AMERKS ROOKIES MAKING MASSIVE STRIDES IN THEIR DEVELOPMENT
Jan 6, 2023By Suzie Cool
Tonight marks game 30 of the Rochester Americans’ 2022-23 campaign as they take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the second and final time this season. While the Amerks sit at a sweet second place in the North Division with a 17-10-1-1 overall record, it’s about that time of year where we’re going to begin to see younger players taking that next step in their game.
That next step starts with the relationships the players have forged with one another and the Amerks coaching staff.
“This is about the time of year, I think, that you feel like as a coach that you really know your team,” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert when asked how well he knows his team at this point in the season. “You know who you are collectively, you're starting to build that collective identity, but you also know the individuals. It takes time to build relationships and build trust with each other. I think that I've had enough opportunity now with our veteran players, but also with our new rookies, to have forged relationships with all of them so you can have the hard conversations sometimes necessary to help them grow as players.”
Those hard conversations are what’s turned the Amerks rookie forward group into some of their most dependable players.
On the current Amerks roster there are five rookie players in forwards Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen, Filip Cederqvist, Aleksandr Kisakov and Tyson Kozak, all of whom have had made massive strides in their game from the beginning of the season.
When the rookies can begin to blend their creativity with their habits, that’s when things really start to click for them in the American Hockey League.
“What we’re looking to see from those five rookie forwards right now is the blend of their skill and their playmaking and their creativity with the habits that we've been trying to get them to have in their game so they can consistently be elite players at this level,” Appert said when asked how this group takes on the pressure and the big moments.
Here’s a breakdown of the Amerks five rookies and how they’ve each made progress on their development.
KULICH
Kulich is not yet back with the team from his stint at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, however, he still remains one of the Amerks scoring leaders with his six goals and 10 assists.
Kulich led his native Czech Republic to a silver medal after scoring seven goals and adding two assists along with a plus-10 on-ice rating in seven games. He finished the annual event tied for second in goals highlighted by a hat trick in the 9-0 rout of Austria and the overtime game-winner against Sweden to send Czechia to the gold medal game.
ROSEN
Rosen is yet another rookie who had the opportunity to represent his home country, Sweden, at the tournament. Sweden went on to place fourth in the annual tournament, while Rosen posted six points in seven games, including a pair of goals in the opening win over Austria.
He, too, remains among the Amerks scoring leaders with his three goals and 12 assists for 15 points. In his time with Rochester, Rosen has been challenged to win every puck battle, compete every shift and to do anything to win the puck.
CEDERQVIST
Cederqvist is someone Appert describes as making major improvements week-by-week.
Through 19 games this year, Cederqvist has posted 10 points on three goals and seven assists while adjusting to the smaller North American ice sheet. At 6-foot-3, Cederqvist is really beginning to learn how to use his frame by trying to create offense down below the net while continuing to be strong on the puck.
KISAKOV
Kisakov is one of the smaller players on the Amerks roster, listed at just 5-foot-10 and 150 pounds.
Despite his size, Kisakov is willing to pay the price to score. Appert says that Kisakov is always at the front of the net, in the slot and takes the pucks to the harder areas, which has paid off as the rookie has totaled six points in 23 games.
KOZAK
Kozak is a rookie who just doesn’t seem like a rookie because of the trust that he’s already earned from the coaching staff to be out on the ice in big pressure moments.
In 29 games, Kozak has posted just five points, but it’s his play away from the puck that is more impressive than his offensive output. Kozak plays hard, he’s one of the team’s top penalty killers, he’s physical, fast and will be on the ice in pulled goaltender situations.
Not a bad group of young talent to have in Rochester helping fuel the Buffalo Sabres pipeline. Luckily, there’s still 43 more games this season to help elevate their game even more and that starts with consistency in their habits.
“Now it’s about, ‘Do we do it every night?’, because that's what you need to be great.”
“You can’t be great one night and the next night, just okay – it's nine out of 10 times you got to be driving us to winning with your habits because your skills, some nights, the puck is not going to go your way, but your habits and your competitiveness can be there every night, and that's when the game really jumps,” finished Appert
Kulich and Rosen will not be in tonight’s lineup, however, Kozak, Cederqvist and Kiskov will be taking on the Phantoms with the rest of the Amerks roster. Puck drop at The Blue Cross Arena is slated for 7:05 p.m. with all the action carried live on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV. The contest can also be viewed locally on CW Rochester.