One of the big questions for the Buffalo Sabres entering this season is what Jiri Kulich might be able to provide to this team. It has been almost an entire year since he played in an NHL game after it was discovered that Kulich had blood clots.
While it's been a while since he has skated in front of fans, one person who has seen him skate recently is Radim Mrtka, who spoke with the media on Friday before the Prospect Showcase and said Kulich looked amazing.
"He looked amazing," Mrtka said. "I am really excited for him because he had a really tough year but he is an outstanding hockey player so I am pretty sure he will be back even stronger."
Radim Mrtka trained with #Sabres center Jiri Kulich this summer in Czechia and gave him a strong review: He looks amazing. pic.twitter.com/VmyLgAMIHJ
— Rachel Lenzi 💁🏻♀️😎💥 (@rachelmlenzi) September 11, 2026
This is not the first person with the Sabres to share this opinion on Kulich, as head coach Lindy Ruff also said he looked really good since returning to Buffalo.
Jiri Kulich could be the biggest difference maker for the Buffalo Sabres this season
With training camp right around the corner, Jiri Kulich will get a chance to show everyone else how good he looks. The former first-round pick was a pivotal player for the Sabres in the second half of the 2024-25 season and was the center on the top line with Tage Thompson.
Coming out of training camp last season, he wouldn't hold onto that spot, and Josh Norris would be the center on the top line. However, Norris suffered an injury in the first game of the season, and Kulich was right back in that spot.
In the 12 games he played, he finished with three goals and two assists.
Entering training camp, Kulich once again will be competing with Norris for that spot, but he won't be the only player. The Sabres have several centers who could win that spot with players like Noah Ostlund and Konsta Helenius available, or the coaching staff could elect to keep Thompson there instead of moving him back to the wing.
If Kulich is going to win that spot, one area that he will have to improve is at the faceoff where he had a 45.5% faceoff win percentage in 2024-25 and only 41.7% last season. The Sabres as a team struggled in this area and, in fact, were the worst team in the NHL as a team on the faceoff at 45.9%.
Regardless of where Kulich lines up to begin the season, he has the chance to be a big boost for the Buffalo Sabres, especially if what Radim Mrtka and Lindy Ruff has seen translates to the ice.
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