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Casey Mittelstadt, what will his rookie year be


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1 hour ago, dudacek said:

I found it interesting that Casey dominated play in college without dominating statistically.

Yet in the NHL he put up points without dominating play.

What that means, I haven’t got a clue.

I think it means that when playing with his peers, in a league he's adjusted to, he dictated the play, even while he had teammates often incapable of keeping up. In the NHL, as a kid just trying to get a feel for it, he still had the raw skill to capitalize when possible, even while being unprepared to have a line filtered through him (and also, really, with such a small sample size, I'm sure luck factored in there, too, with regards to the production).

Mittelstadt is going to be one of those perfect examples of why raw stats pre-NHL aren't always everything. The skill is there - it reminds me a little bit of Eichel in his rookie season where guys just weren't cashing his feeds. We all saw the World Juniors. Both Mittelstadt and A. Nylander put up the points. It's a no-brainer who's game looked special and who's didn't. Not just about the stats. 

The fact that Mittelstadt is still such a raw talent just adds intrigue. There's REAL room for development.

Edited by Thorny
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I just joined the Athletic.  I figured with Fantasy Football, MLB playoffs, Pro Football, NHL, College Footballs and College Basketball all starting soon or in the next few months it would be worth the $50 investment.

I read the Mittelstadt article and the thing that stood out is how defensively aware the kid is.  I didn't know he skates as hard to get back on D as he does on offense.  This is why ROR isn't here.  Mittelstadt, despite his age and inexperience is already a two way player.  

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Depends on his position played (center or left wing), the depth he plays at (2nd or 3rd line) and his line mates.

If he's the 3rd line center with a fast young winger(s) with him (E-Rod, Baptiste or Bailey perhaps) then 20 to 25 goals with 25 to 30 assists seems possible, even if stretching it to the high end limit. The line will obviously have the tempo set by him, and he doesn't exactly why away from the task. Chemistry will be critical imo.

If he is given 2nd line center duties, I expect those numbers to decrease slightly as he may end up with less O-zone time.

If, on the off chance, he ends up as Eichel's left wing..........40+ goals with 50+ assists. ?

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I really think the puck-heavy mInnesotan with the shoulders and puck-hounding Minnesotan with the hands are a match made in heaven. If Okposo can rebound they should be an entertaining combo that will bring out the best in each other.

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54 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I really think the puck-heavy mInnesotan with the shoulders and puck-hounding Minnesotan with the hands are a match made in heaven. If Okposo can rebound they should be an entertaining combo that will bring out the best in each other.

This is a piece I'm so hoping falls into place - would be huge for this team and KO himself. 

On a tangent, does anyone else get the feeling that the Sabres are going to be a good team before they're a decent team? And then perhaps take a small step back? Sort of a break out, "arrival" season like we saw from the Avs, and the Leafs (though, the Leafs didn't take the step back). 

My gut tells me that the Sabres are going to either be bad again this season, or in the playoffs. I'm waiting for the arrival season.  

 

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I know Okposo had a pretty subpar year last year statistically, but by my eye test, he was getting his groove back late in the season.  He wasn't the albatross many on this forum claimed he was.  He didn't quite break through but he was carrying the play a lot more than people gave him credit for.

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3 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I know Okposo had a pretty subpar year last year statistically, but by my eye test, he was getting his groove back late in the season.  He wasn't the albatross many on this forum claimed he was.  He didn't quite break through but he was carrying the play a lot more than people gave him credit for.

This.  1000 x this. 

He's done, will have had a normal summer and preseason.  I expect god things out of KO

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I think Kyle would be good on Mittelstadt's wing. Gives a solid vet presence, he's tough in the corners, he doesn't make many mistakes, and he can score. Put Sheary or Skinner on the other side and away they go.

Sheary/Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart

Sheary/Skinner - Mitts - Okposo

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Not sure if it’s the correct way to structure this roster, but I really like the potential chemistry of these pairs:

Mittelstadt/Okposo, Skinner/Reinhart, Eichel/Sheary.

Imagine if two of Baptiste, Bailey, Thompson, Nylander, Olofsson and Asplund emerged to finish those lines and we could run ERod with KO and Casey and Berglund/Sobotka/Girgensons as a checking unit.

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Just now, dudacek said:

Not sure if it’s the correct way to structure this roster, but I really like the potential chemistry of these pairs:

Mittelstadt/Okposo, Skinner/Reinhart, Eichel/Sheary.

Imagine if two of Baptiste, Bailey, Thompson, Nylander, Olofsson and Asplund emerged to finish those lines and we could run ERod with KO and Casey and Berglund/Sobotka/Girgensons as a checking unit.

