Buffalo Sabres Top 25 under 25: #9 Jiri Kulich

The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration of members of the Die By The Blade community. It was a combination of editors and over 200 readers who rated Buffalo Sabres Players under the age of 25 (as of August 1, 2024). Each participant used their own measures of current skill and performance to rate each player. Staff votes counted as much as readers' votes.

Jiri Kulich

Elaborated: 2022 – 1st round (28th overall)

Position: center

Born: April 14, 2004 (20 years old)

Statistics 2023-24: Rochester Americans (AHL) – 27-18-45 in 57 games; Buffalo Sabres (NHL) – 0-0-0 in 1 game

T25U25 ranking 2023: 8

T25U25 ranking 2022: 17

Jiri Kulich followed a solid rookie season in the AHL with a respectable sophomore season in which he finished third on the Amerks in points and led the team in goals. He scored seven power-play goals, five game-winning goals and was ninth in the league in goal scoring – pretty good for a guy playing only his second season in North America.

He also appeared in seven games for the Czech Republic at the World Juniors, where he absolutely dominated with 12 points in just seven games and helped his country win bronze. He scored four points in the medal game. Kulich also made his NHL debut on November 25, 2023 in a game against the New Jersey Devils, where he skated 14:53 with one shot and 16 substitutions.

The question now is: what's next for Kulich? He's in Buffalo this week for the Prospects Challenge, a nice little precursor to NHL training camp that begins next week. Kulich will undoubtedly compete hard and is expected to fight for a spot on the NHL roster. It won't be easy given the sheer number of forwards the Sabres have signed so far, but if Kulich has a really strong training camp, he'll make it difficult for the Sabres' leadership to send him to Rochester.

No matter where he starts the season or plays the rest of it, things will look a little different for Kulich. With Lindy Ruff at the helm in Buffalo and Michael Leone in Rochester, it's a different system and a new game. No matter where he plays, Kulich will get the chance to grow and continue to improve his game, and one way or another, we should see him in the NHL soon.

2024 Buffalo Sabres Top 25 under 25

25th place: Adam Kleber
24th place: Tyson Kozak
23rd place: Maxim Strbák
22nd place: Prokhor Poltapov
21st place: Alexander Kisakow
20th place: Viktor Neuchev
19th place: Vsevolod Komarov
18th place: Nikita Novikov
17th place: Anton Wahlberg
#16 Isak Rosen
#15 Peyton Krebs
14th place: Noah Östlund
13th place: Konsta Helenius
12th place: Ryan Johnson
11th place: Ryan McLeod
10th place: Mattias Samuelsson