What I saw at Sabres scrimmage: Jiri Kulich, Josh Doan building chemistry, Alex Tuch returns
It was fitting that Kulich scored the first goal of the Sabres’ intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning.
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The Buffalo Sabres traded JJ Peterka and his 27 goals this offseason, so one of the main questions entering training camp was who might step up to help replace that offense. One of the main candidates is Jiri Kulich, the 21-year-old who had 15 goals in 62 games as a rookie last season.
So it was fitting that Kulich scored the first goal of the Sabres’ intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday morning. He caused a turnover in the neutral zone, broke into the offensive zone and didn’t hesitate to rip a shot. He beat Alex Lyon low on his glove side with a quick release. Kulich paced the scrimmage with five shots on net.
“We know that he can rip it,” Ruff said. “I think he just proved it on the first shot today. Sometimes you look at it and think, ‘That’s not a great goal.’ But with Jiri’s shot, those are the type of goals he can surprise goaltenders with. I like his scrimmage today.”
Kulich skated on a line with newcomer Josh Doan on the right wing and Jack Quinn on the left wing. Ruff said he liked the chemistry between Doan and Kulich. Doan was one of the most effective players on the ice. He’s a smart player who makes quick decisions with the puck and is an accurate passer. He was manning the net front on the power play and scored the white team’s second goal of the game by jamming home a loose puck in front.
“I’ve watched a lot of his game,” Ruff said. “He’s smart with the puck. I think you saw some really good plays. I’m not even talking about power play now, but some really good plays with the puck. He’s aware of where that open guy is. He understands how to relieve pressure.”
Doan said he’s gotten close with Kulich over the last couple of weeks and loves seeing him at the rink early, ready to go for practice. He’s trying to speed up the process of building chemistry with him because he knows there will be an opportunity to get plenty of assists if he can get the puck to Kulich.
“His shot is obviously elite, and it’s one of those throughout the year you’re going to continue to see it grow,” Doan said. “Gaining confidence shooting the puck is something I’m trying to drive into him just, ‘When you get an opportunity to shoot the puck, let it go, because there’s not a lot of guys that can shoot the puck like you.’”
Can Jiri Kulich help replace JJ Peterka’s offense this season? (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
What stood out?
First, the rosters.Blue team
Forward lines:
Zach Benson – Josh Norris – Tage Thompson
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Justin Danforth
Mason Geertsen – Tyson Kozak – Josh Dunne
Defense: Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, Conor Timmins, Zac Jones, Jacob Bryson
Goalie: Alex Lyon
White team
Forward lines:
Jack Quinn – Kulich – Doan
Anton Wahlberg – Peyton Krebs – Beck Malenstyn
Isak Rosen – Noah Ostlund – Konsta Helenius
Defense: Owen Power, Bowen Byram, Michael Kesselring, Ryan Johnson, Jack Rathbone
Goalie: Alexandar Georgiev
1. Despite the blue team having the more experienced roster, the white team won handily, 4-0. Afterward, Ruff said he was pleased to see how much the white team was able to frustrate the blue team with some of the new defensive concepts the Sabres have been working on early in training camp. The consistent puck pressure made it difficult for Buffalo’s top players to get much going in the offensive zone.
2. In addition to the goals from Kulich and Doan, Rosen and Malenstyn got goals for the white team. Rosen ripped a shot on a one-timer on the rush, which was nice to see after he was held without a point during the rookie tournament. Rosen has consistently skated with the AHL group in camp and was on a line with Ostlund and Helenius, two other likely Amerks in this scrimmage.
3. Malenstyn’s goal came off a turnover from Dahlin. Wahlberg pressured the puck and caused the turnover before feeding Malenstyn for a one-timer in front of the net. Wahlberg got to skate alongside Malenstyn and Krebs and fit in nicely. That line had a few nice shifts, keeping the puck in the offensive zone with an effective forecheck.
4. Johnson hasn’t gotten a chance to skate with the NHL group early in camp, but he stood out during the scrimmage. He had an impressive entry denial on Thompson in which he had strong gap control. The next shift, he intercepted a neutral zone pass that led to a high-danger scoring chance. And later in that same shift, he had a quick breakout that led to a scoring opportunity the other way. Perhaps most notable: He had a net-front battle with Geertsen and knocked the 6-foot-4, 230-pound enforcer to the ice. That’s the part of Johnson’s game that needs to continue to grow if he’s going to get an NHL call-up.
5. The Sabres practiced before the scrimmage, and Alex Tuch was on the ice for the first time during training camp. He didn’t participate in the scrimmage, but Ruff said he expects him to be full go when the team is back on the ice on Monday.
6. Buffalo’s top power play wasn’t particularly effective during the scrimmage. During practice, Ruff had Dahlin quarterbacking the top unit with Thompson and Norris on the flanks, Tuch in the bumper position and Zucker playing net front. Benson and McLeod both filled in for Tuch since he didn’t scrimmage. The top power play didn’t score on two tries.
7. Byram has looked great during the early part of training camp, and that continued during the scrimmage. He had a couple of turnovers, but he was assertive when pressuring the puck and killing plays quickly. The Sabres have him on the second power-play unit in the bumper spot with Power quarterbacking the point, Kulich and Quinn on either flank and Doan at the net front. Byram was the one who jammed the puck loose in front on Doan’s goal.
Byram was the subject of trade rumors all summer before the Sabres eventually signed him to a two-year contract extension. Ruff said this week that he called Byram multiple times in the summer to talk about how big a role he could play for this team.
“I told him I wanted him to be a Buffalo Sabre, that he’s a real good player, he can help us win, he can help us be a playoff team,” Ruff said.
8. Danforth had some good moments in the scrimmage. His energy on the forecheck is noticeable, and he looks like he has a chance to carve out a role on the penalty kill. In the early portion of training camp, Danforth is proving to be someone Ruff will trust.
“He’s a guy that pretty well does everything right almost all the time,” Ruff said.
9. One scrimmage won’t decide the goalie competition. Georgiev didn’t get a lot of action until late. In the final few minutes, he stopped Dahlin, Thompson and Norris on three separate chances. Lyon allowed all four of the white team’s goals. We’ll see what those two look like in preseason action when exhibition games begin next week.
10. On the topic of goalies, Ruff said he got some positive reports on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s health in recent days, but he’s still not sure when Buffalo’s presumed starter in net will be able to rejoin the team for practice. Ruff didn’t rule out Luukkonen returning at some point next week.