It would be nice to have a team suddenly fall into place. 

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20 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Not sure if it’s the correct way to structure this roster, but I really like the potential chemistry of these pairs:

Mittelstadt/Okposo, Skinner/Reinhart, Eichel/Sheary.

Imagine if two of Baptiste, Bailey, Thompson, Nylander, Olofsson and Asplund emerged to finish those lines and we could run ERod with KO and Casey and Berglund/Sobotka/Girgensons as a checking unit.

 Erod - Mittelstadt - Okposo,

Skinner - Reinhart - Baptiste

Sheary - Eichel - Thompson

Berglund/Sobotka/Girgensons

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Is Larsson completely off the team at this point? I haven't seen a single line-up projection with his name in it all off-season.

At this point I think he's acting as a goalpost/measuring stick for the younger guys in camp, as in "you must be this tall (better) to go on this ride (make the team)".

Does he have any trade value? Late round pick or is he destined for the waiver wire?

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2 minutes ago, Mustache of God said:

Is Larsson completely off the team at this point? I haven't seen a single line-up projection with his name in it all off-season.

At this point I think he's acting as a goalpost/measuring stick for the younger guys in camp, as in "you must be this tall (better) to go on this ride (make the team)".

Does he have any trade value? Late round pick or is he destined for the waiver wire?

I hope so. I'm praying we don't have to see him in a Sabres sweater ever again

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2 hours ago, Mustache of God said:

Is Larsson completely off the team at this point? I haven't seen a single line-up projection with his name in it all off-season.

At this point I think he's acting as a goalpost/measuring stick for the younger guys in camp, as in "you must be this tall (better) to go on this ride (make the team)".

Does he have any trade value? Late round pick or is he destined for the waiver wire?

I hope he's gone sooner than later, unfortunately, with many young players who don't need to clear waivers yet, odds are Larsson keeps his roster spot... at least to start the season and all the waiver exempt guys are sent to Roch.     I'd pencil him in as 4th line C at this point... unfortunately.  

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8 hours ago, LGR4GM said:

 Erod - Mittelstadt - Okposo,

Skinner - Reinhart - Baptiste

Sheary - Eichel - Thompson

Berglund/Sobotka/Girgensons

Sheary - Eichel - Reinhart

Skinner - Mittelstadt - Okposo

Sobotka - Berglund - Thompson

Erod - Girgensons/Larrson - Baptiste/Bailey

 

 

Edited by Die Hard
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Hmmm...maybe Casey will eat Larsson and make the problem go away naturally.

In all seriousness, I've seen a lot of "hype" articles about Mittlestat in the past week or so, which has been making me giddy for the upcoming season, which leads to introspection, that is, every year I get amped up only to be let down, just like the year before.

This year is different though, right? 

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14 hours ago, dudacek said:

Not sure if it’s the correct way to structure this roster, but I really like the potential chemistry of these pairs:

Mittelstadt/Okposo, Skinner/Reinhart, Eichel/Sheary.

Imagine if two of Baptiste, Bailey, Thompson, Nylander, Olofsson and Asplund emerged to finish those lines and we could run ERod with KO and Casey and Berglund/Sobotka/Girgensons as a checking unit.

I love this as much as I am going to hate six straight months of Berglund-Eichel, Skinner-Sobotka, and Girgensons-Mittelstadt that we're about to witness 

 

:P

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11 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

I love this as much as I am going to hate six straight months of Berglund-Eichel, Skinner-Sobotka, and Girgensons-Mittelstadt that we're about to witness 

 

:P

You know it's going to happen. Instead of creating a MEH line of Sobotka, Berglund, and Okposo they are going to "spread the wealth" around so every line gets an anchor!

Come on down, Jack, you get an anchor!

Come on down, Casey, you get an anchor too! Anchors for all!

Edited by Alkoholist
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I know this is probably a joke:

15 hours ago, Randall Flagg said:

I love this as much as I am going to hate six straight months of Berglund-Eichel, Skinner-Sobotka, and Girgensons-Mittelstadt that we're about to witness 

 

?

 

And you're probably serious:

 

4 hours ago, Alkoholist said:

You know it's going to happen. Instead of creating a MEH line of Sobotka, Berglund, and Okposo they are going to "spread the wealth" around so every line gets an anchor!

Come on down, Jack, you get an anchor!

Come on down, Casey, you get an anchor too! Anchors for all!

 

...but last year, it's not like we had many good options. We have a lot more versatility and variety of players this year, so the line combos will be very interesting to see.

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