Buffalo Sabres Prospects: Isak Rosen surging amidst the Jiri Kulich hype
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres have a pair of prospects surging in Rochester, with Jiri Kulich taking center stage. But let’s not forget about Isak Rosen.
The Buffalo Sabres need a reliable scorer since their playmaker in Tage Thompson and brewing playmaker in Jack Quinn continue to recover from their respective injuries. Lately, we have spoken a lot about Jiri Kulich, and how he would be a potential solution with the Blue and Gold, but we haven’t discussed Isak Rosen to the same extent.
However, Rosen has more points at the moment than Kulich, with 18 in 15 games, good for a pace of 86 across a full season. He may not have found the back of the net as often, but Rosen has shown time and again the ability to create space and draw opponents toward him, which has opened up numerous scoring lanes that Kulich, among others, has taken full advantage of.
With the way we have seen the Sabres recalling prospects early in the season, it’s trending toward Rosen getting his eventual chance in Buffalo. But his performance has gone far beyond finding ways to log points, goals, and assists, and it’s yet another reason the former first-round pick is surging.
Despite Kulich talk, Buffalo Sabres prospect Isak Rosen is surging
Since the Calder Cup Playoffs, we have seen Rosen’s defensive game surge on an upward trajectory. But now it’s gotten to the point where he’s seeing time on the penalty kill and in situations when the Amerks are being tasked with closing out games, as Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat noted in a recent piece.
Given his greater defensive play, Rosen’s evolution is foreshadowing what may be coming to the City of Good Neighbors when he earns his eventual chance with the Buffalo Sabres.
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Whether that chance comes in the near future or if it’s sometime in the 2024 calendar year, we don’t know. But we do know that if Rosen gets a few games in Buffalo, be prepared to admire more than just his potential to produce when the puck is in the Blue and Gold’s possession. Rosen will also wow you with a defensive game that was raw when he started his stint in North America last year.
Source: Sabres prospect Isak Rosen becoming slick scorer, one of Amerks’ ‘drivers’
(Statistics provided by theAHL.com)