Sabres prospecst take on Boston tonight after taking names vs. NJ

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-8-2018


It was pretty much everything a Sabres fan could want out of the first Prospects Challenge game. From Rasmus Dahlin scoring two goals and adding an assist to Victor Olofsson showing off his quick release and wicked shot to Alexander Nylander with some magic stickwork while potting one of two Sabres short handed goals to Tage Thompson getting on his horse and scoring the second shortie on a breakaway, a lot of things clicked for the youngins last night (see highlights below.)

This is the future of the Buffalo Sabres and for the 1,800 fans in attendance at HarborCenter they put on a helluva show in a 6-4 win over the New Jersey Devils last night.

With no disrespect to center Casey Mittelstadt, Dahlin leads this wave of young players. The fact Dahlin nudges out Mittelstadt, who played so well in his short six-game stint in Buffalo last season leading to a No. 2 center slot heading into this season, is an indication of just how good the prospect pool is at the top.

Dahlin was the first pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and was said to have franchise-changing qualities. At Sabres development camp Dahlin's skill level was on display as he flew through drills with ease and did everything except dominate the score sheet in the 3-on-3 tournament. However, that was against his fellow prospects and camp invitees. The Prospects Challenge would be his first taste of action against the best prospects from other NHL teams and after Round-1, the reviews were outstanding.

"Obviously he's a special player," Sabres Prospects coach Chris Taylor told the gathered media post game. On Dahlin's second goal the 18 yr. old native of Sweden jumped on a loose puck in the neutral zone and fed tournament invitee Myles Powell at the Devil's blueline before barreling towards the net. Powell sent a low shot far side that was kicked out to the right circle where Dahlin was there to blast home the rebound. Using that play as an example, Taylor said Dahlin's "instincts are amazing," and that "he's a smart player, knows when to go (on the attack) and when not to go" while also having "the confidence and ability to get back."

Sabres fans might be breathing a brief sigh of relief at Nylander's performance. Nylander was said to be engaged throughout the game and his shorthanded goal was a product of following the play and heading to open ice in front of the net. The skill Nylander showed on that goal was the type that had him labeled as possibly the most skilled player in his draft class yet his Houdini acts on the ice have him moving perilously towards bust status.

Nylander's shortie was set up by Rasmus Asplund who drew two defenders to the Devils left face off circle and outworked them to get the puck to a wide open Nylander. Asplund also set up Victor Olofsson for a one-timer on the powerplay. Olofsson used that patented one-timer on many occasions in Sweden while on his way to a league-leading 27 goals in the SHL last season, but his quick release blast from the slot wowed the fans at HarborCenter who were seeing it live for the first time.

The Svensk Brigade of Dahlin, Olofsson, Asplund and Nylander stole the headlines at this one but there were many other who made their mark. Thompson, acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan O'Reilly trade, showed great speed for a big man (6'5" 205 lbs.) as he jumped on a puck in the neutral zone while shorthanded and went in for a breakaway. He also showed off some deft stickwork with a deke and a shot that went top-shelf from in tight. Matej Pekar (2018, 94th) had two assists in the game and defenseman Will Borgen (2015, 92nd) patrolled the ice with a physicality that everyone at HarborCenter noticed.

Buffalo went into this tournament with what is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, prospect pools in the NHL and it showed. Dahlin lead the charge, the rest got their jiggy on and the Devils had no answer of which SB nation's John Fischer wrote, "On the ice, [the Sabres] were mostly a better team from start to finish. Their passes were better. Their puck control was better. They committed fewer and less costly turnovers. They appeared to have more attack time than New Jersey. They definitely had more odd-man rushes and breakaways. Their special teams were better. Most importantly, their best players on paper were the best players on the ice."

For Sabres fans the future, especially encapsulated in Fischer's last sentence, is pretty exciting.


*****

The Sabres take on the Boston Bruins tonight at 7 pm and despite The Athletic's Corey Pronman ranking
 the Bruins prospect system as 27th in the league, they still have some good quality players in the system. Boston's prospects beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in the matinee yesterday.



