Trevor Kuntar takes a positive approach to the struggles every hockey player will inevitably endure. The Williamsville native said his parents, Les and Faye, ingrained that in him. So no matter how difficult the situation, he refuses to have a negative outlook.
Kuntar, 24, just experienced a difficult season in which he fell out of the Boston Bruins’ plans. Fresh off a strong rookie campaign with the Providence Bruins, if he cracked the lineup, his ice time dwindled to about 10 minutes per outing. He sat out 18 games as a healthy scratch for Boston’s AHL affiliate.
“I didn’t get an opportunity to show what I’m capable of,” Kuntar told the Times Herald.
Last month, the Bruins did not give him a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent, cutting loose a forward prospect they drafted in the third round in 2020, 89th overall.
Still, Kuntar, who recently signed a one-year AHL contract with the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres’ top affiliate, is grateful for what the trying campaign and all that adversity taught him.
“Maybe people look at it as a down year, but I learned a lot,” he said.
Kuntar said he leaned on some of Providence’s veterans, most notably captain Patrick Brown, and refused to let his work ethic drop as he earned limited action.
“Just coming in every day and making sure you’re getting better, even if you’re not in the lineup or even if you’re not playing a lot of minutes, using that hunger that I had in the right way is big, and just staying positive because at the end of the day, you’re doing what you love,” he said. “There’s a lot of bright moments to be had in the future.”
Joining the Buffalo organization excites Kuntar, whose father, a former goalie, played six games for the Montreal Canadiens in 1993-94 and 21 contests for Rochester in 1996-97.
He called it “a big, full-circle moment.”
“I think it’s going to be a fresh start,” the Boston College graduate said. “I’m just excited to have an opportunity to show what I’m capable of. … Playing in Buffalo, it’s a dream come true, and being in the Buffalo Sabres organization, I think just being able to put those colors on, I’m very grateful for that.”
The 6-foot, 205-pound Kuntar, who plays center and wing, could have an opportunity to ignite his career with the Amerks. Right now, he might slot in on the third or fourth line.
Amerks coach Mike Leone and his staff often find roles for unheralded and undervalued players and help them develop and enjoy career-best seasons. Last year, for example, bottom-six forwards Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Graham Slaggert and Brendan Warren combined to score 35 goals.
Leone, who grinded in the ECHL and overseas during his brief playing career, has a special appreciation for players like Kuntar.
“I see myself as someone teams love to have on their team but other teams hate to play against,” Kuntar said. “Personally, I want to be known as a player who’s reliable, a strong two-way power forward who can produce and also be good defensively.”
If Kuntar can do that consistently – he scored 10 times as a rookie before mustering just three goals last season – perhaps he will earn another NHL contract. The Sabres reward players who produce on AHL deals. In the last month, Fiddler-Schultz and defenseman Zachary Metsa have each earned two-way contracts.
In Providence, Kuntar watched his teammate, forward Justin Brazeau, receive an NHL contract and graduate to the big leagues.
“That was a great story,” he said. “It’s just those guys that it seems like they stick with it and just keep working and are hungry to get better every day.”