December 2, 2024
by Jordan McAlpine/ (@jordan_mcalpine)
Stiven Sardarian first arrived in the United States just over three years ago, but he remembers those first few months quite well.
The Russian forward came to the U.S. to join the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms but missed nearly the first month of the 2021-22 season, as he dealt with visa issues. Sardarian spent several weeks waiting in Spain for an answer – unable to skate much or acclimate himself with his new organization and country.
“It was crazy because my English was zero – like I didn’t even know ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ – and since I was late, I didn’t really know the teammates or the coaches. And I had to go straight into school every day at (Youngstown State) to learn English,”…
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