2018 Prospects Challenge highlights--NJ Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres (via sabres.com)

 

 

Quick Scoresheet:

 

Rasmus Dahlin--3 pts. (2 goals, 1 assist)

Rasmus Asplund--2pts (2 assists)

Matej Pekar--2 pts. (2 assists)

Victor Olofsson--1 pt. (1 goal)

Tage Thompson--1 pt. (1 goal)

Cole Coskey--1 pt. (1 goal)

Alexander Nylander--1 pt. (1 goal)

Kevin Hancock--1 pt. (1 assist)

Oscari Laaksonen--1 pt. (1 assist)

Eric Cornel--1 pt. (1 assist)

Myles Powell--1 pt. (1 assist)

 

Primary assists:

 

Asplund--2

Hancock, Powell, Dahlin--1 each

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--LHD, Rasmus Dahlin

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-7-2018


LHD--Rasmus Dahlin
18 yrs. old
6'2" 181 lbs.
2018 first-overall


This should be the one and only time that Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will be placed this low in the lineup heading into a season. Dahlin, the first-overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, is a defenseman the likes of which Buffalo hasn't seen in decades and beginning sometime this season, we'll see him on the top-pairing logging big minutes for the Sabres.

The only comparable defense prospect to Dahlin in Buffalo would be Phil Housley, drafted out of St. Paul High School, Minnesota. The 18 yr. old Housley was a pure offensive dynamo from the blueline who's 338 goals and 1232 points helped punch his ticket to the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, his offensive prowess was directly proportionate to his defensive liabilities to the point where early in his career he was so bad on defense that Hall of Fame head coach Scotty Bowman moved him to wing where he scored a chunk of his points during his eight-year playing career in Buffalo.

Other than that, some of the Sabres top defensemen throughout their history include Jim Schoenfeld, Mike Ramsey, Jerry "King Kong" Korab and Brain Campbell all of whom played very well for Buffalo, but none of whom were considered close to elite.

Buffalo got lucky when the ping pong balls fell their way at the 2018 draft lottery. With Sabres logo in hand, Buffalo GM Jason Botterill stood on stage while Sabreland had visions of Dahlin dancing in their heads. Sure, none had seen him live, but the highlights were full of jaw-dropping moments see below) with some saying that Dahlin could be the best defenseman to hit the NHL since Hall of Famer Denis Potvin who lead the NY Islanders to four straight Stanley Cups (1980-83.) Potvin's Legends of Hockey bio at the Hockey Hall of Fame website noted that he was the first defenseman to score over 1,000 points and is considered "one of the most complete bluliners ever to step on the ice."

When Dahlin hit the ice in Buffalo for development camp the skills he displayed were that of a forward with skating that was fluid and fast. For those who were seeing him for the first time live, it was a wonder to behold his hip movement, stickwork and angles on defense showing that he's not just a pure offensive-defenseman.

As an 18 yr. old rookie, Dahlin will have a lot to work on and will go through a lot of growing pains but his skating alone will ease the workload and dull some of the pains. Tonight he begins his career in the Blue and Gold skating on Buffalo's top-pairing in the annual Sabres Prospect Challenge. This will be an opportunity for him to show where he stands along side his peers as prospects from three other NHL teams--the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins--battle in a round-robin event at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo.

Dahlin has been playing against men in Sweden's top professional league for the last two seasons and finished his SHL career with a seven-goal, 20-point season prior to Buffalo drafting him. He has a poised demeanor on the ice (and off the ice as well,) projecting a confidence in himself and his skill-level. There's no reason to think that all of his traits won't be on display beginning 7 pm tonight when the Sabres prospects take on their counterparts from New Jersey.

It's the type of tournament that he should dominate. Even if he doesn't today or at any point in the tournament, it's only a matter of time. Hockey, unlike other North American pro sports, is usually spot on when they dub draft prospects as franchise-changers. They don't come along that often but when they do if you're lucky you'll be in the position to land one.

