Zach Benson remembers watching the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo and thinking how skilled United States forward Casey Mittelstadt was.
Benson, then 12 years old, watched as Mittelstadt led the U.S. to a bronze medal, recording a tournament-best 11 points (4+7) in seven games and a team-high 20:48 of ice time per game. Mittelstadt was named Best Forward and Most Valuable Player of the tournament for his efforts and remains one of just five U.S. players to earn the MVP honor and one of three U.S. forwards to be recognized as Best Forward by the Directorate.
So, when Benson was named to the Buffalo Sabres’ opening night roster, he knew exactly the type of player he’d have the opportunity to learn from and play with. Since then, Benson has had the chance to play on a line with Mittelstadt and has learned of the elements that make up his game.
“I knew he was super skilled and an elite player, but until you see him in person, you don’t realize his vision and how much he sees the ice. It’s pretty, pretty crazy, honestly,” Benson said.
“Playing on a line with him is nice, for sure, because he has eyes on the back of his head. He sees you when you don’t expect him to see you. That’s an elite quality to have and obviously he has that.”
Coming into training camp, Benson looked over last season’s roster and made a mental note of each player’s stats. He remembers seeing Mittelstadt come just a point shy of a 60-point campaign with 15 goals and 44 assists in 2022-23, all of which were career highs.
Today, Mittelstadt is on pace to surpass these single-season career highs as he has tallied a team-best 31 points (10+21) through the team’s first 38 games.
“He’s been really good production wise, for sure,” linemate Jordan Greenway said. “He does great things with the puck. He’s able to hold guys off, create space for other guys, and typically find guys in areas where they can score. So yeah, it’s no surprise to me at all how well he’s doing.”
The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native leads all Sabres skaters with 28 even-strength points and 21 even-strength assists in 2023-24. His 28 even-strength points are 11th among all NHL skaters, behind elite company in Nathan MacKinnon (36), Connor McDavid (34), Nikita Kucherov (34), Jake Guentzel (33), Robert Thomas (32), Auston Matthews (30), William Nylander (30), Quinn Hughes (29), Sam Reinhart (29), and Sidney Crosby (29).
Benson believes Mittelstadt’s routine and habits have allowed him to become one of Buffalo’s most consistent forwards this season.
“Off the ice, you learn how dedicated he is – like what he puts in his body, how he takes care of his body,” Benson said. “You know, it’s really the behind-the-scenes stuff that you guys don’t see that allows him to be an elite player.”
Greenway added that Mittelstadt’s personality and demeanor help him on the ice as well.
“I mean, he’s a great dude," Greenway said. "He’s a great teammate, a great guy to have in the locker room. I’ve known him for a good amount of time now, and he’s just like a pretty even-keeled guy. He doesn’t get too high, too low, so it allows him to stay pretty consistent.”
Mittelstadt’s line with Benson and Greenway has also solidified itself as a consistent and positive presence in the Sabres’ lineup. The Sabres hold a 39-29 edge in scoring chances and a 16-9 advantage in high danger scoring chanceswith trio sharing the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Benson and Greenway both agree that Mittelstadt’s talent and the trio’s chemistry has played a key role in their success as a line.
“… To be able to play with a guy like that, it just makes your job a lot easier,” Benson said.
“He’s a dog on a bone, too. So, you know, it’s nice. I say we both think the game – and Greener as well – at a high level and I think that allows us to kind of connect and play as one. And then we all got that dog mentality where, you know, we’re all over the puck and we all want the puck. So, that allows us to kind of stay as a unit and I think that allows us to succeed when we’re out there together.”
Here's more from Wednesday's practice at KeyBank Center.
