A player to watch for the Buffalo Sabres in the future is Jiri Kulich. The former 28th pick in the 2022 Draft is off to a good start in his second pro season with the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League (AHL).
The 19-year-old center is second in team scoring with 10 goals and four assists for 14 points in 14 games. That trails Sabres’ prospect Isak Rosen, who leads the Amerks with 17 points.
With Kulich continuing to progress nicely, he’s a player to keep an eye on with the Sabres. They’re currently without top center Tage Thompson, who’s listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury due to blocking a shot off his left wrist in a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Nov. 14.
“Obviously, we will miss him because of not only the player but the person,” Sabres coach Don Granato told reporters. “… He has a real good perspective on things. He’s an ultra-competitive guy that responds with compete and work ethic to any adversity.”
Without the Sabres’ leading scorer from last season, it puts more emphasis on Dylan Cozens to carry the load with Jeff Skinner and Alex Tuch, who scored a goal in his return against the Winnipeg Jets in a 3-2 loss on Nov. 17.
Sabres Get Benson and Tuch Back
The news wasn’t all bad. The Sabres got Zach Benson and Tuch back versus the Jets on Nov. 17. Each got on the score sheet in a tough one-goal defeat at Winnipeg.
Following Jets’ goals from Cole Perfetti and Mason Appleton early in the second period to put the Sabres down two, Tuch put in a loose puck in front for an unassisted goal that made it 2-1. It was a good response to Appleton’s goal that came 23 seconds earlier.
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With the Sabres trailing the Jets by two early in the third period, Benson got the puck up for Rasmus Dahlin, who made a perfect lead pass to send J.J. Peterka in on a breakaway. He put in his own rebound past Jets’ goalie Connor Hellebuyck one minute into the period to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Despite making a strong push for the equalizer, the Sabres’ rally fell short. They rebounded nicely by hanging on to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 on Nov. 19. Dahlin led the way with a goal and two assists. Erik Johnson scored the game-winner with 9:24 left in regulation.
Kulich and Amerks Get Win Over Monsters
While the Sabres continue their three-game road trip by visiting Washington Capitals on Nov. 22, Kulich and the Amerks were in action on Nov. 18 – defeating the Cleveland Monsters 7-5. In the win, Kulich scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Rosen had a big game, finishing with two goals and two assists for four points.
The Amerks have a record of 8-4-2 with 18 points. They’re tied for second in the North Division of the AHL. Featuring Kulich and Rosen, Rochester has a good team for Sabres’ fans to follow. They both are promising players who went in the first round.
The Sabres took Rosen with the 14th pick of the first round in 2021. Similar to Kulich, the 20-year-old Swede is in his second pro season. If they decide to call up reinforcements, a close eye will be kept on both Kulich and Rosen.
Kulich Leads Czechia to Silver Medal
Over the last two years, Kulich has represented Czechia at the Under-20 World Junior Championships (WJC). A key player who’s performed well on the international stage, he followed up a good showing in 2022 by leading Czechia to a silver medal at the 2023 WJC.
While most of the coverage centered around future Blackhawks’ top pick Connor Bedard, Kulich led a strong Czechia squad to its first medal since 2005.
Their run was highlighted early by a huge upset over Canada in the preliminary round. They defeated Canada 5-2 on Dec. 26, 2022. In the preliminaries, Czechia went 3-0-1-0 to win Group A. Their 10 points were one better than Canada and three ahead of Sweden to advance to the quarterfinals.
In a 9-1 Czechia win over Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Jan. 2, 2023, Kulich led the way with two goals and two assists for a four-point game. That set up a rematch with Sweden in the semifinals. In the preliminaries, Sweden defeated Czechia 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 29, 2022. The semifinal proved to be eventful.
For most of the regulation, Sweden held onto a one-goal lead on a goal scored by Ludvig Jansson scored early in the second period. However, a relentless Czechia never gave up. In the final minute of regulation, David Jiricek tied the game to send it to overtime.
In the final minute of overtime, Kulich scored the overtime winner to give Czechia a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Sweden on Jan. 4, 2023. They advanced to play Canada for the gold medal.
In the championship game, Czechia fell behind 2-0 after two periods. But when it looked over, Kulich scored with 7:30 left in the third period to start a rally. Less than a minute later, Jakub Kos tied the score to force overtime. After coming close to winning it, Czechia lost the game when Dylan Guenther scored the overtime winner to give Canada a 3-2 gold medal win on Jan. 5, 2023.
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Although they fell short of capturing the gold, Czechia earned a silver medal at the 2023 WJC. Kulich led them in scoring with seven goals and two assists for nine points. His standout performance earned him a place on the 2023 WJC All-Star Team. He joined Czechia teammates Jiricek and Tomas Suchanek.
Kulich’s big tournament impressed enough to be recognized in a prospect feature that appeared in The Hockey News on Jan. 5, 2023. A good source for hockey, they highlighted Kulich as the top Sabres prospect from the WJC.
“The leading scorer of the silver medallists will head back to the Rochester Americans fresh off an outstanding performance at the world juniors. Kulich came up huge in every big moment for the Czechs. He scored in overtime against Sweden in the semifinal and got Czechia on the board against Canada to queue the comeback attempt in the gold medal game. Kulich is one heck of an offensive player. He uses his speed and slippery skill to work himself out of puck battles with possession and attack high-danger areas. His seven goals were tied for second behind only Connor Bedard.”
from “World Juniors: Standout Performer From Each Team In The East,” The Hockey News, Jan. 5, 2023.
Considering the outstanding tournament he had, it was well-deserved. Kulich’s star shined brightly for Czechia. His performance opened some eyes. Especially in Buffalo.
Kulich Has Good First Pro Season for Rochester
Not only did Kulich perform well at the 2023 WJC. But he also had a good first pro season for Rochester in 2022-23. After signing with the Sabres on July 15, 2022, he played for the Americans in the AHL.
In 66 games, Kulich posted a team-leading 24 goals with 22 assists for 46 points. The 46 points ranked fifth in team scoring for 2022-23. He played most of the season as an 18-year-old. It was a strong rookie season for Kulich.
In the Calder Cup Playoffs, the Americans made it to the second round before losing in six games to the Hershey Bears. In his first postseason, Kulich had a good showing by scoring seven goals and adding four assists for 11 points in 12 games. His seven goals paced the Americans in the playoffs. Kulich also led them with four power-play goals.
The Future is Bright
When looking at the Sabres roster, which currently features recent 2023 first-round pick Benson, along with a young nucleus featuring Thompson, Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, Peterka, Dahlin, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Devon Levi, and Jack Quinn (injured reserve), the future is bright.
With Kulich continuing to develop in Rochester, it won’t be long before he earns the opportunity to make his NHL debut. The Sabres can afford to be patient for now. Depending on how things go the rest of the season, Kulich could arrive sometime in the next calendar year.
In the meantime, the Sabres will continue to compete for the playoffs in the Atlantic Division. If they can hang around without Thompson, they’ll have a chance to sneak in next spring. Perhaps by then, Kulich can be a part of it. Undoubtedly, his future is cause for excitement in Western New York.
