BUFFALO – Instead of judging Sabres rookie Jiri Kulich on the 14 minutes he nervously skated Saturday in Czechia, his home country, coach Lindy Ruff thinks back to the youngster’s recent exploits in the Prospect Challenge tournament.
“He’s looking at this (as it’s) my first real shot, there’s some nerves,” Ruff said of the forward’s second NHL game. “What I saw in Prague wasn’t the real Kulich. What we saw in that prospect camp showed me that this kid is going to be a good player in this league, with … the way he shoots, the way he skates.
“He’s a physically strong kid, and admittedly, when I talked to him, he felt a lot of different emotions playing in front of his fans in that country. You got to understand that with a young player. It was his first kind of look at it. You move by that.”
Kulich, 20, will have another chance in tonight’s home opener against the Los Angeles Kings in KeyBank Center. Ruff said the concussion Sabres winger JJ Peterka suffered in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils will sideline him tonight. Ruff anticipates winger Zach Benson will return from his lower-body injury.
Ruff said Benson, who missed Saturday’s game, is officially a game-time decision.
“I anticipate him being good,” Ruff said following this morning’s optional skate. “We’ll dress an extra guy for warm-up.”
Counting Benson, the Sabres have 12 healthy forwards.
With Benson out Saturday, Kulich, a natural center, moved in and skated at left wing alongside center Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn.
Having scored 51 goals for the Rochester Americans over the past two season, Kulich established himself as an elite AHL talent. Even practicing in the NHL can buoy the prospect’s development.
“You practice against NHL competition, you get better,” Ruff said. “If you put the time in, you can get better. There are times when lesser the competition, you get away with more stuff. But he understands how hard the competition is here compared to sometimes what he will face in the American League.”
Ruff said he spoke to Kulich about some of the “great plays” he watched throughout the Prospects Challenge and even in recent practices.
“Some of the times he’s going down on the rush and the puck is off his stick in a split-second,” he said. “So you look at those and you say, ‘That’s a player that I know you can be.’”
