Five AHL Players Who Deserve NHL Auditions in 2023-24

The Sabres' Jiri Kulich, Blue Jackets' Nick Blankenburg and Canucks' Arshdeep Bains are just some players who deserve a look in the NHL once their teams need a call-up.

In any given AHL game, there are usually about four or five skaters that could tread water in the NHL. Of those players, there’s usually one or two that stick out above the rest in a given game. It’s those types of players that deserve an NHL audition.

The goalposts are constantly moving when compiling a list like this.

For example, some of the players on our original shortlist — Shane Wright, Ryan Winterton, Joel Kiviranta and Dustin Wolf — were recalled recently. The criteria for who ‘deserves’ an NHL audition is arbitrary, too.

All but one of these players we're examining has never played in the big leagues, but their respective 2023-24 campaigns have them knocking on the door for an NHL opportunity.

Heading into this season, Felix Robert was a prime breakout candidate.

Robert, 24, had been one of the AHL’s best middle six forwards over the last three seasons — combining for 81 points in 145 games while also posting a 59 Corsi-for percentage and 56 expected goals-for percentage during even-strength play, according to InStat data. Measuring out at 5-foot-9, Robert may be considered “undersized” on paper, but his compete level is off the charts. He’s a puck hound, and he’s got some stealthy skills, too, like Yanni Gourde.

In this year, the second and final year of his entry-level deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Robert has taken his game to new heights while playing in a top-six AHL role.

So far, Robert has 13 points in his first 12 games and is currently posting a 60 Corsi-for percentage and expected goals-for percentage, all while averaging 3:43 more ice-time per game than last year (17:23).

At this rate, Robert looks poised to become the Bolts’ next great undrafted forward signing. It’s only a matter of time before he gets an NHL chance.

The Buffalo Sabers desperately need a spark.

Since Nov. 1, Buffalo ranks 27th in goals-for per 60 minutes, according to naturalstattrick.com. And the matter is all the more pressing considering Tage Thompson is expected to be sidelined for the considerable future.

There’s no better time to recall Jiri Kulich.

Kulich — who The Hockey News ranked as the 40th-best U-21 player in our 2023 Prospects Unlimited Issue — has been on a tear this year, with 10 goals and 14 points through his first 14 AHL contests. It’s an impressive step forward for Kulich, the 28th overall selection at the 2022 draft, after a rookie season where he recorded 24 goals and 46 points in 62 AHL games last year. Since turning pro, Kulich has recorded 0.45 goals per game, which ranks him fourth among all U-20 AHL skaters from the past decade (minimum 30 games), according to AHLTracker.com.

The 19-year-old Czech sniper isn’t just a power-play weapon, with six goals coming during 5-on-5 play this year. He also ranks fifth among AHLers in even-strength scoring chances per 20 minutes (3.47), according to InStat.

Is Kulich a finished product? Probably not. However, with Buffalo giving Matt Savoie a freebie game before sending him back to junior last week, not to mention Zach Benson getting the opportunity to show his worth — it’s incumbent on Buffalo to reward Kulich for buying into the process in Rochester.

While his torrid scoring pace has slowed down a little bit, there’s no denying how refined of a player Arshdeep Bains is.

Sure, the 22-year-old undrafted forward has 17 points in his first 15 games with the baby Canucks (with all but one of those points coming in his first 10 games). But the real beauty of Bains’ game is his hockey sense — which played a part in him rebuilding his game from scratch as a rookie last year — and his compete level. Bains has been raising eyebrows ever since the rookie tournament. With each passing opportunity, be it at the Penticton tournament, during NHL exhibition play or in the AHL to start the year — Bains has come closer and closer to looking like an NHL regular.

“He’s an all around player. He’s one of our few players that plays both power play and penalty kill,” Abbotsford GM Ryan Johnson told Donnie & Dhali on Oct. 27. “He’s putting himself in a conversation to get an opportunity to play in the NHL.”

The Vancouver Canucks are contending, and they’re not about to just call a kid up because of a strong start in the AHL. But if an injury happens up front, the Canucks would be wise to see what they have in Bains. He’s earned a look.

Ryker Evans would be an NHL regular if there wasn’t a logjam on the left side of the Seattle Kraken’s blueline.

Last year, Evans, 21, established himself as one of the AHL’s best defensemen and ended the year off with a spectacular post-season performance – recording at a point-per-game pace in 26 playoff games.

The six-feet puck-moving defenseman is far from an offense-only defender. And that’s only been reinforced this year, and it started with how well he played with Adam Larsson in the pre-season while Vince Dunn was held out with an injury.

“I thought Ryker had an outstanding camp. I’m extremely happy with where he’s at,” Kraken coach Dave Hakstol told reporters after Evans was cut in training camp. “What he did, his body of work through training camp. The growth in one year … has been outstanding. He’s done all of the right things. He’s dug in with the people that are there to help him.”

In 13 AHL games this season, Evans has recorded six points and logged 22:57 minutes per night — 1:15 more than he averaged last year, according to InStat. His 58.9 Corsi-for percentage ranks 11th among defensemen who have played at least 80 minutes – an impressive feat considering he’s logging top pair minutes.

Nick Blankenburg is one of those instances where it’s not outlandish to suggest he’s too good for the AHL.

Blankenburg, 25, established himself as a useful second-pairing defenseman with the Columbus Blue Jackets last year — registering 14 points and 36 games while proving to be a useful player in all three zones.

But after Columbus acquired Ivan Provorov and Damon Severson, not to mention Jake Bean being healthy to start the year, the Blue Jackets had many defensemen and a shortage of spots. That's what led to the waiver-exempt Blankenburg being re-assigned to the Cleveland Monsters.

In 12 games with Cleveland, Blankenburg has recorded 10 points and driven offense at an elite rate, being on the ice for 1.20 expected goals per 20 minutes during even-strength play, which ranks 12th among defensemen.

Barring injuries, the only realistic way Columbus can give Blankeburg some NHL runway is by sending prized prospect David Jiricek down to Cleveland, which isn’t impossible. However, it’s unlikely to occur just for Blankenburg’s sake.

Columbus has been reportedly shopping around defensemen for quite a bit now, and Blankenburg is surely piquing the interest of NHL clubs — so perhaps a trade is what he needs to get back to the NHL.