C Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th, BUF) II

[Lion Hound]

SB Nation...
Things got interesting for the Buffalo Sabres last night. A nearly impossible scenario unfolded to eliminate the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the NCCA tournament.
The only way they would have been knocked out is if six different teams lost yesterday. Well, all six teams lost. Minnesota-Duluth earned the final spot in the tournament.
Now, the focus turns to the Sabres top forward prospect Casey Mittelstadt. Since his season is over he’s free to sign an entry-level contract with the club and begin his professional career.
Mittelstadt had a good freshman year for Minnesota scoring 11 goals and 30 points in 34 games. He also had a great World Junior Championship in Buffalo and was named tournament MVP.
The Sabres have a few options they can explore with the 2017 eighth overall pick. They can sign him and bring him right to the NHL. The Sabres have 11 games left and he would get an extended taste of the pro game.
Another option is signing him and sending him to Rochester to play for the Amerks. That would be a huge boost for the Sabres minor league affiliate as they prepare for the Calder Cup playoffs.
Buffalo could also wait until the summer to sign him to a contract. This approach would prevent them from burning a year of his entry-level deal.
The last option is to allow Mittelstadt to go back to Minnesota for his sophomore season and then cross this bridge again next spring. If this is the route that both sides end up taking I would urge fans not have that knee-jerk reaction.

Decisions, decisions...

 

[57special]

The main question for BUF should be where Mittelstadt would develop best, the AHL, or NCAA. I would say that both paths have their dangers. Lucia( Gophers coach), has, IMO , not been a great coach for a long time. Still a top flight program, though, and the off ice training facilities are excellent, which will Allow CM to develop physically and continue to hone his skills so that he hits the ground running when he finally gets to the pros.

Is the AHL team the best place for a young, highly skilled player? Is Nylander's progress, or lack of it, a hint that he might be better off staying in school? Or is it time that CM faces a higher level of competition? The bonus with having him in the AHL is that he can be called up at any time.

I would guess that BUF wants him under their direct control, so would rather sign him. To actually prefer to have him stay in college would be a pretty damning indictment of their system.

Cm has all the skills, and can certainly skate. The only question is whether he the pounding he will get in the AHL will help his development, or hurt it.

 

[Chainshot]

If the guarantee is that he is in the NHL next year, I could see this deal happen.

 

[Voodoo Glow Skulls]

I'd pull him out of college. One year of the AHL won't hurt him.

 

[AmericanDream]

I'd pull him out of college. One year of the AHL won't hurt him.

I think you need to see what the tweet said about guarantee....

 

[Samsonite23]

If this was last year I would probably want him to stay in school vs. play in Rochester. But it seems like Chris Taylor has been doing a great job there and him joining the Amerks playoff run could be beneficial for him and the program.

 

[57special]

I think that it would be a mistake for both CM and the Sabres to have a 1st yr. NHL guarantee. BUF just need to convince CM that they WANT him up in the NHL just as badly as he wants to be up there, but that sometimes it's better to get your feet wet in the AHL first. If they have a properly run program(have my doubts), they should run it similarly to how they run the Sabres, so he can pick up their systems. Side benefit would be that he can develop chemistry with their young players like Nylander, Fasching, perhaps their 2018 draft pick, etc..

With any luck he'd be up with the Sabres by Christmas.

 

[MayDay]

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Why rush him. It's not like he put up remarkable numbers at the College level.

Sigh.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

Excited to see how he performs in nhl

 

[ImNeverWrong]

So straight into the nhl without ahl experience?

 

[dangomon]

This aspect of the signing seems more important than burning the first year of his ELC. Pretty significant for Buffalo. Excited to see him play against the Leafs next time we see you guys.

 

[Breakers]

Should have stayed another year.

Please don't @ me claiming he has nothing to left to prove.

 

[57special]

Don't blame CM for leaving. Poor team(by Gopher standards), and they've fired the coach who recruited him. If he's going to play on a loser, why not get paid for it? I can think of worse things than playing with Eichel.

