Jumping into the NHL isn’t easy, but early this season, JJ Peterka hit the ground running. Expectations were high because he was coming off a huge season in the American Hockey League, but he looked great right away. He scored the first goal of the season on a beautiful play He remains a constant threat On the ice throughout October. After the first month of the year, his production decreased slightly. He wasn’t getting a lot of ice time, but he was still finding ways to be productive without being on the score sheet every night.
As the season went on, he had some struggles offensively. Sometimes to the point where he found himself a healthy scratch for Vinnie Hinostroza or Rasmus Asplund. Thankfully, the scratches weren’t for long, and he’s found himself a fairly stable home alongside Dylan Cousins and Jack Quinn as part of the Sabers’ “baby line.” Peterka is a prime example of what a successful rookie year can look like without racking up amazing offensive stats.
Petrka’s scoring game has matured well
Petrka’s rookie campaign saw him skate in 77 games; Scored 12 goals with 20 assists for a total of 34 points. While these aren’t exactly the numbers you would expect him to have at the start of the season, they are a good indication of where his skills are and where he can progress. His skills with the puck have room for improvement, but he was generally one of the better players to cause offense. He presses play in every area, doesn’t take shifts, and ultimately can create and finish scoring chances. His skills were put to very good use alongside Quinn and Cousins, and the chemistry these three displayed was electric.
Peterka has some of the best passing skills on the team, but also an underrated shot. He saw some time on the second Power-play unit late in the season and had some success there, so it would make sense to utilize him from a shooting position more often. His one-off timing isn’t the toughest on the team, but he’s accurate, and that will be something he’ll achieve next year as he looks to improve his scoring numbers.
Petrka Potential
Peterka has the potential of the top six forwards in the NHL, but the Sabers have plenty of potential crowding in that space. His role is likely to be a centre-forward using his highly offensive skills. That doesn’t mean he will be kept out of Cozens and Quinn, but due to Casey Mittelstadt returning at the end of the year, his ice time may suffer a bit in the long run. He is a playmaker first but has the potential to be a perpetual scorer with 20 goals on top of that if he remains a top six player. If he switches the lineup to the third line as his primary role, he could potentially be a 15-17 scorer and finish with around 40 points.
A player like him is a great asset to have with the sword because he can be placed on any line and relied upon to generate offense. He’s not big in the hitting category, but with the way Don Granato has developed some of his young scoring talents as Peyton Krebs, Peterka could easily add that element to his game for more value. The Sabers are fast first and a physical team second, but if Peterka wants to stand out, he may need to evolve his game to maintain his spot on the roster.
Final grades for Petrka
All around, he’s had a solid season, and that’s all anyone could ask of a 21-year-old rookie. While Peterka has the potential for more, he has never had a bad collection of toys that caused him to be left out for extended periods. His gameplay was good, his work ethic was better than most, and his chemistry with his teammates was some of the most fun to watch all year. With all of that in mind, his final grades would look like this:
- Scoring – B-
- Defense – C+
- Toy industry – a
- Driving – b
- Teamwork – a
Although he was never a massive defensive liability on the ice, he was never a huge positive defensive player either. Heading into next year, the Sword as a whole need to work on their defensive numbers, and if Petrka can become more responsible on his end, that would be just another big element added to his game. His ice time will improve, and he will be more relied upon in pressure situations. He’s about to be a very underrated player with a high-powered sword attack, and it’ll be exciting to see how he grows in the next year.
A look ahead to Petrka
The Sabers have so many young forwards on their roster and waiting in their prospect pool that it will be a battle because they are all fighting for ice time. Peterka certainly has an inside track on this one at the moment, as he’s already on the list, but that doesn’t guarantee him anything. Future talents like Matt Savoy, Isak Rosen, Jerry Kulich, and even Noah Ostlund will all be knocking on the door of the NHL next season looking to outdo everyone possible. While they are unlikely to take quality time off players like Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch or Cozens, there is a chance they could overtake someone like Peterka if they drop too much.
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In the long run, he has the chance to establish himself as a consistent, six-goal scoring threat in the centre. Five years from now, he’s probably still in a Buffalo uniform and has a shiny new contract to go with it, but I don’t see him staying around much longer than that if he breaks loose offensively. The Sabers have a locked core set and won’t be able to secure another high end contract for a leading scorer in that time period, so it ultimately comes down to his production. If Petrka has a massive season in the next two years and becomes a top-tier threat, he won’t be a long-term Saber, but if he continues to be the kind of player he is now, but with solid improvements, he’ll be a great deep option for the next five years or more.