Casey Mittlestadt has been sent to Amerks

[Randall Flagg]

1 minute ago, WildCard said:

I feel like we're giving up on Casey way too early. We rushed him into the NHL, and now he needs a more seasoning as a result in the AHL. Give him a full year down there then let's see. 

What if I framed it for you differently: I am not giving up on Casey's potential NHL utility. However, given the state of our roster, I deem it worth attaching high value assets to him to functionally "upgrade" him to what we'd like him to become someday, but right now. 

An example would be the proposal I put together last summer, that Hoss called the worst one he's ever seen on these boards. Risto, Mittelstadt, Borgen and 7 for Cirelli, Cernak and Foote

But it could involve fewer players than this. Find a team that wants to blow it up and start over, and offer Mitts and our first 

5 minutes ago, dudacek said:

And I’m basically on the same page as @nfreeman in terms of what to do about him, even if I tend to be more bullish on his ability to turn things around.

The kid had close to 40 NHL points before he turned 21. That’s not something to be discounted.

28 points per 82 games isn't something to discount, but it's not something to be impressed by either

[shrader]

1 hour ago, LGR4GM said:

Bingo. This is why I want him left in Rochester and maybe for all of next season as well. 

Plus we can see if he can play RW.

[WildCard]

3 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

What if I framed it for you differently: I am not giving up on Casey's potential NHL utility. However, given the state of our roster, I deem it worth attaching high value assets to him to functionally "upgrade" him to what we'd like him to become someday, but right now. 

An example would be the proposal I put together last summer, that Hoss called the worst one he's ever seen on these boards. Risto, Mittelstadt, Borgen and 7 for Cirelli, Cernak and Foote

But it could involve fewer players than this. Find a team that wants to blow it up and start over, and offer Mitts and our first 

28 points per 82 games isn't something to discount, but it's not something to be impressed by either

I'd be much more amenable to that, but it really all depends on the package. I liked Casey a lot when we drafted him, and now two years later it just feels like we could be moving on from something really good prematurely. But, with Cozens in the pipeline, if we can trade Casey for a ~23 year old, actual Center, that has proven he can play in the NHL at a high level, then yeah we can't just ignore that because we liked Casey when we first drafted him

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, Randall Flagg said:

 

28 points per 82 games isn't something to discount, but it's not something to be impressed by either

Not really, but it is 3rd line centre production and he did that at 20.

[...]

To all of you, except @WildCard

[Randall Flagg]

2 minutes ago, dudacek said:

Not really, but it is 3rd line centre production and he did that at 20.

with his 100% offensive zone usage hehe

you could take everything we've said about Mitts to date and replace it with the name Tyson Jost and we'd probably feel a lot less excited about it in that context 

Edited February 26, 2020 by Randall Flagg

[Taro T]

24 minutes ago, WildCard said:

I feel like we're giving up on Casey way too early. We rushed him into the NHL, and now he needs a more seasoning as a result in the AHL. Give him a full year down there then let's see. 

Agreed about giving up on him too early.  At this point, would keep him in Ra-cha-cha for the rest of this year.  Will give him a chance to earn the 3C in TC, but would have Johansson/ Lazar penciled in ahead if him for that role (hopefully Botterill has brought in a real 2C by then, so there is actual competition for the 3C role).

If he earns it out of camp, keep him up.  If not, let him start the year in Ra-cha-cha and bring him up when the injury bug &/ or his play dictate it.

Asplund will be pushing for that job as well.  And Cozens will be pushing for a spot in the top 12 also.

Kind of nice that if they bring back Girgensons and Larsson and also get a 2C, they will have serious competition for the last 3-4 spots on the roster.  And nobody will be forced to play above their skill grade.

(Hoping they fix the GT as well so that will be true for all 23 spots on the opening night roster.)

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, Randall Flagg said:

Don't you usually take issue with pi's TRPM? Because you're literally using exactly that right now hehe

True. That is exactly what I did. 

