Jiri
Kulich
C · BUF · Balanced · Below average
- PAL
- 33
- WAR
- 0.4
- Value
- 52
- PTS
- 24
2024-25№ 246 / 596
Jiri Kulich (Buffalo Sabres) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Jiri Kulich
#20CPlays: Centre · 73% of faceoffs
Buffalo Sabres
HEIGHT : 185 cm · WEIGHT : 88 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : April 13, 2004 · Kadan, Czechia
Drafted : 2022 · BUF · round 1, pick #28
Contract : $950,000 · 2022-23 → 2026-27 · Entry-Level Contract · RFA · Signing bonus $95,000
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Buffalo Sabres | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025-26 | Buffalo Sabres | 12 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2024-25 | Buffalo Sabres | 62 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 18 |
| 2023-24 | Buffalo Sabres | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NHL totals | 85 | 19 | 13 | 32 | 22 | |
Jiri Kulich: our analysis
2024-25 season: 62 GP, 15 G, 9 A, 24 PTS, -4 +/-, 14:48 TOI. WAR 0.4 (246th of 596) · PAL 33, below average.
In 2024-25, Jiri Kulich, 22, posts a PAL Rating of 33 out of 100 (below average), and his WAR of 0.4 ranks 246th among 596 regulars, in the top half.
His strengths: creation (84, well above average) and shooting (70, above average). On the other hand, power play (8, among the weakest in the league) and penalty kill (21, well below average) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: EV offense (+1.0); his biggest cost: EV defense (-0.7).
His WAR went from 0.0 in 2023-24 to 0.4.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 52 (fair value) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Jiri Kulich's story
Growing up in Kadaň, Jiří Kulich progressed through the youth system of Piráti Chomutov and other regional programmes, standing out early for his scoring touch in under-15, under-16 and under-17 competitions. His junior seasons are marked by steady point totals and frequent appearances in national youth cups, which put him on the radar of higher-level teams in the Czech system.
Kulich moved into professional hockey with HC Energie Karlovy Vary in the Czech Extraliga during 2020–21, while also spending time on loan with SK Kadaň in the 1. liga where he recorded his first professional point. The following season he established himself in the Extraliga with Karlovy Vary and produced the kind of offence that attracted NHL attention; ahead of the 2022 draft the NHL Central Scouting service ranked him 13th among European skaters.
Selected 28th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Kulich signed a three-year entry-level contract with Buffalo on 15 July 2022 and began his North American chapter soon after. He made his NHL debut on 25 November 2023 against the New Jersey Devils. Back home, his play was recognized with a Czech Junior of the Year honour in the 2023–24 season.
Internationally, Kulich has represented the Czech Republic at multiple age levels. He appeared at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship and returned in 2022 as the Czech captain, leading the tournament with nine goals and being named its most valuable player. He has also played at several World Junior Championships: the 2022 event was affected by unusual circumstances, while in 2023 he helped the Czech junior team win silver with seven goals and two assists in seven games, and in 2024 he led the team offensively with six goals and six assists to capture bronze.
