Why isn't Kulich up?

[Buffalonill]

Am I missing something 8 goals in 9 games with  11 points and hes 19 he  has out played this league .

Why are other Prospects getting the call when he's clearly the best? 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Buffalonill

[Pimlach]

He will be up soon. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

He is next on the list.  The nasty looking guy was brought up yesterday to instill fear in the hearts of the dastardly Flyers.  That did not work.  They have to try the next thing, which will likely be Kulich.

[Crusader1969]

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

He’s still learning the 200 ft game.  He’s currently Olofsson, they want him to be Tuch.  Or a smaller version of it. 

He is not Olofsson at all.  He is much more involved and built like a tank 

[Buffalonill]

6 minutes ago, inkman said:

He’s still learning the 200 ft game.  He’s currently Olofsson, they want him to be Tuch.  Or a smaller version of it. 

That's something I dont want to hear.

 

[Crusader1969]

15 minutes ago, inkman said:

Thanks.  I only have watched every game he’s played.  The point stands.  He needs to work on his overall game. 

I see the evolving Buffalo dude is going to do a deep dive into his game.     I don’t see a comparison to Olofsson at all, except for a lethal shot 

[Hank]

48 minutes ago, inkman said:

He’s still learning the 200 ft game.  He’s currently Olofsson, they want him to be Tuch.  Or a smaller version of it. 

I have a serious man crush on Kulich, but I don't watch Amerks games so I'll defer to you. That being said, you sure about that comp, I've never heard anyone say that. 

[LabattBlue]

Kulich, Rosen, Benson, Savoie, Johnson, Novikov, Biro, Murray, Weissbach, etc…

 

None of these guys are the answer to the Sabres problems currently.
 

Meanwhile, KA sits in his office staring at the pics of all his untouchable prospects and draft picks.  

[Taro T]

47 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

Kulich, Rosen, Benson, Savoie, Johnson, Novikov, Biro, Murray, Weissbach, etc…

 

None of these guys are the answer to the Sabres problems currently.
 

Meanwhile, KA sits in his office staring at the pics of all his untouchable prospects and draft picks.  

One problem (several actually, but one will suffice for now) that was very foreseeable was bringing Okposo back.  Completely understand why they did it - he's been a very good soldier, is a leader on the team, and he & management both wanted very much for him to be a part of the team that finally makes it back to the playoffs after so many years in the desert, and he was only about 16 games shy of 1k NHL games.

But he had clearly lost a step by the end of last season and there was no reason to believe he'd be good for more than about 20 games this year before he was completely spent.  Visions of Pominville's last season were clear all over this re-signing.

Getting absolutely nothing out of the 4th line (Girgenson's 2 goals not withstanding) this year is not helping them move towards the goal of playoffs.  Don't know how they fix this short of Kyle suffering (wink wink) an injury that puts him on IR for about 5 months, gives them opportunity to trade for what they should've brought in or at a minimum keeps Jost or Rousek in the lineup in his spot, and lets him come back to triumphantly play 8 minutes in their 1st playoff game before reinjuring (wink wink) himself again.

Would really like to see if having 2 viable wingers rather than just 1 would bring Krebs game at least back to what it was last year.  Not sure how many games he had prior to last year; don't believe this is officially his 2nd season, but it is his 2nd as a full time regular; and his sophomore slump is worse than Power's is.

[LabattBlue]

11 minutes ago, Taro T said:

One problem (several actually, but one will suffice for now) that was very foreseeable was bringing Okposo back.  Completely understand why they did it - he's been a very good soldier, is a leader on the team, and he & management both wanted very much for him to be a part of the team that finally makes it back to the playoffs after so many years in the desert, and he was only about 16 games shy of 1k NHL games.

But he had clearly lost a step by the end of last season and there was no reason to believe he'd be good for more than about 20 games this year before he was completely spent.  Visions of Pominville's last season were clear all over this re-signing.

Getting absolutely nothing out of the 4th line (Girgenson's 2 goals not withstanding) this year is not helping them move towards the goal of playoffs.  Don't know how they fix this short of Kyle suffering (wink wink) an injury that puts him on IR for about 5 months, gives them opportunity to trade for what they should've brought in or at a minimum keeps Jost or Rousek in the lineup in his spot, and lets him come back to triumphantly play 8 minutes in their 1st playoff game before reinjuring (wink wink) himself again.

Would really like to see if having 2 viable wingers rather than just 1 would bring Krebs game at least back to what it was last year.  Not sure how many games he had prior to last year; don't believe this is officially his 2nd season, but it is his 2nd as a full time regular; and his sophomore slump is worse than Power's is.

I was against bringing back both Girgs and KO from the minute the season ended.  Nothing I have seen in the first 11 games has changed my mind. 
 

Waste of 5 mil in cap space. 

[French Collection]

5 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I was against bringing back both Girgs and KO from the minute the season ended.  Nothing I have seen in the first 11 games has changed my mind. 
 

Waste of 5 mil in cap space. 

More so KO than Girgs. At least Girgs can skate.

KO is a smart guy, I would think he realizes he can’t keep up with the pace of play. After getting his 1000th game he should do the honourable thing and ask to be load managed.

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, LabattBlue said:

I was against bringing back both Girgs and KO from the minute the season ended.  Nothing I have seen in the first 11 games has changed my mind. 
 

Waste of 5 mil in cap space. 

