Caggiula hopes to showcase his potential with Sabres

Drake Caggiula switched teams for the first time midway through the 2018-19 season, when the Edmonton Oilers - with whom he had signed out of college two teams prior - traded him as part of a package to the Chicago Blackhawks.
Whenever Caggiula would block a shot or deliver a big hit for the rest of that season, he remembers Don Granato being ready to greet him afterward.
"He was always one of the first people to come running down the bench and give you that positive encouragement," Caggiula said. "I think that really goes well for me. I like having feedback, good or bad. I think that communication is big thing. He was obviously big on that."

Granato departed from his role as assistant coach with the Blackhawks after that season and served in the same role with the Sabres until being promoted to interim head coach last month. His 26-game stint with Caggiula was enough for him to vouch for the forward after the Sabres claimed Caggiula off waivers from Arizona last week.
"When I've spoken to him it's been easy conversations because we have a prior relationship," Granato said. "... He knows and knew then how much I believed in him when we were together in Chicago and it's no different here. I'm very excited to get him in the lineup and get his game going because he can bring a lot of energy, feistiness, grit and speed."
Caggiula, 26, attended development camp with the Sabres as an invitee in 2014. He went on to win a national championship as a senior at North Dakota and was a coveted undrafted free agent in 2016, when he considered Buffalo before ultimately deciding to join Edmonton.
He joined Arizona prior to this season and tallied seven points (1+6) in 27 games. He felt happy with the chances he generated offensively early on but was unable to translate them to points before a hamstring injury forced him to miss five games in February. He never recaptured his rhythm.
"I was in and out of the lineup every couple of games and that was a little bit difficult for me just to kind of find my footing again and kind of find that rhythm that as a hockey player you're always looking for," Caggiula said.
"… I think when I missed a couple of those chances early on I kind of lost a little bit of confidence and maybe that's something I can work on myself at home or whatever. But overall, I wasn't upset about the way I was playing, it's just one of those things that I could always be better and I always want to be better, doesn't matter how good I was playing."

Caggiula sees an opportunity to prove himself amid a young lineup that is currently playing with confidence and for a coach that has his back. He will remain in quarantine until Sunday, lining up his debut either for that afternoon against Pittsburgh or, perhaps more likely, next Tuesday against Boston.
"It's obviously a big opportunity for me to come in and showcase what I'm able to do," he said. "Hopefully my style of play will suit the way the team wants to play and I can really fit in with the group here.
"Who know what's going to happen for next season during the offseason, but this is definitely an opportunity for me to step in and showcase what I'm capable of doing."

Wednesday's practice

The team announced prior to taking the ice for practice in Washington that captain Jack Eichel will miss the remainder of the season due to a herniated disk in his neck. He is expected to be healthy and ready to play at the beginning of the 2021-22 season.
"It's a bummer," Granato said. "It is. You just hope for him to feel better every day and improve every day. That in essence what you think of and how you think about it."
Granato did not have an update on the status of Linus Ullmark, who left with an injury during the first period on Monday. The team currently has Dustin Tokarski as the other active goaltender on the roster and Michael Houser on the taxi squad.
The Sabres conclude their three-game road trip against the Capitals on Thursday. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m.