Prospect Info: C/W Jiri Kulich, 28th Overall, 2022 NHL Draft; Recalled 11/15/2024

[Old Navy Goat]

The thing is, he lit up the world juniors and his tape speaks for itself, so why on earth did he fall to 28? I mean you look at Kimell who in his own right has a really beautiful shot, but his skating is questionable. You're telling me Kulich cannot snipe and isn't a more proficient skater. The only thing I can assume is because he was lighting up the Czech league and not Liiga.

It's simple the Czech league isn't very strong so prospects are taken with a grain of salt. His U18 showcased his shot but a weak tean hampered his play making. Also the U18 had him at wing though he played C in the Czech league. Basically it was a perfect storm for him to drop

 

[Ace]

The Czech league is a defensive heavy league. It deflates everyones scoring numbers. Playing 12 plus a night in that league at his age is impressive.

 

[Chainshot]

The thing is, he lit up the world juniors and his tape speaks for itself, so why on earth did he fall to 28? I mean you look at Kimell who in his own right has a really beautiful shot, but his skating is questionable. You're telling me Kulich cannot snipe and isn't a more proficient skater. The only thing I can assume is because he was lighting up the Czech league and not Liiga.

There was some talk of how his game evolved over the course of the season - that he figured out how to get his shot off in better positions, faster got better vs. Kemell who started off the year finishing in the Liiga.

 

[Ace]

Kemell, as Ive mentioned before, is one of the most frustrating prospects to figure out. I’m not surprised by his drop because you have to really believe some things without really being able to know. How much did his injury during the season cause his regression? How many pucks he fired that weren’t the best ideas went in anyway when he was healthy? I like the way he plays and he has elite shots…but with it goes just some of the worst shot selection combined with a good deal of puck luck to get those totals. He’s a definite first round talent and can become a star for sure. But its not an outcome I ever feel comfortable betting on because there are so many asterisks on everything he’s done both good and bad. Do you try to coach the volume shooting out of him? With the quality of his shot maybe you don’t. But he is probably the biggest candidate for long anguishing goal droughts in the top of this draft. I preferred Lekkerimaki because he also has the elite shot quality but finds open ice before he uses it and just takes shots from better areas. But also not as many.

Like I said he’s frustrating and maybe he will be an elite goal scorer. It’s in his range of outcomes. But he is also as likely to be a guy who you don’t know if you’ll see him for a month.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

I’ve been very critical of our front offices team-building philosophy, but it does appear that they are quite good at drafting. (hopefully I’m wrong about the team building thing- not looking to argue that point for the 100th time).

I hope we stumble into a “late 90s/early 2000s” Sens scouting team. That teams ability to uncover useful people all over the draft board was excellent.

To boot, they’d also get rid of players before they fell off a cliff and were no longer useful.

 

[Irie]

I hope we stumble into a “late 90s/early 2000s” Sens scouting team. That teams ability to uncover useful people all over the draft board was excellent.

To boot, they’d also get rid of players before they fell off a cliff and were no longer useful had to pay premium salary costs.

Fixed

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Fixed

Nah. That was mid-2000s to now!

 

[Irie]

Nah. That was mid-2000s to now!

The NHL instituted the cap after the 2004 lockout, and with it the cap floor, (I remember people joking the floor was the Ottawa rule )

In the late 90s Sens payroll was always less than half of the top teams and right near the bottom of the league. I don't think they ever even hit the median league payroll prior to the cap floor, did they?

 

[MarkusKetterer]

The NHL instituted the cap after the 2004 lockout, and with it the cap floor, (I remember people joking the floor was the Ottawa rule )

In the late 90s Sens payroll was always less than half of the top teams and right near the bottom of the league. I don't think they ever even hit the median league payroll prior to the cap floor, did they?

I dunno. But they found people like Petr Schastlivy, Martin Prusek, Jani Hurme and extracted so much value out of them before getting rid of them. It was amazing to watch

 

[KevSkillz4]

I really like Filip Mesar pick by Habs, but Kulich is a player that I wanted for Habs. I'm little jealous... you have such a amazing future with your young players and your great NHL draft 2022.

 

[Woodhouse]

 

[jc17]

Is it international law that all Nemec's are required to play RD?

 

[Chainshot]

Is it international law that all Nemec's are required to play RD?

Frantisek, part of the recent Czech U18 team - Frantisek Nemec at eliteprospects.com

 

[joshjull]

 

[Dingo44]

 

[TheMistyStranger]

I think a year in Cape Breton would make him NHL ready for 23-34. His hands and offense are so slick. Some adjustment to rink size along with strength and conditioning would be huge for his development.

 

[RefsIdeas]

I think a year in Cape Breton would make him NHL ready for 23-34. His hands and offense are so slick. Some adjustment to rink size along with strength and conditioning would be huge for his development.

Only potential worry about the Q is him getting into some bad habits offensively because his talent will be so much higher than others. He could end up scoring goals in ways that just aren’t translatable to the next level and create more of an adjustment period.

On the other hand, him lighting it up and gaining confidence + trying things that he may not be able to at the AHL or Czech league could be appealing as well. I could see an argument either way for the Q or AHL. Czech league seems like the least attractive option right now.

 

[joshjull]

 

[joshjull]

 

[Asymmetric Solution]

I think he’s the most NHL ready guy we have from 2022 draft. Fully expect him and Savoie to be graduating to big club in 23-24

 

[Dingo44]

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

I think he’s the most NHL ready guy we have from 2022 draft. Fully expect him and Savoie to be graduating to big club in 23-24

That Jawline also has superstar written all over it.

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

Few months old, but a pretty in depth review of Kulich. I completely forgot about this after we drafted him.

Something that really stuck out to me in his review is that the issues he found with Kulich's game are all easily fixed through development and training.

 

[RhinoFan]

Do we think Kulich projects as a winger or center out of curiosity?

 

[RefsIdeas]

Do we think Kulich projects as a winger or center out of curiosity?

Most likely wing. He doesn't really have the passing/playmaking of a center. Not that it's a requirement (Tage Thompson) but it's typically what teams consider when deciding where to put a player.