On the ice, Kulich is best described as a goal-oriented forward: he profiles as an attacker who creates and finishes chances and who has handled significant offensive responsibilities for club and country.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 12:53
- PP TOI/GP
- 1:06
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:03
- Pts/GP
- 0.30
- EV points
- 3
- Hits
- 9
- Blocks
- 3
- Takeaways
- 0
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 49.7 %
- Off. zone starts
- 28.3 %
- Faceoffs
- 47.5 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
Prospect value
Scout Report Center →Rank
38
among all 32 teams' prospects
Rating
97/ 100
percentile among prospects at his position
Potential
70/ 80
First line or top pair
Ceiling: 10.8 WAR from age 21 to 26
NHL probability
83 %
of playing 200 NHL games from age 21 to 26
Expected WAR, age 21-26
4.8
the most likely outcome
NHLe
—
NHL points over 82 games, from 2025-26 (—, 0 games)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
16between 4 and 28 (80% range)
- Goals
- 8
- Assists
- 8
- Games
- 38
So far: 3 pts in 10 games. The team has played 17 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.46 pts per game (last season: 0.42).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
OV · OverallConfidence 51 %
65
Depth
- SK
- Skating
- 74
- Confidence 67 %
- ST
- Strength
- 68
- Confidence 56 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 68
- Confidence 50 %
- DU
- Durability
- 44
- Confidence 67 %
- CK
- Checking
- 71
- Confidence 56 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 77
- Confidence 31 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 78
- Confidence 56 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- 67
- Confidence 63 %
- PA
- Passing
- 66
- Confidence 51 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 78
- Confidence 51 %
- DF
- Defense
- 67
- Confidence 46 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 76
- Confidence 0 %
- EX
- Experience
- 44
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating74
- Top speed (35 %)35.3 · 61
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)8.275 · 83
- Distance /60 (20 %)17.1 · 89
- Speed consistency (15 %)34 · 56
ST — Strength68
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)3.326 · 67
- Body mass (50 %)-0.359 · 74
EN — Endurance68
- Ice time per game (45 %)14.9 · 75
- Total ice time (20 %)190 · 35
- Shift length (15 %)42.6 · 65
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)14 · 76
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)2.043 · 70
DU — Durability44
- Share of games played (100 %)0.567 · 44
CK — Checking71
- Hits /60 (70 %)3.664 · 74
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)3.5 · 77
- Season volume (10 %)2.303 · 47
FG — Fighting77
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.863 · 77
DI — Discipline78
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.027 · 78
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.618 · 76
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.776 · 76
FO — Faceoffs67
- Faceoff % (85 %)47.2 · 65
- Faceoffs /60 (15 %)39.8 · 76
PA — Passing66
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.546 · 67
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.385 · 67
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.063 · 78
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)3.202 · 44
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.435 · 72
SC — Scoring78
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.936 · 80
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)0.857 · 79
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)-0.08 · 77
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.178 · 71
- xG per shot (10 %)0.081 · 69
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)14.7 · 83
DF — Defense67
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)-0.027 · 69
- Relative xG against (20 %)0.102 · 67
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.748 · 67
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)-0.025 · 73
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-1.587 · 69
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)61.8 · 56
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)3.097 · 82
PS — Penalty shot76
- Shootouts (60 %)32.7 · 76
- Penalty shots (40 %)26.7 · 76
EX — Experience44
- Career regular-season games (65 %)61
- Career playoff games (25 %)0
- NHL seasons (10 %)47
OV — Overall65
- SC · Scoring (20 %)78
- PA · Passing (20 %)66
- DF · Defense (20 %)67
- SK · Skating (12 %)74
- FO · Faceoffs (10 %)67
- EN · Endurance (8 %)68
- DI · Discipline (5 %)78
- ST · Strength (3 %)68
- CK · Checking (2 %)71
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 65 | 74 | 78 | 67 |
| 2024-25 | 67 | 74 | 80 | 66 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2024-25
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
PAL Rating
33/ 100
Performance · Below average
280 of 451 at the position
Value Rating
52/ 100
Fair value
0.89 M$ · expected PAL 31
ProfileBalancedNeither end dominates
- Offense
- 57
- Defense
- 26
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 42
