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JIRI KULICH: SEASON IN REVIEW

Jun 28, 2023

Forward Jiri Kulich had an outstanding rookie year with the Rochester Americans. It was his first season playing in North America, and he struggled to find his footing a little bit to start the year. "The first two months, for me, were so hard," he said in his end-of-season interview.

"But everyone in the locker room helped me, and that's why I enjoyed hockey this year." Kulich started the season with six goals and 10 assists before the holiday break. He was the first Amerk to hit the 20-goal mark on the season, hitting the milestone on March 26.

He also reached the 40-point mark that game with an assist. Kulich finished the season with a team-high 24 goals, including nine on the power play, and recorded 46 total points. 

"We're all impressed with Jiri," Amerks head coach Seth Appert said mid-May. "I think that it's a by-product of the work he's been putting in, especially in the second-half of the season."

"His habits, the maturity to his game, competing for the puck, those things started to take off at a high level and his offensive numbers went with it."

Appert has always said one of his biggest focuses with young forwards is to get them to buy-in to the defensive side of their game. The better defense they play, the more offense they'll get. And Kulich fully bought-in this season.

"I think I improved the most in the D-zone, my physical game," he said. He also said that he thought he became a better shooter: "Early in the season, I didn't know how to change the angle. I was in the shooting room with [Isak Rosen], trying to be a better shooter."

Kulich and Rosen pushed each other all season long, always making the other better. "I wanted to be better than Rosey, and Rosey wanted to be better than me," Kulich laughed. "I think that's why we improved so much."

The two also bonded off the ice, often sitting next to each other on the bus to road games. "We're just talking the whole way," Kulich said, which also helped his English improve throughout the season. "He's a European guy, too, so if I don't know how to say some word, he just knows it."

When asked about what they talked about? "Just about life, about hockey, about everything. Rosey is such a good guy and such a good player."

Kulich was named to the inaugural AHL Top Prospects Team, comprised of a player from each position who is most likely to succeed in the NHL. "He's been growing all year, every day, it's amazing," goaltender Malcolm Subban said of Kulich.

"His shot has always been great, but it's the other parts of his game that are really coming together. His confidence to be able to skate with the puck through the neutral zone, hold onto it, and make plays, has been growing every day. It's amazing to see."

After missing the first two postseason games against the Syracuse Crunch, Kulich scored a goal in six-straight Calder Cup Playoff games. He added four assists in that span, and helped fuel the seven-game win streak for Rochester.

His six-game streak was the AHL's longest goal-scoring streak in the postseason and the most since Peter Holland did so in the 2014 playoffs. He also became the first rookie to score a goal in five-straight playoff games since Brendan Ranford in 2014.

Kulich was electric to watch in the playoffs, but it was truly his versatility that made him such an important asset to the team's long-term success. "His versatility has been huge," Appert said when he moved Kulich back to center.

"What a job he's done there as an 18-year-old. To give us the quality of games — and it's probably getting close to 20 to 25 — and with the injury and depth issues we've had at center, we'd be in big trouble if he wasn't able to do that."

The future is bright for Kulich, who will return for Rookie Camp ahead of Training Camp in Buffalo next fall. And maybe, just maybe, next season, he'll get his driver's license.

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