🏒@HockeyBangers2026-27 projections

Overview

@HockeyBangers

2026-27 Projection

Jiri Kulich

BUF · Age 22.3 · 🇨🇿 Czechia · 5′11″, 172 lb · Draft 2022, 28th overall (BUF)
BUFteam
Cposition
104position rank
368skater rank
-1overall
-26offense
24peripherals
goals
18
assists
13
points
31
power play points
6
shots on goal
169
penalty minutes
27
hits
57
blocked shots
61

Value over replacement, based on 82 games played.
Ideal for H2H 12-team banger category leagues, 16 roster spots.

Per 82 GP2026-27projection adj2025-26thinH225-26H112 GPPrev 362 GP · 1y
TOI16.00––15.4714.79
PP TOI1.90––1.661.41
G18–––20
A13–––12
PTS31–––32
PPP▲6–––0
SOG169–––177
PIM27–––24
Hits57–––53
Blocks61–––48

Sample: 12 GP · 165 5v5 min (2025-26) — how much ice time backs these rates

Positional rankingCentre · league-wide (of 271)
101Ben Kindel0
102Yanni Gourde-1
103Justin Sourdif-1
104Jiri Kulich-1
105Peyton Krebs-3
106Parker Kelly-3
107Jordan Staal-3
offenseperipheralsvalue over replacement

Counts = projected deployment × projected /60 rate, per 82 GP. Rates regress off the process metric (ixG, shot-driving), not last year's finishing %. PP points = projected PP rate (anchored on the 2nd-half PP1 role, finishing regressed) × projected PP TOI.

Context-adjusted (▲/▼ vs the rate-model baseline): Healthy top-6 + PP2 bet (2025-26 lost to injury). PP rate read 0 off tiny samples, set a PP2-level PPP.

Similar & complementary players

Similar makeup Forward
Closest across all seven categories — match % is the whole-profile fit
Complementary Forward
Same position, opposite profile — strong where Jiri Kulich is weak or average, light where he’s strong
Profile shape — per-82 category values vs the league p99 for the position (same scale as the hero bars)
This player
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
the profile below
vs Similar
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
similar players hug the shape
vs Complementary
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
complements fill the gaps

Deployment

Deployment projection — next-year TOI & PP TOI vs the last two years (the role that drives every count)
Coaching
2026-27 · Lindy Ruff (BUF)
Last year: Lindy Ruff full season — no change
Metric26-27
proj		2025-26Prev 3Diff
TOI16.00n/a14.79
5v5 TOI12.48n/a12.48
PP TOI1.90n/a1.41
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  12 · 0 · 0 · 0
TOI*
3-yr 14.7915.47Q1Q2Q3Q4
5v5 TOI
3-yr 12.4813.80Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP TOI
3-yr 1.411.66Q1Q2Q3Q4
*Total TOI by quarter reconstructs 5v5+PP quarterly totals plus a held-flat season PK/GP — NST has no all-strength quarterly export. Level is accurate; quarter-to-quarter movement comes from 5v5+PP.
By season — year over year
TOI
16.0022-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
5v5 TOI
12.4822-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
PP TOI
1.9022-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

Shooting — volume & conversion

How much and how well he shoots — volume (SOG), finishing (% vs chance quality), and the individual shot-quality funnel (iCF ⊇ iSCF ⊇ iHDCF).

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj		2025-26Prev 3Diff
SOG/605.94n/a8.53
G/600.78n/a1.09
iSH%12.78n/a12.78
ixG/60–n/a0.97
iCF/60–n/a16.43
iSCF/60–n/a8.60
iHDCF/60–n/a3.80
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  12 · 0 · 0 · 0
SOG/60
3-yr 8.534.35Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSH%
3-yr 12.7816.55Q1Q2Q3Q4
ixG/60
3-yr 0.970.45Q1Q2Q3Q4
iCF/60
3-yr 16.4310.87Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSCF/60
3-yr 8.606.52Q1Q2Q3Q4
iHDCF/60
3-yr 3.802.90Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
SOG/60
8.5322-2323-2424-2525-26
iSH%
12.7822-2323-2424-2525-26
ixG/60
0.9722-2323-2424-2525-26
iCF/60
16.4322-2323-2424-2525-26
iSCF/60
8.6022-2323-2424-2525-26
iHDCF/60
3.8022-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
G
1822-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
SOG
16922-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextNo 2025-26 sample — goals/shots projected off the prior 3-yr profile, held flat.

Assists — playmaking & on-ice offense

Primary vs secondary helpers, plus the on-ice offense and luck signals underneath them.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj		2025-26Prev 3Diff
on-ice SH%10.18n/a10.18
IPP53.77n/a53.77
1A/600.39n/a0.39
2A/600.23n/a0.23
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  12 · 0 · 0 · 0
1A/60
3-yr 0.390.36Q1Q2Q3Q4
2A/60
3-yr 0.230.36Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
1A/60
0.3922-2323-2424-2525-26
2A/60
0.2322-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
A
1322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
PTS
3122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextAssist environment looks normal (on-ice SH% 10.2%, IPP 53.8%).

Power play

PP opportunity and finishing — modelled separately from 5v5.

Metric26-27
proj		2025-26Prev 3Diff
PP TOI1.90n/a1.41
PP iSH%0.00n/a0.00
PP SOG/6013.01n/a13.01
PP ixG/60–n/a1.56
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  12 · 0 · 0 · 0
PP TOI/GP
3-yr 1.411.66Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP SOG/60
3-yr 13.0112.04Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP ixG/60
3-yr 1.560.98Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PP TOI/GP
1.4122-2323-2424-2525-26
PP SOG/60
13.0122-2323-2424-2525-26
PP ixG/60
1.5622-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PPP
622-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPG
022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPA
022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. PPG and PPA are the 2 halves of the PPP above them, split by the projection's own goal/assist mix. PP-only, so the halves are exact.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextLittle/no PP role — PP points capped regardless of finishing.

Physical — PIM · hits · blocks

Peripheral counting categories. Noisier and scorer-biased — read as role over the years, not pure talent.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj		2025-26Prev 3Diff
PIMs/601.29n/a1.24
Hits/603.02n/a3.02
Blks/603.27n/a2.71
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  12 · 0 · 0 · 0
PIMs/60
3-yr 1.241.45Q1Q2Q3Q4
Hits/60
3-yr 3.023.26Q1Q2Q3Q4
Blks/60
3-yr 2.713.62Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PIMs/60
1.2422-2323-2424-2525-26
Hits/60
3.0222-2323-2424-2525-26
Blks/60
2.7122-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PIM
2722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
HITS
5722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
BLK
6122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextHits role-stable at 3.02/60 (39th pct league-wide) → 3.02 projected.
TailwindBlocks surging late: Q4 3.62/60 and 2nd-half 3.62 vs a 2.71 season rate (2.71 3-yr) (55th pct league-wide) — reads as a real role/confidence step, so projected UP to 3.27/60, weighting the finish over the 3-yr baseline.