And Buffalo certainly was lucky to land Dahlin.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Kyle Okposo

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen
LHD, Rasmus Dahlin /

G, Carter Hutton



For those who have missed Dahlin's highlights here's some of them from on YouTube from Krypts:






*****

Rochester Americans head coach Chris Taylor is in charge of the prospects for The Challenge and according to sabres.com, here were his lines and pairings from practice yesterday:

Forwards

41 Victor Olofsson - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 72 Tage Thompson
92 Alex Nylander - 74 Rasmus Asplund - 52 Andrew Oglevie
83 Shane Eiserman - 77 Vasily Glotov - 75 Judd Peterson
73 Matej Pekar - 86 Kevin Hancock - 79 Cole Coskey
76 Pascal Aquin - 78 Myles Powell - 46 Eric Cornel


Defensemen

26 Rasmus Dahlin - 33 William Borgen
45 Brendan Guhle - 67 Arvin Atwal
44 Brandon Hickey - 58 Oskari Laaksonen
24 Lawrence Pilut - 84 Nicholas Welsh
61 Devante Stephens - 70 Tobie Bisson


Goalies

34 Jonas Johansson
1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Buffalo has a lot of talent heading into 2018 Prospects Challenge

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-5-2018


The third annual Buffalo Sabres Prospects Challenge is set to commence this Friday with the Sabres and three other teams--Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins--trotting out their prospects in a round-robin tournament. Here's the schedule:

Friday, Sept. 7

• Pittsburgh vs. Boston, 3:30 p.m.
• Buffalo vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m.

 Saturday, Sept. 8

• New Jersey vs. Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m.
• Buffalo vs. Boston, 7 p.m.

 Monday, Sept. 10

• Boston vs. New Jersey, 9:30 a.m.
• Buffalo vs. Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m.

All games will be HarborCenter. Tickets are $10.

The Sabres announced their Prospects Challenge roster yesterday and amongst the youngins that will be hitting the ice are center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, both of whom are expected to be in Buffalo's opening night lineup on October 4.

Mittelstadt was selected eighth-overall in 2017 by Buffalo and displayed NHL talent while playing in six games for the Sabres at the end of the last season. The 6'0" 209 lb. center left the University of Minnesota after his freshman season and scored his first NHL goal while adding four assists in six games for the Buffalo.

Dahlin was drafted first-overall at the 2018 NHL Draft and put on a skills clinic at Sabres Development Camp in June. The 6'3" 186 lb. Swedish defenseman is making the jump to the NHL as an 18 yr. old and this will be his first taste of competition against other NHL teams.

For Buffalo fans, you can't ask for much more when it comes to those two prospect headliners but there are some other intriguing names ready to hit the ice beginning Friday as an array of picks and free agents from various years compete to not only win, but also catch the attention of Buffalo's brass. In just under a year and a half, Sabres GM Jason Botterill has culled together a group of youngins that was recently dubbed the top farm system in the NHL by The Athletic's Corey Pronman. "And it wasn't even close," Pronman wrote.

Besides blue-chippers Mittelstadt and Dahlin, the Sabres Challenge roster includes defenseman Brendan Guhle (2015, 51st-overall,) who just finished his first full season with Buffalo's AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. The very athletic and smooth-skating Guhle looked poised for an opening night roster spot in Buffalo until the Sabres drafted Dahlin yet he still might force his way into the conversation come opening night. Guhle was dominant at development camp in June and there's no reason to think that he won't take all the professional experience he's gained the last year-plus and use it to make an impact at the tournament.

Two-way center Rasmus Asplund is making his North American debut this season after spending the last three seasons playing against men in the SHL, Sweden's top hockey league. The 20 yr. old said at this year's NHLPA’s Rookie Showcase in Toronto that initially he was disappointed he had to spend last season in Sweden but that afterwards he was happy that he played with Farjestad in the big role he was given for a playoff team.

The Swedish invasion continues with forward Victor Olofsson and defenseman Lawrence Pilut, both of whom were 2018 SHL award winners and acquitted themselves well at June's development camp. The 23 yr. old Olofsson is a 2014 seventh round draft pick (181st) who enjoyed a breakout season in the SHL as he sniped his way to a league high 27 goals earning the Hakan Loob Trophy given to the league's top goal scorer.

Pilut also enjoyed a breakout 2017-18 season in the SHL with career highs in goals (eight) and points (38.) The 22 yr. old lead all defensemen in points and assists (30) and was 13th in the league overall in scoring garnering him the Borje Salming Trophy as the SHL's best defenseman. He was one of only three undrafted defensemen to win the award. (For more on his game click here.)

