TIED FOR THE TEAM'S SCORING LEAD, ROUSEK MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME EARLY ON
Oct 21, 2022By Suzie Cool
Through the first three games of the Rochester Americans 2022-23 season, forward Lukas Rousek is continuing on his stride from last season’s playoff run.
“Lukas is playing really good hockey right now," Amerks head coach Seth Appert stated when asked how acclimated and poised Rousek looks through the first three games.
After netting the game-tying marker in Wednesday’s matchup against the Belleville Senators, Rousek went on to post a two-point effort in the Amerks’ 4-3 overtime win — his first pro multi-point game. Rousek has already totaled four points on two goals and two assists for a share of the team’s overall scoring lead.
Appert isn’t shocked by this output, though: he saw how purposeful Rousek showed up at both Development Camp and Prospects Challenge this summer.
“[Rousek] seemed very purposeful when he showed up at Prospects Challenge. He just looked like he had an objective. He looked very driven, had an understanding of what hockey is like here, and then how to succeed within it.”
In his first full season with Rochester in 2021-22, Rousek appeared in only 19 games after recovering from an offseason injury, finishing with four points (one goal, three assists). Following the regular-season, Rousek went on to rank second among all Amerks rookies with two goals and finished third among all first-year players with six points in 10 Calder Cup Playoff contests during the Amerks’ run to the North Division Finals.
“I think the experience he got, even though last year was a hard year for him, the experience he got at the end of the season in games that were do-or-die for us and then in the playoffs gave him an understanding and also gave him confidence heading into the season,” continued Appert when discussing how well Rousek is doing to start the year.
Rousek was drafted in the sixth-round (160th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres and signed his two-year, entry-level NHL deal with the organization on Apr. 20, 2021. After his output in last year’s playoff run, and now his hot start to the Amerks 2022-23 season, Rousek is making a case for himself as to why he’s ready to make the jump to the Sabres this year.
“He put the work in this summer. He worked like a savage this summer to prepare himself to come in and have this start. Now, I think he's went, and in a short, short time – and it's a real credit to him – he's went from being a player that's in our organization to being a real, real NHL prospect that is knocking on the door of trying to get up,” finished Appert.
Rousek and the Amerks are back in action tonight as they continue their busy stretch of games while also seeking their third straight home win in the first half of a home-and-home series with the Syracuse Crunch at The Blue Cross Arena. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried live on 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.