3 Sabres prospects who must be on the big club now that the season is all but over

Jiri Kulich hasn’t been scoring, but he’s been playing excellent hockey

Goals matter, but just because a top-end player like Jiri Kulich hasn’t been scoring lately, it doesn’t mean they aren’t excelling in other avenues. Kulich has just three goals this calendar year following what was a sensational start to his second season with the Rochester Americans, but don’t mistake this for lack of productivity. 

In that same frame, Kulich still has a respectable 12 points and nine assists, but putting up what were once a pace to be sensational fantasy hockey numbers as far as the AHL is concerned is no longer the case with Kulich. He’s instead learned how to be a solid contributor in all three zones, and that would make it interesting to see how things would translate if he had a few games in the NHL. 

Kulich won’t be that same type of three-zone player at the game’s highest level should he get another chance this year. But it would be a measuring stick for the 19-year-old. 

This isn’t the type of move you make had the Sabres won their previous two games. But given the current circumstances, throwing a player who has evolved his game into the lineup will immensely help the entire organization get a better idea of where he’s at and if he’s ready to make a full-time jump sooner rather than later.