Kulich Looking To Prove He’s Ready For The NHL

When training camp opens next week, the Buffalo Sabres will have a number of players battling for who can step into the spot vacated by the buyout of winger Jeff Skinner and one of the leading candidates is Jiri Kulich.

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The 20-year-old forward was a star for Czechia in the last two World Junior Championships and has posted a pair of 20+ goal seasons for the AHL Rochester Americans, but there are still questions about whether the 2022 first-rounder is ready to make the jump.

"It's a tough question to answer," Amerks assistant coach Vaclav Prospal said of his fellow countryman. "Everybody's different. He's a high pick, he's got an advantage compared to some other prospects (since he's) already played two pro seasons here in North America, His skating is fabulous. His shot is really good for his age and he's only getting better and better. The only thing that I can say is that he needs to be more consistent."

Kulich was one of the AHL’s leading scorers when he left in December for the WJC, but after scoring six goals in seven games for Czechia, he scored only one goal in 19 games spanning over two months. Over the summer, the young forward took a short break to travel and then threw himself into on and off-the-ice training to get stronger.

"I was working on net front and those things I need to do,” Kulich said on Wednesday. “(I've been) just a shooter (going to) one empty spot, but I needed to improve on these things and I think I've improved a lot from summer to now."

It is expected that Kulich, sophomore Zach Benson, and veteran Jason Zucker will battle for a top-six winger slot on either the top line centered by Tage Thompson or the second line with Dylan Cozens.

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