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  Position: Right Wing
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 198
Birth Date: 4-26-76
Place of Birth: Vsetin, Czechoslovakia
Jersey Number: 25
Compensation: $375,000


The Finesse Game
Varada is the closest thing the Sabres have to a power forward, and when he is on, he plays with such intensity and reckless abandon that by the end of the game his face is cut and scraped, as if he had been attacked by crazed weasels. Desperate for size, the Sabres dealt Jason Dawe to make room for Varada late in the season. He is very skilled, with great hands to go with his good size. He is wonderful with the puck, an excellent stickhandler. He can also make plays, though his future is as a scorer. He has a good wrist and slap shot. He needs to be an involved player and not stay on the perimeter. He has a passion for scoring and drives to the net for his best chances. He handles himself well in traffic. He is a solidly balanced skater and effective forechecker.

The Physical Game
Varada is thick: thick arms, thick legs, thick thighs. And he was in the thick of Buffalo's playoff war despite coming in with limited NHL experience. He is much more powerful than he looks. Varada gives the Sabres some desperately needed size on the right side, but he needs to play like a power forward every night. He is gritty and hard to play against.

The Intangibles
The biggest knock on Varada, as it is with many young players, is his intensity level. He came to play in the playoffs, and if he brings that to the ice every night he will be a budding star. The Sabres' leading scorer, Miroslav Satan, produced only 45 points last season, so there is plenty of room on this team for anyone who can put the puck in the net. Getting a taste of the NHL with a third of the season and the playoffs will help Varada this year.

Projection
In his first full NHL season, Varada can be expected to net 15 to 20 goals. He is a goal scorer, and when the team around him gets better, Varada can be expected to be a 30-goal man in the not-too-distant future.


Season Team/League GP G A TP PIM +/- PP SH GW GT Shots Pct
1992-93 VITK/CZECH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1993-94 VITK/CZECH 24 6 7 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1995-96 BUFF/NHL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
1995-96 KELO/WHL 59 39 46 85 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1995-96 ROCH/AHL 5 3 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1996-97 BUFF/NHL 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.00
1996-97 ROCH/AHL 53 23 25 48 81 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1997-98 BUFF/NHL 27 5 6 11 15 0 0 0 1 1 27 18.52
1997-98 ROCH/AHL 45 30 26 56 74 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
1998-99 BUFF/NHL 72 7 24 31 61 11 1 0 1 0 123 5.69
NHL TOT 105 12 30 42 78 11 1 0 2 1 154