Season in Review | Jiri Kulich

Every day through early May, Sabres.com will be recapping each player’s performance with all the numbers, highlights, quotations and content that tell the story of their 2024-25 season.

Jiri Kulich, C

62 GP | 15 G | 9 A | 24 P | -4

• Read previous Season in Review profiles here

Season at a glance

Kulich, on the heels of two productive seasons as one of the AHL’s youngest players, came to training camp in the fall with his sights set on making the NHL team. He was stronger, wiser, and ready to battle, having learned the importance of playing physical, defensively responsible hockey while shouldering top-line center duties in last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs.

The 20-year-old was a healthy scratch for Buffalo’s season opener in his native Czechia, but an injury opened the door for him to play in game No. 2. He totaled eight games before being sent briefly to Rochester in early November.

Kulich returned from that AHL stint 11 days later and never looked back, quickly gaining coach Lindy Ruff’s trust with his defensive play. By Nov. 23, he had moved from the wing to center and was chosen to be on the ice for an overtime draw in Anaheim, which he followed with his second NHL goal.

And, by season’s end, Kulich had earned the role of top-line center with Tage Thompson on his wing. He finished the year with 15 goals – all at even strength, which ranked fifth among NHL rookies.

“I could play them against other teams’ top lines and the production was still there on the offensive side,” Ruff said. “So, he basically made the decision for me, just with the way he played, how effective he was being.”

Number to know: 52.5

The Sabres owned a 52.5-percent share of shot attempts with Kulich on the ice at 5-on-5 this season – the third-best mark on the Sabres (behind Rasmus Dahlin and Zach Benson) and the fifth-best mark among NHL rookies.

That number is made more impressive by the fact that Kulich spent much of the second half alongside Thompson, matched up with opposing top lines. The Sabres outscored opponents 28-19 with Kulich and Thompson sharing the ice at 5-on-5.

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They said it

Jason Zucker on Kulich: “I think Kuli is an unbelievable player and he’s going to be for a long time in this league, and I think the Sabre fans should be extremely excited about him and this game. I think the one thing that gets overlooked with him more than anything else is just the matchups he had this year. Like, even going back to just a couple games ago, playing Toronto, I mean, he’s playing every shift against Matthews and Marner and Knies, and he’s doing a hell of a job with it. I think he is an extremely good two-way centerman, and I think he’s going to be a very good player.”

Thompson on playing alongside Kulich and Zach Benson: “They made it easy for me. They’re both two really hard-working kids that want to get better. I love playing with them. They work extremely hard. They have a good knowledge of the game. Both of them play both sides of the puck, they don’t cheat. So, for me it was a little bit of a privilege trying to play with them and help grow their game and I guess teach a little bit. They made it easy for me.”

What’s next

Kulich has joined Rochester for its Calder Cup Playoff run and scored a goal and two assists in the Amerks' three-game series sweep of Syracuse. Find more on that series here.

Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams explained the rationale behind having Kulich compete in the playoffs with Rochester rather than with Czechia at the IIHF World Championship.

“I feel that Rochester has a really good team and an opportunity to do something really special,” Adams said. “And my expectation for our players is that we're going to be playing into June, over the coming years, and I want our guys used to that. And I also think if there's a chance to win a championship and they go down and have success, I think that would be great for Jiri's development.”