By Kevin Bogdan
When the Buffalo Sabres drafted Casey Mittelstadt 8th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, fans were told that we were getting a player with “exceptional talent” and “speed, offensive hockey sense, scoring touch, scoring ability and able to process and play the game at a top speed.” – Dan Marr, Director NHL Central Scouting (TSN 1040). Mittelstadt, coming off a 30-point season with the University of Minnesota, had a coming out party in the 2017-18 IIHF World Junior’s. Posting 11 points in 7 games and winning MVP of the tournament, Mittelstadt was quickly jumping up the rankings of NHL prospects around the league. That luster quickly faded away when Casey made the leap into the NHL.
In the later parts of the 2017-18 season, the Sabres recalled Mittelstadt to get a taste of NHL action. He put up 5 points in 6 games and gave the Sabres some hope that he can become a nice top-9 forward heading into the next season. Then one of the worst trades in Sabres history happened. On July 1st, 2018, General Manager Jason Botterill traded Ryan O’Reilly to St. Louis in exchange for Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Tage Thompson, 2019 1st Round pick and a 2021 2nd Round pick.
This trade left the Sabres with a massive hole in the second line center position. With Mittelstadt having good numbers in the small sample size in the NHL, the Sabres were hoping he would make the jump and be able to handle second line minutes. The Sabres threw Mittelstadt right into the fire and the result was 25 points in 77 games his rookie season. Casey looked out of place and simply not ready to take on that role in the National Hockey League. Heading into his sophomore year, the spotlight was on Casey to develop and put-up solid numbers. After 31 games he only managed 9 points and was sent down the Rochester to re-gain his confidence and mold his game back into shape. Mittelstadt was able to put up 25 points in 36 games in the AHL and once again there was hope that he was able to become a full-time NHL player.
With the acquisition of Eric Staal over the offseason, Mittelstadt was placed on the 3rd line to start the year. Under Ralph Krueger, Mittelstadt had 5 points in 13 games on a struggling Sabres squad. When Don “Meatballs” Granato took over the interim head coaching role, Mittelstadt was told to play loose and use his skill to create offense for the Sabres. In the final 28 games of the season, Mittelstadt scored 9 goals and 17 points and looked like a completely different player.
I am under the belief that a lot of new prospects need some time in the AHL to develop their skill set before jumping into the NHL. Not all players can come right into the league and perform like Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews did. The overall feel around the Sabres team is down heading into next season, however with the way Casey Mittelstadt finished this past season, it gives us Sabres fans just the slightest bit of hope that we are going to be okay.