Peterka set to break out, help Sabres end Stanley Cup Playoff drought

JJ Peterka lists being drafted by the Buffalo Sabres, playing in his first NHL game and leading Germany to a silver-medal finish at the 2023 IIHF World Championship as his top three moments in hockey.

The 21-year-old forward has a fourth moment in mind he plans to add this season.

Helping to lead the Sabres into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a feat they haven't achieved since 2011 and the longest active postseason drought in the NHL.

"We know we can make the playoffs," Peterka said. "We have such a young and good team. We have everything to make the playoffs."

They will try for their first win of the season on Tuesday when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at KeyBank Center (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN).

Peterka, selected in the second round (No. 34) of the 2020 NHL Draft, is a big part of it. He has all the tools to become one of the League's top breakout players this season after he had 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 77 games as a rookie last season.

"He's going to break out at some point, there's no question," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "There's too much talent there and he continues to absorb, grow and mature. Guys his age, you just see the growth day by day, week by week."

Peterka clearly took a big step last season, learning the NHL game, understanding the grind of an 82-game season, how his body reacts and what he needs to do to make sure he's ready to play.

"At the start it was like, 'Oh, we're going there, and then there,' and I had basically no clue," Peterka said. "But I became more of a pro to know what's going on. I didn't have to ask the guys too many questions at the end compared to the start. It was just a little bit slower and more of a feeling of how everything works."

He took an even bigger step in his growth and maturation as a player with his performance at the World Championship.

Germany, an underdog going into the tournament, lost its first three games to Sweden, Finland and the United States, each by one goal. It then ripped off six wins in a row, including a 4-3 overtime victory against the U.S. to reach the gold-medal game.

Canada defeated Germany 5-2 for the gold, but Peterka finished with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 10 games, tied for second among all scorers, and was named the tournament's best forward. Germany medaled at the Worlds for the first time in 70 years.

"I got a front-row seat to see him kind of take ownership," said Sabres forward Alex Tuch, who played for the United States at the Worlds, "and not become overconfident or anything like that, but really grow into his own game, really embrace his style of play, and his ability to go in and dominate, honestly. He was able to do that at Worlds. And then I saw some videos and I was chatting with him throughout the summer. I saw how seriously he was taking his development and his off-ice work, and he came in healthy.

"I think he sees an opportunity ahead of him and, honestly, I think he's going to really embrace it."

The signs are there in Buffalo.

Though the Sabres (0-2-0) have not gotten off to a quick start to the season, Peterka scored Buffalo's first goal of 2023-24 in a 5-1 season-opening defeat to the New York Rangers on Thursday.

Granato said there was a buzz in the coaches' office about Peterka when he returned to town last month because of how different he looked physically and the confidence he exuded.

"But that’s just an indicator of how young he was entering the NHL, which obviously is a testament of the skill," Granato said.

Tuch said he noticed Peterka's skill in the tournament, saying he "toned it up" to have his skating match his hands, creating "more of a correlation and a kind of fluidity" to his game.

Tuch said it was even more noticeable skating with him as opposed to playing against him four months earlier.

"Fast as ever," Tuch said of Peterka's hands. "I almost have to tell him to slow down because he's stickhandling so fast out there, which is really good to see. But you see he's hungry."

Confident, too.

"I know exactly from Game 1 this year what to do and what could happen," Peterka said. "I can take the next step."

If he does, maybe the Sabres will, too.

"His ceiling, I don't think he's even come close to scratching the surface of what he can do," Tuch said. "The sky's the limit for JJ."

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers and NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report