- Creation
- 84
- Shooting
- 70
- Possession
- 47
- Defense
- 29
- Discipline
- 38
- Power play
- 8
- Penalty kill
- 21
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
Hockey IQ, 2024-25
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
77/ 100
Very good
better than 77% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
62/ 100
Average
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
78/ 100
Very good
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 90 of 399 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 30
- Shot selection
- 46
- Penalties drawn
- 50
- Puck management
- 98
Defense
- Takeaways
- 74
- Discipline
- 58
- Safe zone exits
- 66
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
0.2
wins above replacement
-0.1 to 0.7 — 90% interval
310 of 615 forwards
+0.9 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +0.0
- EV defense
- -0.2
- Power play
- 0.0
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- +0.2
- Penalties
- +0.3
- Average → replacement
- +0.5
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | BUF | 12 | 0.2 | -0.1 to 0.7 | 310/615 |
| 2024-25 | BUF | 58 | 0.4 | -1.1 to 1.8 | 246/596 |
| 2023-24 | BUF | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 to 0.0 | 382/608 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 140.4 km/h81st percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 35.2 km/h52nd percentileleague avg. 35.2 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 2466th percentileleague avg. 21
- Offensive zone time
- 40.8 %37th percentileleague avg. 43.1 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 32.9 km28th percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 4.76 km59th percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 40.2 %33rd percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
- Neutral zone time
- 19.1 %89th percentileleague avg. 16.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 40.1 %45th percentileleague avg. 40.1 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 1335th percentile | 139th percentile | 7.7 %17th percentile |
| High danger | 539th percentile | 157th percentile | 20.0 %56th percentile |
| Mid range | 550th percentile | 054th percentile | 0.0 %32nd percentile |
| Long range | 153rd percentile | 092nd percentile | 0.0 %87th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
VGK
CBJ
PHI
MTL
FLA
DAL
MIN
CHIJiri Kulich: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Jiri Kulich have in 2026-27?
Jiri Kulich has 1 goal and 3 points (2 assists) in 10 games in 2026-27.
How old is Jiri Kulich?
Jiri Kulich is 22 years old: he was born on April 14, 2004.
How tall is Jiri Kulich, and how much does he weigh?
Jiri Kulich is 6'1" (185 cm) and weighs 194 lb (88 kg).
Where is Jiri Kulich from?
Czechia: Jiri Kulich was born in Kadan, Czechia.
What team does Jiri Kulich play for?
Jiri Kulich plays for the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL, at C, wearing number 20.
Is Jiri Kulich injured?
No: Jiri Kulich is not on the latest NHL injury report. This answer is updated throughout the season.
How good is Jiri Kulich?
Jiri Kulich produced 0.2 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 310th of 615 players at his position in the NHL.
How much does Jiri Kulich make?
Jiri Kulich carries a cap hit of $950K per season, on a contract worth $2.9M in total over 3 years.
When does Jiri Kulich's contract end?
Jiri Kulich's contract runs through the 2026-27 season; he will then be a restricted free agent.
Is Jiri Kulich a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 310th of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
How has Jiri Kulich played lately?
Over his last 10 games, Jiri Kulich has 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists).
What are Jiri Kulich's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Jiri Kulich has 85 games, 19 goals, 13 assists and 32 points. His best season: 2024-25, with 24 points in 62 games.
Where was Jiri Kulich drafted?
Jiri Kulich was drafted 28th overall (round 1) by Buffalo Sabres in 2022.
How does Jiri Kulich perform in the playoffs?
Jiri Kulich has not played in the NHL playoffs yet.
Is Jiri Kulich a good fantasy pick?
Probably not, except in deep leagues: our projection has him at 16 points in 2026-27, or 0.42 points per game.
What is Jiri Kulich's nationality?
Jiri Kulich is Czech. Internationally: Czech Republic — represented U18 and junior teams: 2021 IIHF World U18 Championship (4 games), 2022 IIHF World U18 Championship (captain, tournament-leading 9 goals, named tournament MVP), 2022 World Junior Championship (national junior team), 2023 World Junior Championship (silver medal; 7 goals, 2 assists), 2024 World Junior Championship (bronze medal; 6 goals, 6 assists).
What awards has Jiri Kulich won?
2022 IIHF World U18 Championship MVP ; Czech Junior of the Year 2023–24.
How many points is Jiri Kulich projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 16 points in 38 games in 2026-27 (4 to 28 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Buffalo Sabres teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)