An American duo coming from different directions will also be skating for he Sabres. Winger Tage Thompson was selected with the 26th-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He was a part of the return when Botterill traded Ryan O'Reilly to St. Louis. The burgeoning 6'5" 196 lb. powerforward has a good skill package and has a top-six opportunity waiting for him this fall. That opportunity begins now for the 20 yr. old native of Glendale, Arizona who decided to turn pro in 2017 after two years at the University of Connecticut.

Undrafted free agent Andrew Oglevie left Notre Dame after his junior season. The 23 yr. old from Fullerton, California finished his NCAA career with 41 goals and 89 points in 107 collegiate games for the Irish. Oglevie left college after leading Notre Dame to the NCAA Finals where he scored their lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the University of Minnesota-Duluth in the championship game.

Two fan favorites will also be skating for the Sabres in the 2018 Prospects Challenge.

Seventh-round pick Vasily Glotov churned his way into the hearts of fans at development camp with his Max Afinogenov-type darting and quickness while earning himself an AHL contract with Rochester. Glotov was selected 190th-overall at the 2016 NHL Draft and finished his two-year QMJHL career with 93 points (44+49) in 128 games.

Matej Pekar was selected at the top of the fourth round (94th) in June and made his mark at development camp as a pest in the Brad Marchand mold. Pekar dished out a hit to Dahlin and received an earth-shattering one in return from the 2018 first-overall pick. He also needled Mittelstadt off his game in their first 3-on-3 matchup at D-camp to the point where sticks were raised. Not only did Pekar draw the ire of Mittelstadt he also got a physical greeting from winger Brett Murray (2016, 99th) who take kindly to what Pekar was doing to his team mate. Something that got lost in Pekar's rat-like tendencies at D-camp was him undressing Dahlin for a goal in the first game of the 3-on-3 tournament. (For more on Pekar click here for Part I and here for Part II.)

The most intriguing name for Sabres fans might be left winger Alexander Nylander. The 2016 first rounder (eighth-overall) is battling bust-status not because of his immense skill but, moreso because of his seeming lack of desire. Nylander has struggled through his first two pro seasons, first as an 18 yr. old who made the jump direct from Sweden's Junior league to the North American pro game after the draft and last season he after suffering an injury early in the off season. Although it's still a little too early to dub the 20 yr. old a bust, he's got his work cut out for him.

Other notables include well-traveled 22 yr. old defenseman Brandon Hickey, who was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes along with Mike Sislo in exchange for winger Hudson Fasching. Hickey was a 2016 third round pick (64th) of the Calgary Flames who traded his rights to the 'Yotes. Hickey finished his college career this season at Boston University as captain of the Terriers and signed with Buffalo.

Left wing Pascal Aquin, an undrafted free agent out of the QMJHL, signed an AHL contract in May and had himself a strong development camp. Another undrafted free agent to keep an eye on might be LW, Kevin Hancock who tallied 54 goals and 154 points in 121 games for the OHL's Owen Sound over the past two seasons.

And finally, goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen opted to sign with the Sudbury Wolves (OHL) rather than return to his native Finland and because of it finds himself at the Prospects Challenge. The towering (6'4" 196 lb.) Luukkonen was a 2017 second round pick (54th) of Buffalo. The Sabres other goaltender this weekend is Jonas Johansson, a third round pick (61st) in 2014. At 6'5" 214 lbs. Johansson is physically huge in net but despite that size he hasn't been able to get the job done in North America.

Here's the full roster from Sabres.com:

Number--Player, Position

Forwards

76-Pascal Aquin, LW
74--Rasmus Asplund, C
46--Eric Cornel, C
79--Cole Coskey, RW
83--Shane Eiserman, C
77--Vasily Glotov, C
86--Kevin Hancock, LW
37--Casey Mittelstadt, C
92--Alexander Nylander, LW
52--Andre Oglevie, C
41--Victor Olofsson, LW
73--Matej Pekar, C
75--Judd Peterson, RW
78--Myles Powell, C
72--Tage Thompson

Defensemen

67--Arvin Atwal, RHD
70--Tobie Bisson, LHD
33--William Borgen, RHD
26--Rasmus Dahlin, LHD
45--Brendan Guhle, LHD
44--Brandon Hickey, LHD
58--Oskari Laaksonen, RHD
24--Lawrence Pilut, LHD
61--Devante Stephens, LHD
84--Nicolas Welsh, RHD

