Amerks winger JJ Peterka has been dangerous in playoffs and could help put away Utica

When the final evaluations are made at the conclusion of the Buffalo Sabres training camp in October, if JJ Peterka is on the roster, it will most likely be that he showed coach Don Granato that he can be a productive scorer.

That was the reason why the Sabres traded up in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft to pick the German-born winger at No. 34 overall. They saw him as a player who could someday in the not-too-distant future become a top-six forward in their latest rebuild, the same way they envision their 2020 first-round pick, Jack Quinn, doing so.

If Peterka keeps playing the way he has for the Rochester Amerks in the postseason - and really, the way he played all season - forget about the future being too distant.

Five games into a playoff run that has seen Rochester win four times in overtime, Peterka has been one of the driving forces. He had two assists in the Amerks’ dramatic comeback victory in the opener against Belleville; he scored a goal in the Game 1 loss at Utica; he single-handedly beat the Comets in Game 2 with a hat trick including the winner in overtime; and he had two assists in Sunday’s 4-3 overtime victory at Blue Cross Arena.

“Yeah, it’s incredible,” veteran Amerks forward Sean Malone said. “At any moment he’s dangerous. He can beat guys wide, he’s a good playmaker, he has all the tools and we’re really confident when he’s out on the ice and sometimes he’s even double shifting. It’s incredible to watch out there.”

Peterka - who will look to keep it rolling Tuesday night when the Amerks host Utica in Game 4 of their best-of-five North Division semifinal series - impressed the Sabres in camp before the 2021-22 season before being assigned to Rochester.

“There’s lots of details that he hasn’t had to pay attention too, quite honestly,” Granato told reporters back in October. “It’s good that he’s played in a men’s league overseas. That’s helped and shortened his window adapting to the NHL whenever that is. It’s made it sooner than later, I think, when you’ve gone through that.

“For all of these guys, the highest end skill, they’re not held accountable at the lower levels. They just get by on their skill, so they don’t have to pay attention to any details and that’s a big part of the process once they try to enter the (NHL).”

Everyone knows the kid has great hands, a terrific shot, a deft ability to pass the puck, and he can really skate, but it was the gritty stuff that needed to be added and that has happened.

That’s what Amerks assistant coach Michael Peca - who knows a thing or two about playing an all-around game - has worked on with Peterka all year, those less glamorous intangibles such as backchecking, forechecking and winning puck battles.

Amerks coach Seth Appert was asked Sunday night what he has liked most about Peterka since the start of his rookie AHL season. It wasn’t the team-leading 28 goals and 68 points he scored in the regular season, or the four goals and eight points he has in the playoffs, though that’s been great.

“How hard he’s playing defensively,” Appert said. “So when you have his talent level and his explosiveness, and now - and this isn’t just new, this has been the whole second half - he’s using those legs, he had some great hits on the forecheck tonight, he had some elite back checks tonight.”

Peca, who played parts of 14 seasons in the NHL including five memorable ones in the late 1990s with Buffalo, twice won the Selke Trophy which is awarded to the NHL forward who excels on defense. But Peca also found time to score 176 goals and 465 regular-season points and Peterka could be that type of player in the NHL.

Peca played at 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds while Peterka is 5-11 and 192, so they are similar in stature and what Peca has preached to Peterka is to use his skating ability to make plays in every zone.

“Michael Peca tells him those are his moneymakers, those legs are his moneymakers, but they can’t just be moneymakers on offense,” Appert said. “If you want to be an elite player here and in the NHL and to help your team win, you need to use them for checking as well.

“He’s been so bought into that in the second half but especially in the playoffs. Therefore he has the puck a lot and when he has the puck, a lot of good things happen.”

Peterka made a gorgeous between his legs pass to set up Lukas Rousek’s first-period goal Sunday and later drew an assist when he fired a shot that Brandon Biro was able to deflect into net.

In Saturday’s Game 2, he simply took over and got the Amerks even in the series. He scored off a great rush down right wing in the first period; on a pinpoint wrist shot in the second after a lucky carom off the boards set him up all alone; and then in overtime he grabbed a loose puck in the slot and fired it past Utica goalie Nico Daws.

“I think getting more used to how tough the games are and how much less space you have compared to the regular season,” he said of his playoff performance. “I think after the first two games (against Belleville) I kind of like found myself with more scoring opportunities.

“Every play matters so much and you do the extra 10% and I think like that. I think I can learn a lot from that. I have to try and fight through it (all the physical attention he’s getting from the bigger Comets) even though they try to pick you or take you out of the game. I think finding a way to get away and get scoring chances is going to help me a lot.”

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Amerks wing JJ Peterka has been dangerous driving force against Utica