The Buffalo Sabres don’t have a lot of time to narrow down their roster. Training camp officially starts on Sept. 18 and a week later the team will have its first practice in Germany as part of its preparation for two Global Series games against the New Jersey Devils to start the season. That means a prospect trying to snag a roster spot the way Zach Benson did a year ago needed to use the rookie tournament as a means of making a strong impression on new coach Lindy Ruff.
Jiří Kulich did just that. The 20-year old has spent the last two years in the AHL and has combined for 51 goals and 91 points in 119 regular season games. His goal-scoring at that level has made him Buffalo’s most intriguing prospect and the one with the best chance at cracking the NHL roster this season. On Friday, he helped lead the Sabres to a 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets at the Prospects Challenge with two goals and an assist. On Saturday, he scored his third goal of the tournament in a losing effort and then capped off the tournament with another two-goal game on Monday.
“You can only control what you can control, so when the staff is watching the game and he goes out there and he has performance after performance after performance, it makes decisions hard and that’s what you want,” Rochester Americans coach Michael Leone said. “He blew the doors off of the tournament.”
Kulich’s scoring hasn’t been a question, though. His shot is more than ready for the NHL. He’s an excellent skater, too, able to create time and space when carrying the puck into the offensive zone. The remaining questions coming into camp are simple. Can he be more consistent? And can he show he’s willing to compete away from the puck and strong enough to win puck battles?
“I feel so much better this year than last year,” Kulich said. “Last year I think I was pretty lazy as well and not strong enough.”
That strength was evident throughout the rookie tournament. He was getting his shots off with defenders right on him, winning puck battles and gaining position in front of the net. Leone said it was Kulich’s competitiveness that stood out above everything else throughout the weekend. The ice was tilted in Buffalo’s favor when he was on the ice. He still had momentary lapses where he could have finished a check or drove to the net harder, but it’s clear how much improvement Kulich has made in the finer points of his game. Even his power-play goal against the Devils on Saturday, a one-timer that looked like so many of his AHL goals, was a bit different. He changed the shot location by getting closer to the middle of the ice. He’s not just trying to overpower everyone with his shot now.
Now Kulich has to put it all together against NHL players. That’s what is going to be necessary to steal a roster spot during camp. There aren’t a lot of spots up for grabs. Depending on what happens with Peyton Krebs, who still hasn’t signed as of this writing, Kulich would have to push one of Jordan Greenway, Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Beck Malenstyn or Sam Lafferty out of the lineup. That’s a tall task in what will be a short training camp window. The team can bring 27 players to Europe, so Kulich could hang on the roster for the later part of training camp, especially since the team will be in Czechia, Kulich’s home country.
Vinny Prospal, who is entering his second season coaching Rochester’s forwards and played more than 1,100 NHL games, remembers how tough it is to be patient as a player at that age. He’s not worried if Kulich has to spend some extra time in the AHL to become a more consistent and dominant all-around player.
“I was very impatient at that age,” Prospal said. “I was thinking I was ready. No I wasn’t.”
It took Prospal 3 1/2 years to crack the NHL. We’ll find out soon if Kulich is ready after two years in the AHL. But this weekend was a strong start.
Here are eight other notes on Buffalo’s prospects at this tournament and beyond.
Buffalo took Konsta Helenius with the No. 14 pick in the 2024 draft and wasted no time in getting him over to North America. (Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
1. Konsta Helenius is not the biggest player on the ice, but he didn’t let that stop him from being involved in a ton of puck battles throughout the weekend. He got pushed around a bit because of his size, but that just seemed to stoke his competitive fire even more. In the final game of the tournament, Helenius ended up with a matching roughing penalty when he got into a heated post-whistle scrum with a Pittsburgh defenseman. That attitude should help him transition to the North American game. It’s easy to see why the Sabres wanted to get him over here as soon as possible.