Goaltenders

34--Jonas Johansson
01--Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--RW, Kyle Okposo

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-4-2018


Kyle Okposo
30 yrs. old
6'0" 220 lbs.
2006, 7th-overall (NYI)
Signed as a free agent July 1, 2016

Career stats:  670 games | 173 goals |  285 assists | 458 points | -101


The 2017-18 NHL season for Buffalo Sabres right winger Kyle Okposo is being widely regarded as a mulligan for the 30 yr. old. Okposo's health issues, stemming from treatment for a concussion, landed him in the intensive care unit in April, 2017 and as the off season hit, for him it wasn't about gearing up for the following season it was more about whether or not he'd ever be able to play the game again.

Okposo did recover and when he was seen skating in Da Beauty League,  an annual charity tournament in his home state of Minnesota, there was a strong sense that everything would be OK with him. But in addition to losing the last chunk of the 2016-17 regular season, Okposo missed a lot of off-season workouts geared towards being ready for the upcoming season. And it affected him immensely.

"Last summer was just a lot about working on my mind and making sure I could play the game again," he told the gathered media after a recent informal workout with some team mates. "Now it's like, OK, I can play, let's get back to trying to be an elite player. That's something that I just didn't have the base last year and excited that I put the work in this summer to get it back.

"It was a big relief to where I could just train the way I want to and do the things that I know make me a successful hockey player."

The successes that Okposo had on the ice translated into career averages of 21 goals and 56 points per 82 games but last season he had only 15 goals and 44 points in 76 games. It took him six games to register his first point and 11 games to register his first goal and during the 2017 portion of the season, Okposo had scored only six goals and 16 points in 36 games.

After finishing the season strong, a pensive Okposo said at locker cleanout that the 2017-18 campaign for him was more about being able to play the NHL game again. "Looking back on this year, " he told the gathered media, "and looking back to where I was a year ago, all things considered I'm pretty happy that I played a full season.

"I didn't know if I was going to be able to at this time last year and honestly I wasn't even thinking about hockey at that time."

Considering that he did play a full season (minus a handful of games) and managed to produce nine goals and 28 points through the final 40 games while looking like old self in the process, a mulligan for the season is certainly warranted.

However, Okposo is now facing another hurdle--Father Time. The 30 yr. old is at a point where, generally speaking, players begin to decline. "I’ve been around this game awhile now," he said, "and you get on the other side of 30 and a lot of guys say, ‘Oh he’s past his prime’ and 'If he has a couple of bad years, he’s on the way down' and I’m very aware of that and seen it happen to many guys.

“I’m not going to be happy just riding off into the sunset."

Buffalo hopes he doesn't do that either as the contract he has with the Sabres still has five more years left on it (all with a modified no-trade clause,) at a $6 million cap-hit, which is second on the team only to Jack Eichel and his $10 million cap-hit that begins this year. GM Jason Botterill was left with a lot of dead weight by his predecessor and he doesn't need another anvil weighing his franchise down.

The good news is that Okposo started out his first year in Buffalo leading the team in scoring through 63 games with 43 points (19+24.) The bad new is that it all went downhill with his health issues. This year things are looking up and if he can hit his career averages it will be a pretty strong accomplishment for him.

Unless there is some problem with Sam Reinhart and his contract negotiations Okposo will probably be Buffalo's No. 2 right winger with rookie Casey Mittelstadt or veteran Patrick Berglund at center. In either instance he expects, and is expected, to succeed.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt / RW, Kyle Okposo

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen

G, Carter Hutton



Kyle Okposo 2017 locker cleanout via Sabres.com:

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--LW, Jeff Skinner

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-3-2018


LW--Jeff Skinner
26 yrs. old
5'11" 200 lbs.
2010, seventh-overall (CAR)

Career stats:  579 games | 204 goals | 175 assists | 379 points | -96


Jeff Skinner had somewhat of an off season in Carolina last year. The 5'11" 200 lb. left winger scored 24 goals for the Hurricanes in 2017-18 which was 13 less than his career high of 37 goals the previous season. While some in Carolina may have been wondering what went wrong for the three-time 30-goal scorer, the Buffalo Sabres were saying, "We'll take that."

