With trade speculation swirling about Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens, 20-year-old Jiri Kulich impressed coach Lindy Ruff on the first line. Conor Garland and Jiri Kulich [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEyMjk5NDg1MzExNjczOTg0/usatsi_25241834.jpg] Conor Garland and Jiri Kulich If you’re surprised that Dylan Cozens’ name has been popping up in trade rumors less than two years after the Buffalo Sabres gave him a rich seven-year contract extension, here’s the deal. Cozens finished the 2022-23 campaign with a solid 31 goals and 68 points, but he hasn’t maintained that production level. In 126 games since the beginning of 2023-24, he has just 28 goals and 70 points. His recent play has been no different: two goals and two assists over nine games in January, with a worrisome minus-10 rating. So even though the Sabres are currently shorthanded up front with Ryan McLeod, Jordan Greenway and Jason Zucker all on the sidelines, and even though Buffalo had lost three of its last four games heading into Tuesday night's clash against the Canucks in Vancouver, Lindy Ruff elected to start 20-year-old Jiri Kulich in the top-line center role, between Tage Thompson and J.J. Peterka [https://thehockeynews.com/lineups/atlantic/buffalo-sabres-projected-lineup-and-depth-chart]. Kulich seized the moment, earning first-star honors with a goal and two assists in an important Sabres win [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks/game-day/the-stats-behind-game-45-sabres-3-canucks-2]. “For him to answer the way he did tonight, for a young centerman, was pretty impressive,” said Ruff after the game. Cozens was all but invisible. His three shots were all from distance, and his line with Alex Tuch and Tyson Kozak generated just seven chances at 5-on-5, according to naturalstattrick.com [https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20242025&game=20755&view=limited], while surrendering 11. Kulich, Thompson and Peterka drove the bus for Buffalo, with 27 chances-for and just nine against. And while a 9-for-20 night in the circle might not look especially impressive at first glance, Kulich was matched up against Vancouver’s faceoff ace, J.T. Miller, for much of the night. And timing is everything. Twice, when he was called to take draws after icing plays, his wins quickly led to goals. In the first period, Thompson opened the scoring by firing a wrister past Thatcher Demko to open the scoring. The game-winner came in the late stages of the third when Peterka hammered a one-timer from a Rasmus Dahlin feed after Kulich won the draw. In between, Kulich picked up his eighth of the year by beating Demko after being left all alone in front. “He isn't afraid to go to the net and work hard,” Peterka said. “That's why it's so fun to play with him.” After cracking Buffalo's opening-night lineup after spending the last two seasons with AHL Rochester, Kulich was healthy-scratched in four of Buffalo’s first 11 games. When he did play, it was mostly on the wing. But by late November, Kulich was starting to take some draws — and showing Ruff that his speed was a valuable asset. His first offensive breakthrough game came on Dec. 23, with two goals and an assist as the Sabres snapped their 13-game winless skid with a 7-1 win on Long Island. He then continued to gain his coach’s confidence until a lower-body injury knocked him out for four games. Now, he has picked up where he left off. “He's proven now that he can play in the middle, and he can carry the puck through the neutral zone,” Ruff said. “He can win key faceoffs for us and defensively, he's been real strong.” Tuesday's game offers Ruff some hope that he has assembled a line with good chemistry that will give his group something to build on as its western road swing touches down in Calgary on Thursday and Edmonton on Saturday. That leads back to Cozens. While GM Kevyn Adams has refuted the trade chatter around the 23-year-old pivot, he did the same last year [https://thehockeynews.com/news/nhl-rumor-roundup-the-latest-on-j-t-miller-dylan-cozens-and-brock-nelson-] before he moved Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado. And while Sabres fans have hated seeing former players, such as Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, realize their full potential after leaving Buffalo, that trend must have rival GMs now wondering what they might be able to extract from a player like Cozens in a new environment. As the NHL trade deadline draws nearer, the chatter will likely heat up. If Kulich can continue to stake his claim on Buffalo’s No. 1 center job, he’ll make it that much easier for Adams to listen when those trade proposals come in. 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