Amerks leading scorer selected by Czechia for tournament starting December 26th in Sweden
Amerks leading scorer selected by Czechia for tournament starting December 26th in Sweden
The Buffalo Sabres potentially could have six prospects playing in the upcoming 2024 IIHF World Junior in Gothenburg, Sweden later this month. Team Sweden picked Sabres 2022 first-rounder Noah Ostlund and 2023 second-rounder Anton Wahlberg to their club’s preliminary roster.
2022 top pick Matthew Savoie and 2023 fifth-rounder Scott Ratzlaff were selected by Hockey Canada for Team Canada's preliminary roster last week, Slovakia chose Buffalo’s 2023 second-rounder Maxim Strbak, and on Tuesday, Czechia named Sabres 2022 first-rounder Jiri Kulich to their roster.
The 19-year-old center was selected 28th overall at the NHL Draft in Montreal and is a veteran of two previous World Juniors. In 14 career WJC games, Kulich has 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) and led Czechia in scoring with nine points last January.
Kulich played as an 18-year-old in the American Hockey League and posted 24 goals as a rookie with the Rochester Americans, as well as seven goals in 12 Calder Cup playoff games. This season, the young center is leading the Amerks with 19 points and is second in the AHL with 13 goals, which earned him a promotion to the NHL earlier this month.
Kulich was allowed to participate in last year’s WJC while playing in the AHL, which would indicate that he will be free to play for Czechia later this month. It appears that chances of Zach Benson being a late addition for Team Canada are virtually nil, since forwards Jordan Greenway and Zemgus Girgensons are injured and the 18-year-old winger is playing on the Sabres top line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.
Finland announced their preliminary roster earlier this week and Buffalo’s 2022 second-rounder Topias Leinonen was not one of the three goalies chosen. The 19-year-old was projected as a potential selection but was recently demoted to the second-level Mestis league.
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