^ Posted by Patrick Williams
The National Hockey League’s general managers are eager for games like the Battle of Rochester USA on Sunday.
So do the players.
“It’s so much fun,” said Amerix Forward. Jiri Kulichwhose goal and assist in Game 4 on Sunday helped a 4-0 win over Rochester, setting up a decisive showdown in Saturday’s series at Syracuse.
when Kevin Adams He took over as general manager at Buffalo in June 2020, and made the development of the AHL a top organizational goal. fetch adams Seth Appert From the highly acclaimed USA Hockey National Team Development Program to take the head coaching position at Rochester, where he arrived with a reputation as one of the game’s finest teachers.
Kulich, a first-round tryout pick by the Sabers in 2022 who turned 19 last month, spent the season in Rochester. And also forward Isaac RosenBuffalo’s first player in 2021. The Amerks club last season featured AHL Rookie of the Year honors Jack Quinn and the AHL rookie scoring leader JG Petrka; They both now work full-time with the Sabers.
With Rochester facing elimination against Syracuse, Kulich’s power play goal with 4:39 remaining in Game 3 put Team America ahead for good in an 8–5 victory. In Game 4, he scored again on the power play on only Rochester’s second shot of the contest.
“Kolic and Rosen, I thought they were both great,” Appert said after Game 4.
Swords steadfastly pushed Kulich into more difficult situations. To start, they chose to bring the Czech-born player to North America to compete in the AHL at the age of 18 rather than stay home to play. They sent him to the IIHF World Junior Championships to compete for the Czechs against the top talent in his peer group; He won the silver medal and made the tournament all-star team.
Throughout the AHL season, Appert slowly apportioned ever-increasing responsibilities to Kulich, and that trust paid off. His 24 regular season goals was the second most by an 18-year-old in league history. He totaled 46 points in 62 games, tied for 11th among rookies in the league.
Rosen, who turned 20 in March, has had similar success. The 14th overall selection in 2021 recorded 14 goals and 23 assists in 66 games during his first season in the AHL.
But the Calder Cup playoffs are another level of play entirely. One such lesson came during the second intermission as Rochester still held a 1-0 lead in Game 4.
“That’s something we talked about going into third,” said Appert. “It does not prevent the defense. Don’t sit back. Mamoon death. Playing on our front foot. We play our best when we’re on the offensive.
So the Americans attacked. Lawrence Pilot Putting America ahead by two goals 3:06 into the period, Syracuse struggled to create much of a response.
“Now are you playing smart?” Appert asked rhetorically. “Yeah. Do you turn the puck when you have the lead in the third period? Yeah, those things are important, but we don’t want to be a team that sits in the back. We want to attack, and it was nice to see we did there.”
Appert used both Kulich and Rosen freely in the third period as the Americans attempted to wrap up the victory. They’ve earned that confidence, and experience is exactly what the Sabers want as they continue to develop talent in Rochester.
“I think it’s very similar to Petrka last year, similar to Quinn, the first 15, 20 and 25 games in this league are overwhelming for 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds,” said Appert. Then they get their bearings a little bit. They start to draw confidence out of their habits, and then they start to see that better defensive play and better habits actually lead to more offense.
“It was better defensively [Kulich] is, whenever he has a disc. The more disks he owns, the more special things he can do. He has a knack for the big moments. We watched the youth of the world. He is not afraid of the stage at all.
“I really liked the way Rosen responded last weekend. I really liked the way Kulich attacked.”
Kulich missed the Americus’ last regular season game as well as Games 1 and 2 in Syracuse due to injury, but the team made sure to make good use of that off-ice time. Watch the first hockey game live from the stands. They directed him to watch the Tampa Bay – Toronto Stanley Cup Series to take the required level at this level of the sport. Kulich knew he would need to use a more physical approach as well as make use of his speed. cracked shots.
Appert’s message to Kulich: “Don’t be a spectator. Don’t be a fan. Learn. There’s a lot of experience you have to absorb.”
Sitting at Syracuse, Kulish followed those orders.
“I saw [the Crunch] “They play a physical game and they want to eat the puck,” said Kulish. “I think it helped me.”
Now Kulich and Amerix have transformed that series. Rochester lost 0-2 after being eliminated in Game 2, putting themselves in a position to advance to the North Division Finals for the second year in a row.
They plan to be ready on Saturday.
“The qualifiers are the best moment of the season,” said Kulich. “That’s why we play.”
Patrick Williams has been in the American Hockey League for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, and SLAM! Sports, and she is currently the co-host of Hockey news on the “A” podcast. He was awarded the James H. Ellery Memorial Award from the AHL for his excellent coverage of the league in 2016.