the Sabres organization. He first showed his defense and has continued tailoring his game for the style of play needed to make an impact here. As he settled in, he began learning off the ice, too. Words are hard, (as some may jokingly say) but they truly are when you don’t know what a single one of them mean. Novikov has dedicated himself and continues to in order to be fluent in English. That on and off-ice work depicts the level of dedication and progress the young Russian has made in a relatively short window of time. In 2025-26, we will see if this progress continues to bloom as it has been in the Flower City.