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

At this point, I feel the same way about Mitts that I felt about Nylander:  he has some skill but probably not enough skill, will or hockey IQ to be an effective top-6 NHL player, and we should adjust expectations, and roster plans, accordingly.

However, also like Nylander, he is young, not expensive and under team control for a while -- so there is no rush to make a decision on him.  If someone offers a Jokiharju-level asset for him, I would pull the trigger, and I wouldn't hesitate to include him in a package for Cirelli or other strong 2C candidate, but I wouldn't dump him for a lower-level asset.

In the meantime he should stay in Rochester and learn the game.

Morgan Frost

[WildCard]

4 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Morgan Frost

He looks to be in a similar boat to Casey. What's the difference there?

[shrader]

3 minutes ago, WildCard said:

He looks to be in a similar boat to Casey. What's the difference there?

Can't play RW

[Mustache of God]

What stings the most about Casey is that he was such a highly touted prospect by people outside of the organization....which, at least for me, raised my expectations on him significantly which then made this whole situation even more disappointing.

[woods-racer]

I have higher hopes for Casey now than I would have for a player in a similar situation 4 or five years ago because I believe Rochester is finally a good farm club for the Sabres.

It took Pegula buying it and Botterill a few years to turn it around but it is an asset to the parent club that it hasn't been in well over a decade.

[LGR4GM]

2 hours ago, WildCard said:

He looks to be in a similar boat to Casey. What's the difference there?

He's 6 months younger, skates better, and hasn't spent the last 2 years being a below average pro.

[inkman]

Casey potted one in the first

[inkman]

 

[WildCard]

59 minutes ago, inkman said:

 

Goals like that make me wanna keep him

[dudacek]

5 minutes ago, WildCard said:

Goals like that make me wanna keep him

He’s got an NHL shot.

[WildCard]

Just now, dudacek said:

He’s got an NHL shot.

It was one of the things that drove me mad when he was up, he has a legit shot he needs to use it.

[GASabresIUFAN]

Casey won’t fully blossom until he realizes he doesn’t have to do it alone.

[Taro T]

Mittelstadt with a goal and an assist.  Amerks up 2-0 after 1 vs Laval.

[inkman]

Not sure his source but Kevin Oklobzija just said Casey Mittlestadt had a clause in his contract stipulating he could not be sent down to the minors for his first full pro season.  

He's doing an interview on 95.1 in Rochester. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by inkman

[LGR4GM]

2 minutes ago, inkman said:

Not sure his source but Kevin Oklobzija just said Casey Mittlestadt had a clause in his contract stipulating he could not be sent down to the minors for his first full pro season.  

Then Botterill truly is a complete and total ***** idiot. 

Edited June 17, 2020 by LGR4GM

[dudacek]

4 minutes ago, inkman said:

Not sure his source but Kevin Oklobzija just said Casey Mittlestadt had a clause in his contract stipulating he could not be sent down to the minors for his first full pro season.  

Just another in Jason’s long list of mistakes with this kid.

I wonder how much the Mittelstadt situation is a factor in the scouting and development carnage.

I’m pretty sure the only reason he ever got sent down was Ralph finally standing up and saying “look this kid is just not an NHL player”. The emperor has no clothes.

Edited June 17, 2020 by dudacek

[darksabre]

16 minutes ago, inkman said:

Not sure his source but Kevin Oklobzija just said Casey Mittlestadt had a clause in his contract stipulating he could not be sent down to the minors for his first full pro season.  

He's doing an interview on 95.1 in Rochester. 

It was always something that was rumored, just never confirmed.

[shrader]

15 minutes ago, inkman said:

Not sure his source but Kevin Oklobzija just said Casey Mittlestadt had a clause in his contract stipulating he could not be sent down to the minors for his first full pro season.  

He's doing an interview on 95.1 in Rochester. 

They are not allowed to put that kind of clause in the ELC contracts.  It had to be one of those handshake agreements and they honored it.  The only way he was ever going to be sent down was if he agreed to it.  I've been saying this for a long time now.  It's the only possible explanation for him being kept around so long.