While he wasn’t able to score in this tournament, Helenius was involved in some quality scoring chances in every game. He rang a shot off the crossbar in the final game against the Penguins. But he also wins faceoffs and creates turnovers in the defensive zone, two traits that will make him a valuable piece in Rochester assuming that’s where he starts the season. He got better as the weekend went along, and NHL camp should be an interesting measuring stick.
2. Viktor Neuchev still needs to get bigger, but he looks so confident on the ice. Over the summer, Prospal spoke about how Neuchev needed time to understand the work ethic required at the pro level and his game took off once he did. Neuchev wore an ‘A’ on his jersey for the second game of the tournament, a subtle sign of how much he’s matured. He has terrific speed and even better puck-handling skills. His 11-goal debut season in the AHL seems like just the start for Neuchev. He played high in the lineup for Buffalo in this tournament and set up a goal during the team’s win on Friday. He also showed off his shot with a power-play goal in Buffalo’s third game of the tournament against Pittsburgh. He finished that game with two goals.
3. Noah Östlund’s shot has definitely gotten stronger over the last couple of seasons, but there’s still room for him to grow strength-wise. He’s a sharp player, especially in the offensive zone, and is also an asset on the power play. He took the patient approach to his development, staying in Sweden for two years after getting drafted. We’ll see if that helps him make a quick transition to the AHL. His performance in this tournament was a productive start. He might have been Buffalo’s best playmaker across the three games. Östlund was consistently a step ahead of the play in the offensive zone and is incredibly quick with the puck on his stick.
4. Isak Rosén finished the tournament strong with three assists, giving him five total for the tournament. The stat line was nice, but Rosén knows he needs to find another level at main camp. He’s become one of the most reliable defensive forwards in Rochester. But with limited time to show what he can do in camp, it might be tough for Rosén to find a spot on the NHL roster.
5. The two Russian defensemen, Nikita Novikov and Vsevolod Komarov, are going to be fun to watch in Rochester this season. Both are willing to engage physically between the whistles and after the whistle. They were the two routinely sticking up for teammates and making sure the Sabres weren’t getting pushed around. Novikov probably has the higher upside of the two because of his passing and skating ability. Komarov’s competitiveness, quick decision making and physicality are what make those who have coached him think he’s a future NHLer.
6. Anton Wahlberg should be able to handle the physical transition to the AHL without much problem. He’s massive and has the shooting ability to be an offensive threat. Prospal said he wants to see Wahlberg learn how to protect the puck, limit his turnovers and understand how to be smart situationally. All of that has shown up in flashes. Wahlberg is just learning how to put it together consistently. The potential is there for him to develop into an NHL power forward.
7. Tyson Kozak always finds subtle ways to stand out at events like this one. He has a heaviness to his game that is going to make him a legitimate candidate to play in the NHL at some point. Prospal compared Kozak’s game to that of Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli, a third-round pick in 2015 who has developed into a difference-making two-way center for Tampa Bay. Kozak had some injury trouble last season but he’s healthy now. His game fits how Ruff wants to play. Not every prospect needs to develop into a top-of-the-lineup player — there’s a role for Kozak if he continues on his current trajectory. He did suffer an upper body injury in the final game of the tournament, so we’ll see if that impacts his availability for camp.
8. Prokhor Poltapov, the No. 33 pick in 2021, wasn’t playing in this tournament, but you can bet Buffalo’s staff has an eye on him. Poltapov has been on fire to start his fourth season in the KHL. He has three goals and nine points in five games to start the season and has at least one point in each game. As Kris Baker of SabresProspects.com noted, Poltapov had nine shots on goal in the first game of the season and led his team in even-strength ice time during his latest game. He’s a player with a competitive streak who loves to drive the net and create traffic in front. He’s a willing checker and is showing the finishing touch to create offense this season.
Poltapov is in the final season of his contract in the KHL. He would stand to get a nice raise on his next KHL contract if he wants to stay home, but there could be a path to the Sabres’ roster, too. He profiles as a player who could play up and down the lineup, which would help his case if he decides to come to North America. He shouldn’t be overlooked in Buffalo’s crowded prospect pool.