After taking the NHL, and Carolina, by storm as an 18 year old scoring 31 goals and 63 points while on his way to 2011 Rookie of the Year honors, Skinner continued make his mark as a goal-scorer  posting a total 204 goals in 579 games over his eight seasons playing for the 'Canes. However, despite his individual successes Carolina hasn't made the playoff in nine seasons, which is the NHL's longest current playoff drought, and their new owner with a new front office decided change was needed. That included Skinner, a fan favorite, who will be entering the final year of a 6yr/$34.350 million contract he signed at the end of his entry-level deal. The seventh-overall pick in 2010 was put on the block this summer after it was clear that he wouldn't be signing a contract extension with the team.

Rumors had of a potential Skinner trade dated back to last off season and really picked up this past June. Although the number of teams and the intensity with which they were said to be interested in Skinner varied, Carolina felt that the Sabres offered up the best package which included a 2019 second round pick, a third and a sixth round pick in 2020 and forward prospect Cliff Pu. Buffalo was also intriguing enough for the Markham, Ontario native to waive his no-movement clause to go there.

It's no secret that the Buffalo has been the worst scoring team in the NHL for quite a while. In the last five years the three-time last place finishers averaged a league-worst 2.19 goals/game which included being the only team to finish a season under two goals per game. And they did so twice (2013-15.) It was also no secret that heading into the off season the Sabres had a gaping hole at left wing. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill filled it partially when he traded for Pittsburgh Penguins left winger Conor Sheary, a player he'd watched up close as a part of the Penguins front office, but the trade for Skinner was on another level.

Skinner brings a lot of the same attributes Sheary does like playing with pace, being highly competitive and the ability to score at even strength but he was able to produce much more consistently over a longer period of time. His last three goal totals beginning in 2015-16 would have ranked him first, first and tied for third, respectively, on a Sabres team that needed more scoring.

Ironically, the Sabres have the league's second-longest playoff drought at seven years and while Buffalo was last in scoring over the past five seasons, Carolina wasn't much better as they were fifth from the bottom averaging 2.49 goals per game. So why would Skinner allow a trade to a worse team than the one he played for in Carolina?

Apparently he likes what he sees in Buffalo.

"First and foremost the young group of players they have, the young core, is exciting," he told the media via conference call after the trade. And of the possibility of playing with top center Jack Eichel? "He's obviously one of the top centermen in the game right now," Skinner said of Eichel. "Any time you get to play on a team with a guy that has that much talent -- and he's part of that young core, that exciting core -- I'm so happy to be on his team, instead of playing against him."

Where Skinner plays in the lineup will be dependent upon training camp and what kind of chemistry is built within the top six leading up to the regular season. The book on Skinner is that he likes the puck on his stick, has the speed, wicked maneuverability and stickwork to get into prime scoring areas and, obviously, has the skill-level to finish. Whether that meshes better with Eichel or Casey Mittelstadt is yet to be determined but for at least this year, no matter which line he's on, the Sabres have themselves a true goal-scorer on the left side.


Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
LW, Jeff Skinner / C, Casey Mittelstadt /

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen

G, Carter Hutton




For your viewing pleasure, some Jeff Skinner highlights via NHL Goals on YouTube:

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--C, Casey Mittelstadt

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 9-1-2018


C--Casey Mittelstadt
19 yrs. old
6'1" 201 lbs.
2017, eighth-overall

Career stats: 6 games | 1 goal | 4 assists | 5 points | +1

Buffalo Sabres rookie center Casey Mittelstadt has rated very high in a number of prospect rankings and is considered one of the top NHL prospects for 2018-19. Just a few examples of who placed him where:

--NHL Network ranked him fifth amongst the top 50 prospects of 25-and-under
--Steve Kournianos of @TheDraftAnalyst has him rank fourth on his list for the Sporting News
--Scott Wheeler of The Athletic has Mittelstadt ranked fourth
--TSN has him fifth

and so on and so on.

Mittlestadt was selected by the Sabres with the eighth-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and they were thrilled he dropped to them there. Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill, overseeing his first ever draft as a GM, told the media after the first round that they were ecstatic to get [Mittelstadt]" and when asked if he thought Mittelstadt would be there at eight, a big, cat-that-just-ate-the-canary, ear to ear smile came across his face. "Isn't that the cliché?" he asked with an internal chuckle in response. "You've got to say, 'Oh I couldn't believe that he was there."

