3 prospects the Buffalo Sabres must consider recalling in wake of Jack Quinn injury
Jack Quinn caught yet another bad break when a hit into the boards resulted in a lower-body injury for the Buffalo Sabres winger.
While the Buffalo Sabres won in the finale of their California road trip after they once again found themselves down by two goals, it came at the expense of Jack Quinn suffering a lower-body injury. It’s too soon to speculate on the injury’s severity, but Quinn’s body language was not encouraging, which foreshadows that he will miss some time following the All-Star Break.
If that’s the case, there is nobody on the Sabres right now who can adequately fill in for Quinn. Victor Olofsson is not the dynamic scorer he was in recent seasons, and Zach Benson has been a defense-first player this year. Therefore, now is the time for the Blue and Gold to look back into their prospects pool and bring somebody up to fill the void.
Buffalo Sabres must call up a prospect if Jack Quinn misses extended time
1 - Jiri Kulich
Jiri Kulich is far and away the best prospect to recall, and it was an endorsement I made two weeks ago when Jeff Skinner went down. The other two names are listed as distant backups in the event the Blue and Gold opt not to recall Kulich for whatever reason.
While Kulich has unfortunately gone through a four-game dry spell in points, you still can’t deny how productive he’s been throughout most of the season, as he’s scored 24 points, 16 goals (six on the power play), and eight assists. His defensive game is no longer raw, and he can also pitch in when the Sabres are trying to regain possession of the puck.
Kulich saw one game at the NHL level, in which he logged just one shot on goal and finished with a minus-1. His one-off appearance is another reason two more prospects are also listed - and just a hint, these are prospects, not someone on a one-way deal like Tyson Jost, who could also be a possibility.
2 - Isak Rosen
Isak Rosen had a minus-3 rating and zero points in seven games played with the Sabres earlier this year along with just eight minutes and 35 seconds worth of average total ice time. However, like Kulich, Rosen has put up an All-Star-caliber performance at the AHL level. And clearly, he’s shown earlier in the year that he was at least ready to get a taste of the NHL.
Despite playing in Buffalo for seven games, Rosen still leads the team in points with 26 alongside Lukas Rousek, with 10 goals and 16 assists. He also has nearly two months more experience now, so if for whatever reason they don’t give Kulich the go-ahead and keep Jost in Rochester, Rosen may be the next-best prospect on the list.
One downside, however, is that he hasn’t been as productive since he returned to the Amerks, so the next name on this list, one with a 14-game points streak in Rochester, could be a notch above Rosen.
3 - Lukas Rousek
While it’s true Lukas Rousek had it rough in his five games with the Sabres this season, we also must remember how well he played in his two-game cameo the season before. He showed a ton of intensity, and that’s a quality Buffalo may instead look for if they need someone to fill the lineup for the time being.
Rousek is once again having a good year in Rochester, sharing the team lead in points with Isak Rosen at 26. He has seven goals on just 29 shots on net, good for a 24.1 shooting percentage. Rousek has also made his presence known on the man advantage, sinking three goals when the Amerks are on the power play.
Should Rousek get the call-up and we see the same player from 2022-23, he still won’t be the ideal fill-in for a lineup that doesn’t contain Quinn. But the Buffalo Sabres will at least know they have an adequate fix.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference and theAHL.com)