He'll probably get a taste of NHL, then, depending on how it and training camp goes, some AHL time. No use rushing him.

 

[schnapshot]

Why rush him. It's not like he put up remarkable numbers at the College level.

Sigh.

Numbers aren't everything. He obliterated competition at the WJC.

It's all a matter of evaluating if the player is ready to play pro. Look at Roslovic's D+1 season and how's he doing now. Casey will be just fine...

 

[Flgatorguy87]

Does he debut against Tolvanen on Saturday night?

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Numbers aren't everything. He obliterated competition at the WJC.

It's all a matter of evaluating if the player is ready to play pro. Look at Roslovic's D+1 season and how's he doing now. Casey will be just fine...

That's 7 games though..

 

[schnapshot]

That's 7 games though..

7 games against top competition of his age group, including many first round picks from 2016, 2017 and future first rounders from 2018.And he ended up as scoring leader and MVP. I don't need to say more.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

7 games against top competition of his age group, including many first round picks from 2016, 2017 and future first rounders from 2018.And he ended up as scoring leader and MVP. I don't need to say more.

Okay..it's still 7 games, and most of those points came against some terrible competition. I don't need to say more.

 

[schnapshot]

Okay..it's still 7 games, and most of those points came against some terrible competition. I don't need to say more.

You seem to be nitpicking his NCAA stats to say he's not ready, but then you diminish his WJC stats because they're at his advantage.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

You seem to be nitpicking his NCAA stats to say he's not ready, but then you diminish his WJC stats because they're at his advantage.

Once again...SEVEN GAMES.

 

[Breakers]

7 games against top competition of his age group, including many first round picks from 2016, 2017 and future first rounders from 2018.And he ended up as scoring leader and MVP. I don't need to say more.

You're kind of just proving his point
Those were his age......... so wouldn't the natural step in his progression be proving himself against older competition like the NCAA.

 

[schnapshot]

Once again...SEVEN GAMES.

Man do I hate arguing with broken records

STATS DON'T SHOW THE WHOLE STORY. Anyone who has watched him this season can say he's been great, and even dominant at times. This includes against NCAA competition and yes, his 7 games at the WJC. Then there's the guy who likes to take a look at HockeyDB and say "But he didn't put up remarkable numbers in the NCAA".

Luckily, some people who have actually watched him play have judged that he's been dominant enough, regardless of stats, to start his pro career. I've shown you a recent example of a player with underwhelming NCAA stats who adapted well to pro (Roslovic). Tage Thompson was also never PPG in his two NCAA seasons, Trent Frederic this year basically has the same statline as CM too... It's just way too easy to look at the numbers without seeing the performance.

You're kind of just proving his point
Those were his age......... so wouldn't the natural step in his progression be proving himself against older competition like the NCAA.

He did prove himself with 30 pts in 34 games as a freshman. Not everyone will have Kyle Connor-esque seasons. Would you argue that is what wrong to sign Roslovic, a less flashy player to an ELC back in 2015-2016 season? How many people wrote him off based on his production do you think?

Alex Kerfoot went from a modest 1.25 NCAA PPG player to an NHL roster... While Tyler Motte went from a 1.47 NCAA PPG to tweener. Stats give an idea, but they don't give the whole picture. It's been said over and over again but some posters would rather just go on HockeyDB and judge.

 

[Breakers]

He did prove himself with 30 pts in 34 games as a freshman. Not everyone will have Kyle Connor-esque seasons.

Alex Kerfoot went from a modest 1.25 NCAA PPG player to an NHL roster... While Tyler Motte went from a 1.47 NCAA PPG to tweener. Stats give an idea, but they don't give the whole picture. It's been said over and over again but some posters would rather just go on HockeyDB and judge.

I primarily watch college hockey, so don't give me this only looking at hockey DB.

 

[schnapshot]

I primarily watch college hockey, so don't give me this only looking at hockey DB.

I wasn't talking about you but the other poster quoted earlier.

 

[AmericanDream]

woot woot!!!!