The hope for the Buffalo Sabres is that several of their young players like Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Konsta Helenius, and Noah Ostlund, can take that next step. They are going to need them as they try to replace Alex Tuch.
However, one player who is often overlooked but might make the biggest impact this season is Jiri Kulich. The former first-round pick missed almost the entire season last year due to a blood clot, and thankfully he is past that and is looking to contribute on the ice.
Lindy Ruff was on WGR550 and discussed several players when looking ahead to next season, but the update on Jiri Kulich was probably the most noteworthy. "A guy that was missing that I had a long conversation with yesterday, that is in town and he looks great; he's been skating is [Jiri] Kulich," Ruff said.
Jiri Kulich might be the Buffalo Sabres' best answer at 1C
Last season, Josh Norris began the season as the top center but was hurt in the first game, and then Kulich took over. However, he played only 12 games before his health issues, and the Sabres eventually moved Tage Thompson to the position.
When looking ahead to this season, it is a wide-open training camp battle between Norris, Kulich, and some other players. However, Kulich gives the Sabres the best upside if he can return to the way he played at the end of the 2024-25 season.
In 62 games during the 2024-25 season, he had 15 goals and nine assists, but he made the players around him better, most notably Tage Thompson. During that season, these two were on the ice together for over 352 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick, and they had a GF% of 59.57% and an xGF% of 54.76%. However, in over 730 minutes for Thompson without Kulich, he had a GF% of 50.70% and an xGF% of 50.51%
The numbers get even better when Zach Benson was the third player on that line, as the xGF% goes up slightly to 56.47%.
While prior success doesn't guarantee that it will continue to work, the Sabres coaching staff should have seen enough at the end of the 2024-25 season to give this line a chance in the preseason. However, it really hinges on Jiri Kulich, and if he returns to form, the Sabres will have a very productive top line for this season.
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