4 - Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich were once again a rockstar tandem
Okay, this article was supposed to be about five players, but there’s no way you can talk about Isak Rosen and Jiri Kulich separately. One reason is that I kept flip-flopping on where I wanted to put them before I thought to myself, “Oh well, the Sabres have enough NHL-caliber prospects that it wouldn’t hurt to put them both at No. 4.”
Let’s start with Kulich, who completed his second full season with the Rochester Americans, scoring 27 goals and 45 points amidst 57 games. While he registered one fewer point this season, his points per game increased from 0.741 in 2022-23 to 0.789 this season, and his better defensive play also likely helped create more chances either for himself or his teammates.
Rosen improved even more, reaching the 20-goal milestone in 67 contests and 50 points total. Like Kulich, his points per game improved from just 0.560 in last year’s regular season to 0.746 this season. Overall, both players showed immense improvement, but the question is whether they’re suited to play in the bottom-six in the NHL.
Both players have improved defensively, and there is a chance one of the two makes the opening day lineup and lines up at winger on the third line, alongside perhaps Peyton Krebs (assuming he’s back) and Zach Benson.