Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres were down two defensemen thanks to cheap shots from the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. That was too much to overcome on Monday afternoon in an 8-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Sabres Prospects Challenge.
Jiri Kulich was expected to dominate this tournament and he did just that, scoring five goals and two assists for seven points.
I didn’t think Isak Rosen was as dominant as he should’ve been, but he did have five assists in three games.
Kulich played a lot of center in Rochester last season, and was, again, at center for this tournament. If he’s going to have any chance to make the Sabres, he’s going to have to play wing, which he’s OK with.
"I can, and to be honest, I don’t care if I play center or wing," said Kulich following Monday's loss.
Playing wing means winning battles along the wall, and we were seeing that throughout this tournament from the 20-year-old.
"That was the thing I was working on this summer, to be good on the wall, win the puck battles and be smart in the D-zone," Kulich said.
This year’s first-round pick Konsta Helenius had no goals and two assists in his three games this tournament. But for an 18-year-old, he showed tremendous poise and did a terrific job helping the Sabres kill off a 5-on-3 penalty kill on Monday. Some players tried to be physical with him, but he stood up for himself when he had to.
Noah Ostlund didn’t have a point in this tournament, but I was very much impressed with how he always seems to have the puck. And despite being smaller, he’s always in on the battles along the wall.
Defenseman Vsevolod Komarov has size, and can play at both ends of the ice. It looks like the Sabres have a good one here.
While there’s plenty to like with Komarov, Rochester Americans head coach Mike Leone believes there’s plenty to work with.
"It’s a big jump from major junior hockey in the Quebec League," said Leone following Monday's loss. "I think you see him in his zone, he has natural poise and ability to make plays. But away from the puck is where he’s going to have to mature and play the game faster. He’s competitive and ends plays, but it’s taking the next step of his stick detail and killing plays in the corner, and moving the puck a little quicker in the neutral zone. But overall, there’s a lot of tools there, and the ceiling is really high."
Overall, this group of young players listened to Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff when he spoke to them before this tournament started. He wants an organization full of players that are hard to play against, and willing to do the things necessary to win hockey games.
Buffalo did that with a relentless forecheck that produced an average of 36.7 shots per-game.
Final standings:
1.) Pittsburgh 3-0-0
2.) New Jersey 2-1-0
3.) Columbus 2-1-0
4.) Boston 1-1-1
5.) Buffalo 1-2-0
6.) Ottawa 0-3-0
Training camp for the Sabres starts this Wednesday, and then we get to see if Ruff can get through to the players that will make up the team this season.
