3 Rochester Amerks the Buffalo Sabers should bring up next season

With the Buffalo Sabers expected to lose up to four players to free agency before 2024-25, the team has some holes to fill. While the Blue and Gold could replace some of these departing athletes through the signing of new free agents, the Sabers could also address their roster needs by moving players from their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, to Buffalo.

Here are three Americans the Sabers could bring to the NHL next season.

The Czech forward had a solid season in Rochester, going 27-18-45 in 57 games. Kulich thought he would play with the Sabers last year, but the team’s managers felt he wasn’t ready and assigned him to the AHL. The center proved he had scoring abilities, racking up an impressive 45 points.

He didn’t fare so well in the playoffs, not scoring a goal in the Amerks’ playoff loss to the Syracuse Crunch. However, his overall numbers are excellent and as some observers have pointed out, Sabers winger Jack Quinn suffered a similar setback in 2022, with no goals and just two assists for Rochester in that year’s playoffs .

Center Tyson Jost is one of the Sabres’ UFAs who could leave before the start of next season. Jost, with just 10 goals for Buffalo over the last two years, is a forward Kulich could replace. The Sabers could keep Kulich in Rochester, as he is not an RFA until 2027. However, Jost’s departure from Buffalo is an opportunity for Kulich to prove himself in the NHL and his stats indicate he is ready.