Botterill knew exactly what he was getting in Mittelstadt and was thrilled he dropped to the Sabres at No. 8. The prevailing theme he and his scouts saw with Mittelstadt may have been summed up nicely (albeit maybe just a tad overzealously) by Wheeler when he wrote last weekend that the Eden Prarie, Minnesota high school graduate has a "rare mix of [being] already-incredibly-talented and yet still super, super raw."

Mittelstadt's talents were laid out by Wheeler as part of a 10-part series he did for The Athletic called, "The Gifted," where he analyzed top young prospects "that [are] so uniquely different from everyone else in approach or in ability, that you can’t help but notice [them]."

As he dove into his detailed analysis, complete with videos, Wheeler points out that Mittelstadt's hands are high on his stick giving him maximum maneuverability and that he makes very difficult plays look easy. Some other traits that Mittelstadt displayed were his composure and anticipation and how the plays he's a part of are "dictated by [his] contribution." He's "always the biggest factor in the plays that happen when he’s on the ice," wrote Wheeler.

Wheeler noted one of Mittelstadt's most important attributes when he documented how the teenager always pushes things to the center of the ice using a number of video as examples including Mittelstadt's first NHL goal seen here via sabres.com:

"In that situation," wrote Wheeler, "a lot of young players probably stop up. They look for the cross-ice pass or put the puck back down low when their net-front option releases from the defensemen to open up. But Mittlestadt isn’t a lot of young players. He’s thinking: 'attack the middle' and as soon as the puck touches his stick he turns and takes two strides to do that."

The raw part of Wheeler's assessment is obvious for most teenagers--the need to add strength to play at the NHL level. The 5'11" 199 lb. Mittelstadt was infamously shown being unable to do a pull-up at the NHL combine, which isn't a big deal when you have the talent an hockey IQ he has, but it was fodder for a while.

However he landed in a good program a the University of Minnesota and played in a rugged Big-10 conference on a Golden Gophers team where the opposition's focus was almost solely on him every game. He figured it out against bigger, stronger, older opponents and excelled in the process with 11 goals and 30 points in 34 NCAA games. He furthered the notion that he can hang with the big boys scoring with five points (1+4) in six NHL games for the Sabres last season.

This off season was dedicated to getting stronger. “For me it was getting in the weight room, obviously; everyone knew that,” he said to the media at at the NHL Players’ Association’s rookie showcase event last weekend. “Skate as much I can and work on a lot of little things, but my main goal was definitely getting stronger.”

The strength will eventually come as he fills out his frame and adds muscle leaving lack of experience as the only real drawback to his game right now. And apparently Botterill doesn't think it will be too much of a problem as he traded away top-six center Ryan O'Reilly and has Mittelstadt slated at the No. 2 center on the team. Botterill won't throw the rookie completely to the wolves as he acquired veteran center Patrick Berglund in the O'Reilly trade with the St. Louis Blues but the fact that they traded O'Reilly, whom some look at as a No. 1 center, shows the confidence they have in Mittelstadt.

Maybe the most important aspect of Mittelstadt is found in his character and composure he displays on and off the ice. Botterill talked of Mittelstadt's conviction when the youngster decided to finish his high school career at Eden Prairie before heading back to the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers prior to the draft. Playing for the Golden Gophers, Team USA at the World Juniors and the Sabres made for five teams in a year but it didn't phase Mittelstadt.“I completely enjoyed it,” Mittelstadt said of his journey (via Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times.) “It’s been a little bit of a whirlwind, I think, moving and going back and forth places. But I’ve loved it, so I won’t complain too much.”

At the 2015 NHL Draft the Buffalo Sabres selected center Jack Eichel second overall to be the future No. 1 center on the club and traded for O'Reilly to be No. 2. Three years later Eichel is the franchise center and O'Reilly has been replaced by Mittelstadt. Both of those are very good one-two punches but in a few years, that Eichel/Mittelstadt duo may be amongst some of the best in the league. It all starts this season with Mittelstadt cutting his teeth in a full time No. 2 center role.



Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart
_______________/ C, Casey Mittelstadt / __________

LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen


G, Carter Hutton

Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster--G, Carter Hutton

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-31-2018


Carter Hutton
32 yrs. old
6'1" 202 lbs.
Undrafted FA (PHI)

Career stats:  138 games | 63-39-17 record | 2.42 GAA | .915 Sv% | 11 shutouts


If the Buffalo Sabres want to make the playoffs this season a lot will be riding on the shoulders of their goalkeepers. Sabres GM Jason Botterill entered the 2018 off season needing to fill both his vacant goalie slots and after saying that 25 yr. old rookie Linus Ullmark would be on the roster Botterill proceeded to sign free agent Carter Hutton to a 3yr./$8.25 million free agent contract on July 1. The former St. Louis Blue was coming off of a career year posting a 17-7-3 record with a 2.09 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.

Although their roles will be figured out through camp and into the season, it's hard to think that Hutton will be that 60-game workhorse starter in Buffalo when his 34 starts in 2013-14 represents his career-high. In fact the Thunder Bay, Ontario native has a grand total of only 80 starts in the four seasons since, but with Botterill in a bit of a bind this off season a Hutton/Ullmark 1A/1B goaltending tandem is what Buffalo enters training camp with.

When you look at Hutton's excellent numbers in St. Louis it's best to remember that the Blues were a veteran club with a very strong d-corps that was also supported by their forward group. They had the sixth-best goals-against last average season, have the third-best cumulative GAA (2.49) over the past five seasons and their system has helped have changed the narrative from back-up to potential starter when talking about goalies like Hutton and Brian Elliot. As a premier two-way team, St. Louis was also 14th in the league in cumulative goals-for over the last five seasons averaging 2.81 goals/game.

This off season has been great for the Sabres and there's an excitement in Buffalo that's definitely warranted. The team landed defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and Botterill pulled off a couple of solid trades to shore up a big hole on the left side. Conor Sheary and Jeff Skinner, along with Dahlin, should help provide an offensive spark but the Sabres still have a long way to go just to get to respectability. In the last five seasons Buffalo has allowed the third-most goals-against in the league (3.01) and have averaged a league-worst 2.19 goals/game.

That's what Hutton and a bevy of new Sabres are up against this season.

With all the question marks concerning Hutton as a starter (or 1A) for a franchise that has the worst record in the NHL over the last seven seasons, character doesn't seem be one of them. Botterill is very keen to the character trait and a number of his charges within the organization have seen Hutton up close. Buffalo's director of college scouting Jerry Forton was an assistant coach at UMASS-Lowell when Hutton was playing there. Sabres goalie coach Andrew Allen was in the same position when Hutton made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks. And Buffalo head coach Phil Housley was an assistant coach in Nashville throughout Hutton's three-year stint with the Predators.

At 32 yrs. old and starting a career when most are into their decline, Hutton likes the opportunity the Sabres are giving him but also knows his role. He'll have the chance to be the No. 1 goalie in Buffalo but he also is being tasked with mentoring Ullmark, who's saying goodbye to the AHL after being the No. 1 goalie in Rochester the last two seasons. “What we’ve learned about Carter," said Botterill, "is he has the confidence in the No. 1 role and also has a history of working with young goalies. We think it’s a great fit."

That last part bodes extremely well for the Sabres organizationally as Hutton on a three-year deal represents a bridge to the future. It's not a given that Ullmark will be their future No. 1 goalie and the next best prospect is 19 yr. old Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen a 2017 second round pick (54th-overall.)
Twenty-two year old Jonas Johanson (2014, 61st) has stumbled thus far at the North American pro level and he may not take the next step. Three years gives the organization enough time to figure out who fits where moving forward.

As for this season, there's a lot going on with a lot of new faces hitting the ice and Buffalo's goaltenders will probably be carrying a heavy load, at least at the start. Most see the Sabres as improved but falling short of the playoffs which is very reasonable at this point but if Hutton (and Ullmark) can solidify the crease?

You never know.



Building the 2018-19 Buffalo Sabres roster:

LW, Conor Sheary / C, Jack Eichel / RW, Sam Reinhart


LHD, Marco Scandella / RHD, Rasmus Ristolainen


G, Carter Hutton