“He moved light years. Kulich continues to dazzle in his twenties, the NHL is closer thanks to trades

Before the junior championship, he collected 24 points (16 + 8) in 23 duels at the Buffalo farm in Rochester.

However, after returning from Sweden in January, he scored only 12 times and scored only three times in 24 games.

“It was tough. I felt pretty good the first few games back, but then I felt like I wasn’t doing anything,” Kulich told Buffalo Hockey Beat recently.

But Rochester coach Seth Appert insists Buffalo did the right thing by releasing the 19-year-old Czech for the national team.

“We think the growth he went through as a leader there is more important than how tired he was on the way back,” the 49-year-old coach said.

For Kulich, it was the third championship of the 20s in a row. In the meantime, he also managed one world championship of 18. All this time, he played adult hockey as a teenager, either in the extra-league Karlovy Vary, or later for the farm team Rochester.

There, in the last regular season, he had a great performance with 46 points (24 + 22) in 62 races.

He’s picked up an even sharper pace this year, but due to a productivity lapse at the start of the year, he’s ultimately headed for similar numbers.

Accumulated fatigue could have caught up with him. But even if not, his new role on the ice certainly had an effect on him.

Last year, Kulich served primarily as an offensive weapon. He went for faceoffs in the offensive zone, often against weaker lines on paper. He was given a lot of space, but not too much, so he had enough power to attack.

This year, the Czech shooter is “squeezed” in every way. He spends a lot of time on the ice, faces elite formations and does not avoid playing in a weakened state.

“His overall game has moved on light years,” Appert told The Athletic online.

There can be no question of Kulich’s stagnation.

The Buffalo Sabers need the Czech forward, whom they drafted in the 28th position two years ago, to be able to do everything, so to speak.

Before, they might have dragged him to the NHL to grind and learn as he went. Now, however, they are in an advanced stage of rebuilding, and with one of the most promising teams in the league, they are chasing the playoffs. They want to win. And they only take the one who helps them with it.

“If you’re on the second third line, you have to give away points, play weak, get pucks, win faceoffs and be good going back. Otherwise, they don’t need you,” Appert described the current reality.

Kulich tries to do all of the above. In addition, in these weeks, he caught up with his former form – in the last seven races he achieved a record of 2 + 5.

“He’s been with us for two years and he’s never played better than he is now, he hasn’t even come close to these performances in the past,” noted Appert.

The improving Kulich could start next season in Prague, where Buffalo will play two games against New Jersey in the Global Series. So far he has played only one match for the main team.

The recent departures of competitors can also help him to continue his promotion. Buffalo said goodbye to forwards Kyle Okpos and Casey Mittelstadt before the trade deadline, in return they acquired running backs.

However, there are still plenty of contenders left for a club whose talent base The Athletic sees as the best in the NHL. Another Czech, Lukáš Rousek, is among them.