26CornerBlitz Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 Casey Mittelstadt Watch Has Begun 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 18, 2018 Author Share Posted March 18, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 I love those St Paddy Sabres jerseys that Eichel was wearing in warmup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 56 minutes ago, 26CornerBlitz said: Bring the kid in. Lucia, who is rumored to hinder player development, is gonna get fired and Gophers hockey is ready to implode. What’s better: an uncertain college situation or signing for the rookie max deal, which was over 925k per year last I heard. If Clayton Keller could do it, there’s no reason Middlestadt can’t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens with Casey. IIRC I believe they can also give him an AHL tryout contract that doesn't ruin his NCAA eligibility, to see how he does there first before making a decision on his ELC. So I could definitely at least see that happening. Get him in some Rochester playoff games. He has some tantalyzing skill, but I'm not positive he's ready for the NHL yet. I think it comes down to more of whether or not the Sabres want him in the AHL next year or in college, and what Casey wants as well. He may prefer to stay in school if that's the case. While Mittelstadt did have an impressive college season, he was only at a 0.8 point per game pace. Clayton Keller was at a 1.5 ppg pace, and Eichel was at almost 1.8ppg. Casey could definitely still grow his game in school another year, so I won't be that surprised either way - if he stays in school, signs an AHL tryout or the Sabres decide to give him his ELC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 18, 2018 Share Posted March 18, 2018 2 hours ago, Pete said: I love those St Paddy Sabres jerseys that Eichel was wearing in warmup! It can be yours if you're willing to dig deep. http://auction.nhl.com/iSynApp/auctionDisplay.action?auctionId=2234851&pgmode1=teamsearch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 8 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens with Casey. IIRC I believe they can also give him an AHL tryout contract that doesn't ruin his NCAA eligibility, to see how he does there first before making a decision on his ELC. The only thing the ATO deal does is stop his clock of accrued NHL time from beginn No to tick. He would still kiss his NCAA eligibility away by doing it. I’d love to know what Columbus promised to Werensky a few years ago when they did it with him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan4 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 25 minutes ago, shrader said: The only thing the ATO deal does is stop his clock of accrued NHL time from beginn No to tick. He would still kiss his NCAA eligibility away by doing it. I’d love to know what Columbus promised to Werensky a few years ago when they did it with him. So there isn't anything they can do to get him games in the AHL without ruining his NCAA eligibility? You can only do that with Junior players then? That kinda sucks. It would have been a great test to see if he was ready to turn pro next season. I don't know why I thought you could do that with college players... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-9 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 9 hours ago, BillsFan4 said: It'll definitely be interesting to see what happens with Casey. IIRC I believe they can also give him an AHL tryout contract that doesn't ruin his NCAA eligibility, to see how he does there first before making a decision on his ELC. So I could definitely at least see that happening. Get him in some Rochester playoff games. He has some tantalyzing skill, but I'm not positive he's ready for the NHL yet. I think it comes down to more of whether or not the Sabres want him in the AHL next year or in college, and what Casey wants as well. He may prefer to stay in school if that's the case. While Mittelstadt did have an impressive college season, he was only at a 0.8 point per game pace. Clayton Keller was at a 1.5 ppg pace, and Eichel was at almost 1.8ppg. Casey could definitely still grow his game in school another year, so I won't be that surprised either way - if he stays in school, signs an AHL tryout or the Sabres decide to give him his ELC. Eichel and Keller got minutes in college because their coaches knew that you don’t stifle talent, you let it shine. Mittelstadt on the other hand, got protected minutes all season because his coach believes in the upper classmen pecking order, which is one of the reasons why Lucia has a rep for not developing talent. Interesting that when they went into their final weekend vs Penn St, games they had to win to ensure better position to qualify for the NCAAs, Casey was given top line minutes and he flourished. I’d also argue that this Minnesota team came nowhere near having the kind of surrounding talent that Eichel and Keller enjoyed, either. Bottom line, Casey has a far better chance of developing his game away from Lucia and the Minnesota program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 7 hours ago, K-9 said: Eichel and Keller got minutes in college because their coaches knew that you don’t stifle talent, you let it shine. Mittelstadt on the other hand, got protected minutes all season because his coach believes in the upper classmen pecking order, which is one of the reasons why Lucia has a rep for not developing talent. Interesting that when they went into their final weekend vs Penn St, games they had to win to ensure better position to qualify for the NCAAs, Casey was given top line minutes and he flourished. I’d also argue that this Minnesota team came nowhere near having the kind of surrounding talent that Eichel and Keller enjoyed, either. Bottom line, Casey has a far better chance of developing his game away from Lucia and the Minnesota program. It's funny that you compare the approaches of the two schools because a good portion of the BU fanbase is ready to chase of David Quinn because of the exact opposite structure, too much ice time for his top recruits. It's strange how those things work out as many of those guys struggled with having to carry that load, but then looked completely different after they left. I'm not talking about Eichel and Keller when I say that because those two are in a category all of their own. It's interesting to see this Lucia criticism pop up this year. The guy's been there almost 20 years now and they've always been a talent factory. Maybe time has finally caught up to him. He should share some advice with the patriot coaching staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 TY for the college talk fellas, i don't keep up with that at all outside of watching some Frozen Four games, so the insight is appreciated. In terms of AHL games for Casey, not only would I think it ruin his eligibility for amateurism, prolly be academically ineligible next year as his grades would go to all hell if he missed a month a school! As a mentioned a while ago, I am actually more concerned about Borgen. He goes back to school in the fall, i have to believe he will go to free agency in the summer. I say sign him as soon as they are eliminated, guarantee him rest of the year in the NHL to burn first year of ELC, and let him hit RFA a year early. I think that is the way it would work, but i can be wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrader Posted March 19, 2018 Share Posted March 19, 2018 57 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said: TY for the college talk fellas, i don't keep up with that at all outside of watching some Frozen Four games, so the insight is appreciated. In terms of AHL games for Casey, not only would I think it ruin his eligibility for amateurism, prolly be academically ineligible next year as his grades would go to all hell if he missed a month a school! As a mentioned a while ago, I am actually more concerned about Borgen. He goes back to school in the fall, i have to believe he will go to free agency in the summer. I say sign him as soon as they are eliminated, guarantee him rest of the year in the NHL to burn first year of ELC, and let him hit RFA a year early. I think that is the way it would work, but i can be wrong The problem there though is that St. Cloud is the #1 team in the country and the championship game is the same day as the Sabres last game. So there's a decent shot there won't be any games for him to play in. There could be plenty of time for the Calder Cup playoffs though. That's going to be his best bet. But don't worry too much. St. Cloud are perennial chokers. They'll probably find a way to lose this weekend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 19, 2018 Author Share Posted March 19, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 20, 2018 Author Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) Could impact the Mittelstadt decision to turn pro or not. Edited March 20, 2018 by 26CornerBlitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted March 21, 2018 Author Share Posted March 21, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 I am hoping we tank the next 8 games to help us land Dahlin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Who Posted March 21, 2018 Share Posted March 21, 2018 1 hour ago, Pete said: I am hoping we tank the next 8 games to help us land Dahlin This is a big game in that regards. Yotes are the chief competition for worst record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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