Was fine with bringing Girgensons back.  Still am.  He is exactly what he always has been.  Defensively responsible (on a very irresponsible team), doesn't fight but does forecheck hard and will throw hits (on a team that doesn't do much of even that) that will chip in 10 or so goals while helping to keep the other team bottled up in its own end more often than not. 

Though we seem to be watching a 4 one-way offensive line team being built; league history says you need at least 1 defensively responsible line to keep the other team honest.  

Still expect that if the 4RW could skate better, that line would look a LOT better.

[Buffalonill]

44 minutes ago, LabattBlue said:

I was against bringing back both Girgs and KO from the minute the season ended.  Nothing I have seen in the first 11 games has changed my mind. 
 

Waste of 5 mil in cap space. 

But that leadership though 

[thewookie1]

With how Okposo is doing, I’m sort of curious if he’ll retire after hitting game 1000. He can’t possibly be happy with how he’s playing but to reach 1000 games is a serious accomplishment.

[K-9]

3 hours ago, inkman said:

He’s still learning the 200 ft game.  He’s currently Olofsson, they want him to be Tuch.  Or a smaller version of it. 

Having also watched them this season, I agree entirely that he’s a work in progress defensively, especially in his own end. Same with Rosen and Savoie. The young prospect with the best 200 foot game is Benson, imo. 

[Pimlach]

3 hours ago, Hank said:

I have a serious man crush on Kulich, but I don't watch Amerks games so I'll defer to you. That being said, you sure about that comp, I've never heard anyone say that. 

Well he does have 1K. 
 

Seriously, everyone here that watches him in Rochester loves the skill AND says he needs another year to develop his 200 ft game.  He is 19.   

Edited November 4, 2023 by Pimlach

[French Collection]

8 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

With how Okposo is doing, I’m sort of curious if he’ll retire after hitting game 1000. He can’t possibly be happy with how he’s playing but to reach 1000 games is a serious accomplishment.

I don’t think he will retire but I hope he scales back his games.

[klos1963]

1 hour ago, Buffalonill said:

But that leadership though 

it obviously isn't helping much.

[Pimlach]

20 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

With how Okposo is doing, I’m sort of curious if he’ll retire after hitting game 1000. He can’t possibly be happy with how he’s playing but to reach 1000 games is a serious accomplishment.

He has 5 games to go.   I don’t see him quitting in the middle of the season. I hope he stays because no one else deserves the C right now.  Platooning him makes sense though and should be done now.  
 

Who deserves the C is the next question.  

[Taro T]

53 minutes ago, thewookie1 said:

With how Okposo is doing, I’m sort of curious if he’ll retire after hitting game 1000. He can’t possibly be happy with how he’s playing but to reach 1000 games is a serious accomplishment.

Can't see any scenario where he walks away a week from Wednesday.  But, getting spelled a few games, can see that happen.  (Probably would only be 1 every 9 or 10 games; and personally would prefer it to be 1 every 2 or 3.)

[Buffalonill]

43 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

He has 5 games to go.   I don’t see him quitting in the middle of the season. I hope he stays because no one else deserves the C right now.  Platooning him makes sense though and should be done now.  
 

Who deserves the C is the next question.  

tuch

[Thorner]

1 hour ago, thewookie1 said:

With how Okposo is doing, I’m sort of curious if he’ll retire after hitting game 1000. He can’t possibly be happy with how he’s playing but to reach 1000 games is a serious accomplishment.

That would be an embarrassing way to do it. He won’t do that. The message there would be that he only played to get to an arbitrary number of games played, at the expense of his team. For which he is presumably captaining 

lmao

(that’s not @ you chewie just the optics)

(ok, I hope that’s what happens now)

[PerreaultForever]

2 hours ago, thewookie1 said:

With how Okposo is doing, I’m sort of curious if he’ll retire after hitting game 1000. He can’t possibly be happy with how he’s playing but to reach 1000 games is a serious accomplishment.

2.5 million reasons to keep playing.

[Crusader1969]

4 hours ago, inkman said:

Let me reword it. He’s currently relying on his shot for 90% of his goals. He plays a more diverse offensive game than Olofsson but because so many of his goals are coming via his shot, particularly at the right face off dot, his game resembles Olofsson.  
 

Does he forecheck better? Yes.  Does he have more skill than Olofsson. Almost certainly.  What I see more often than not is a shooter, not a creator.  He needs to work on his overall game, offensively and defensively. 

It’s not even close.  

I’ll grant you that he has just as lethal a shot as Olofsson but I don’t see much else that resembles him

the Rosen goal tonight is case in point.   That’s a highly skilled playmaker right there. 

 

[RochesterExpat]

4 hours ago, inkman said:

Let me reword it. He’s currently relying on his shot for 90% of his goals. He plays a more diverse offensive game than Olofsson but because so many of his goals are coming via his shot, particularly at the right face off dot, his game resembles Olofsson.  
 

Does he forecheck better? Yes.  Does he have more skill than Olofsson. Almost certainly.  What I see more often than not is a shooter, not a creator.  He needs to work on his overall game, offensively and defensively. 

100% agree with this.

The other issue I've noticed Kulich is his pace of play. He isn't consistent and that's common for his age. It's also weirdly something I've noticed more with European imports. He's already shown improvement over last season and he certainly improved during the course of his rookie year, but he still needs to mature in that regard. It's better for him in the long-term to play more minutes in Rochester than to play 9-12 minutes in a handful of games in the NHL as an injury call up. The pace of play impacts his complete game development as well.