Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - With the 28th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres selected forward Jiri Kulich from HC Energie Karlovy Vary in the Czech Extraliiga.
Buffalo acquired the 28th selection in the 2022 draft from the Florida Panthers as part of the Sam Reinhart trade during the 2021 NHL Draft. Also coming back as part of the deal was goalie prospect Devon Levi.
The Kadan, Czechia native played a large majority of his 2021-22 season in his home country's top professional league with HC Energie Karlovy Vary. In 49 games played, Kulich had nine goals and five assists for 14 points. Along with his play in the domestic leagues, Kulich played 16 total games at the U-18 International level with Czechia, where he excelled with 17 goals and five assists for 22 points.
The 6-foot center has earned himself two interesting awards early on in his career, both coming during the 2022 IIHF U18 World Championship in Germany. Kulich was not only named as a member of the tournament's All-Star roster, he was named the tournament MVP after leading the event with nine goals.
When it come's to speed, it appears Kulich has it. Elite Prospects had this to say about the center:
"The Czech forward is moving in every direction on the ice with great speed, using boards for sneaky maneuvers and he was far the best skater on the ice in every game I have seen so far. He worked smart with the boards with either sending the puck out of the defensive zone or just making a pass. Zone entries also didn’t seem like a problem for him."
Kulich is set to return to the Czech Extraliiga next season and continue his play back home. He's also likely to represent Czechia this summer in the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Related
The Sabres' next select comes in Round 2 of the 2022 NHL Draft with the 41st overall selection on Friday.
