Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin did not play in the final game of the 2018 Prospects Challenge at HarborCenter in downtown Buffalo, but the Sabres still iced some star power with Casey Mittelstadt and Alexander Nylander. The two forwards were joined in the lineup yesterday by Rasmus Asplund, who made a name for himself throughout the tournament, and a group of players that featured eight undrafted players and a slew of lower-round picks.
The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect roster was that of a team only one year removed from back-to-back Stanley Cups. It featured only one player, Calen Addison (2018, 53rd overall) drafted in the top three rounds, one player drafted in the fourth round (Sam Lafferty, 2014, 113th) and 12 undrafted players. It's the price you pay for winning Stanley Cups and there's not a person in Sabreland who wouldn't trade positions with Pittsburgh.
But as we well know, hockey in Buffalo right now is about the future, and the future looks very bright.
Dahlin had a whale of a tournament as he busted out of the gate with two goals and an assist in the first game and looked every bit as advertised against his peers. His d-partner, Will Borgen, was a beast reveling in his role as a physical, stay-at-home defenseman while forward Tage Thompson (2016, 26th, STL) looked strong wearing the Blue and Gold for the first time.
With those players out of the lineup and the Sabres playing against a weak Penguins squad, it was time for players like Mittelstadt and Nylander, a pair of eighth-overall picks (2017 and 2016, respectively) to take over the game, which they eventually did.
Mittelstadt centered Buffalo's top line with Nylander on his left wing and undrafted forward Cole Coskey on the right. Although it took Mittelstadt and Nylander two periods to click, when they did it was pretty magical. Nylander scored his first goal just :20 seconds into the third period with a nasty wrister that picked the top corner to make it 4-0 and he finished off a nifty give-and-go with Mittelstadt to make it 6-2 at the 6:21 mark. Nylander also had two assists, both primary, to finish the day with four points.
The driving force on both of Nylander's goals was Mittelstadt who admittedly wasn't at his best through the first two games and the first two periods of this one. "The first two games and a little bit of the third (game) I might have been pushing it a little bit," he said post-game yesterday. "There were times I should have been shooting it or make a quicker play but I think I'm getting back into it. Even in the third (period) I started making plays I normally make with my hands and feet."
That he did.
The first of his three consecutive primary assists came on Nylander's first goal when Mittelstadt controlled the puck along the wall and drew two Pens defenders to him before slipping a short pass to his winger who stealthily split the d. The second came when he sent a pass through the slot right on the stick of defenseman Nicholas Welch who was pinching in on the play and the last was that give-and-go with Nylander.
Buffalo GM Jason Botterill liked a lot of what he saw over the weekend and into Monday and has been talking about having more internal competition for roster spots at training camp. This tournament was the first opportunity for players to put their names into the conversation and perhaps no one did so more than center Rasmus Asplund.
The 2016 draft pick (33rd overall) just came over from his native Sweden and impressed at the Challenge. We'd read about his strong two-way game playing in the SHL and he brought that with him this weekend but he showed off some skill and moxie on his goal yesterday as he undressed four Pens at the Pittsburgh blueline before finishing strong. Asplund also brings a very high hockey IQ to the table, some great on-ice vision and a lot of compete as well.
"You see the play he made on his goal," said Mittelstadt of Asplund, a teammate he's spoken highly of this off season. "You see him do things like that but there are a lot of other things he does that people miss. Winning faceoffs, he's always in the right spot defensively and in the neutral zone."
One of the things that you won't see on the highlight reel was his compete on Buffalo's first goal yesterday. After picking up the puck inside his own blueline he fought through a check, got through an entanglement with the ref in the neutral zone and fought off another check at the Pens blueline before hitting defenseman Devante Stephens who was trailing on the play. Stephens then sent a shot to the net with Andrew Oglevie potting the rebound.
Asplund looks bigger than his 5'11" 189 lb. frame and skates extremely well. He finished with a tournament-high six points (1+5) and may be in the mix for a bottom-six slot on the Sabres.
In addition to Dahlin, Mittelstadt (for a full season) and Asplund, there's a big wave of talented players coming into the organization this year. Forward Victor Olofsson (2014, 181st) will be making his North American debut as will defenseman, and fellow Swede, Lawrence Pilut whom the Sabres signed to a free agent contract. Borgen, who played eight games with Rochester last season after leaving school early, leads a group of college players that includes Brandon Hickey, who's rights came over in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes and who signed with Buffalo, and forward Oglevie (an FA signee) who will be battling for spots in Buffalo and/or Rochester. And, although Botterill didn't commit to any training camp invites amongst veteran players and/or Challenge invitees "right now," they have talked to players about that possibility which would further the competition for spots.
"We've talked a lot as a group about bringing in more internal competition and giving [head coach] Phil [Housley] more options at different positions," said Botterill yesterday. "We think we've done that this summer, especially at forward, bringing in some guys but also having some young guys who are going to be competing for positions."
And by the looks of it, they've done pretty good job.
The 2018 Prospects Challenge is in the books and it's on to the opening of training camp on Thursday with physicals and Friday they start practice. Here's the schedule:
Friday, Sept. 14
Session one: 9:45 – 10:20 a.m. (New Wave Energy Rink) / 10:25 – 11:15 a.m. (KeyBank Rink)
Session two: 11:45 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. (New Wave Energy Rink) / 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. (KeyBank Rink)
Saturday, Sept. 15
Session one: 9:45 – 10:20 a.m. (New Wave Energy Rink) / 10:25 – 11:15 a.m. (KeyBank Rink)
Session two: 11:45 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. (New Wave Energy Rink) / 12:25 – 1:15 p.m. (KeyBank Rink)
Sunday, Sept. 16
Practice: 9:45 – 10:15 a.m. (Both rinks)
Scrimmage: 10:30 – 11:15 a.m. (KeyBank Rink)
Buffalo's first preseason game is Monday at 7 pm in Columbus vs. the Blue Jackets.
