Kulich emerging as ‘top dog’ for Amerks

Immediately following the Buffalo Sabres’ regular season finale on April 17, head coach Lindy Ruff informed Jiri Kulich that he’d be rejoining the Rochester Americans for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Instead of representing his native Czechia at the IIHF World Championship, the 21-year-old center is playing top-line minutes with the Amerks – as he did with the Sabres this season – and experiencing the heat of the AHL postseason.

“I think the Rochester playoffs is more like (the) NHL,” Ruff said at his end-of-season press conference. “I’ve been at a lot of World Championships, and there’s good hockey. But sometimes you get on the big ice and it’s not near as intense, as physical as what you would face here. I think this prepares him.”

“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,” added general manager Kevyn Adams.

What was Adams’ message for the young center, whose 200-foot game quickly earned Ruff’s trust this season? Should his approach change as he returns to the AHL?

“The focus was just play my game,” Kulich said. “Compete really hard and just help the team win. I’m trying my best to do everything for this team.”

So far, so good. Kulich recorded a goal and two assists in the Amerks’ three-game sweep of Syracuse to open the playoffs. Beginning Wednesday, Rochester will take on the Laval Rocket – the regular season’s top team – in the best-of-five North Division Finals.

• Amerks vs. Rocket | Schedule, how to watch, and updated results

Asked about Kulich’s reacclimating to Rochester, head coach Michael Leone mentioned the relatively “messy” and “chaotic” style of AHL hockey and the adjustment to new linemates. Kulich, who no longer has the luxury of Tage Thompson at his side, feels he got up to speed as the Syracuse series progressed.

“I had confidence, but still it’s pretty hard to get back here,” Kulich said. “It’s different hockey, so it takes some time.”

Added Leone: “I think he really got going the second half of [Game 3] – I think he had 11 shot attempts. He’s buying into playing winning hockey. He was matched up against (NHL veteran Conor) Sheary’s line basically the whole entire series. He’s been really good.”

In Game 2, a 4-0 Amerks win, Kulich blasted home a power-play one-timer in the final moments of the second period to put Rochester ahead 2-0. The Crunch held a 15-6 edge in shots during that period, but Devon Levi’s excellence in net and Kulich’s insurance tally helped the Amerks seize a commanding series lead. The next period, his offensive-zone faceoff win produced a primary assist on Kale Clague’s goal.

“That’s when he’s gonna step up, in those moments, and it’s great to have him here,” said forward Isak Rosen, who played eight games with Buffalo this season.

Prior to the playoffs, Kulich’s only 2024-25 AHL action was a four-game stint in November. Compared to then, and compared to his 51-goal, 91-point output between the previous two campaigns, the Amerks now see a more complete, mature player thanks to his Sabres experience.

“Just the speed, and also he plays with more intensity all over the ice,” Rosen said. “He wins more battles and (is) just relentless on the forecheck. And also in the D-zone, good at ending plays – that’s been one thing he’s doing really good up there, and you can see it here now as well.”

Kulich echoed those details when asked about his growth this season, and in addition to those away-from-the-puck skills, he was tied for eighth among NHL rookies with 15 goals.

Amerks assistant coach Vinny Prospal has worked closely with his fellow countryman Kulich for years. These playoffs, Prospal believes, are a continuation of the 2022 first-round pick’s development as an NHL center – not a detour from it.

“(He) really went into the lineup with the Sabres, I would say, as a possessed man that wants to steal someone’s job,” Prospal said. “He did that.

“… This experience, when he was eligible to come down with us for the playoff run and be one of the leaders, be one of the guys that you expect to eat a lot of minutes and provide production, play in all key situations, I think it only can help him personally. Get him better, get him ready more for the next year. And obviously it makes our team that much better.”

Rochester had little trouble sweeping the Crunch, outscoring Syracuse 11-2 in the North Division Semifinals. But when the Amerks return from a nearly two-week hiatus to face Laval, which won six of eight regular season matchups, they’ll need all the help – offensively and defensively – they can get. Kulich appears ready to deliver.

“Do I think he can give us more? Yes he can,” said Prospal. “I do believe he’s just starting to be that top dog that we want him to be here.”