Sharpen Up | How Mittelstadt's strong start stacks up against NHL leaders and more top storylines 

Don Granato’s confidence in Casey Mittelstadt can be traced as far back as March 2021, when Granato was appointed as interim head coach of the Sabres.

Mittelstadt had spent much of that COVID-inflicted season on the taxi squad. Granato took over with a month and a half remaining and a plan to thrust a group of young players into high-leverage roles for the first times in their careers: Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, and Mittelstadt.

Mittelstadt ended that season with nine goals and 17 points in the final 22 games – a sign of things to come, looking back now in retrospect. But while Thompson, Cozens, and Dahlin took their next steps linearly over the ensuing seasons, Mittelstadt’s progress was interrupted by a series of long-term injuries. Still, Granato – and the players around Mittelstadt – never lost faith.

“I stood here every day and said he is putting the work in and he's talented,” Granato said. “And the work that he put in two years ago and further is paying dividends now. It's the NHL. It doesn't happen overnight.”

All of which is to say, what’s happened through the first month of this season has come as no surprise in the Sabres dressing room. Here’s a rundown of what Mittelstadt has accomplished in the early going:

• He’s tied for the Sabres scoring lead with 11 points – all of which have come at even strength.
• Mittelstadt’s 11 even-strength points place him in a four-way tie for second place in the NHL alongside Elias Pettersson, David Pastrnak, and Bryan Rust. Vegas forward William Karlsson holds the league lead with 12 but has played two more games than Mittelstadt.
• You can trace Mittelstadt’s even-strength production even further than the start of this season. He has 27 even-strength points dating back to March 25, the most in the NHL in that span.
• Mittelstadt has five primary assists at 5-on-5, tied the NHL lead alongside Pettersson, Jack Eichel, and Cole Perfetti.
• The Sabres have outscored opponents 16-11 with Mittelstadt on the ice at 5-on-5, a 60-percent share (according to Natural Stat Trick).

It’s the sort of impact Granato and the Sabres envisioned back in March 2021.

“I said that this is a guy that I thought people were underrating two years ago,” Granato said. “… He needed time. It takes time to develop, and you have to stand by your guys until they do.”

Here’s more to get you ready for another week in the Sabrehood.

LAST WEEK IN 280 CHARACTERS (OR LESS)

The Sabres split a home-and-home series with Philadelphia, then ended the week with a thrilling victory in Toronto punctuated by two goals from Alex Tuch. JJ Peterka and Mittelstadt tallied points in each of the three games.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Nov. 7: Buffalo at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 10: Buffalo vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m. (Hockey Fights Cancer Night) | MORE INFO

Saturday, Nov. 11: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

3 STORYLINES TO WATCH

1. The Sabres were without forward Dylan Cozens (upper body) and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (lower body) against Toronto, but Granato said the team received positive updates on both players Saturday morning. Samuelsson will miss a minimum seven days on injured reserve.

2. The team recalled defenseman Ryan Johnson, a first-round pick in 2019, to make his NHL debut in Toronto in place of Samuelsson. Johnson tallied an assist for his first point, a stretch pass that sent Jeff Skinner alone over the offensive blue line.

3. Peterka enters this week on a five-game point streak, with three goals and three assists in that span. The 21-year-old has five goals in 12 games this season.

ON THE FARM

1. Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen continue to produce for the Rochester Americans, who remain in first place in the North Division after concluding last week with a 5-4 shootout victory in Syracuse. Kulich – still only 19 years old – is tied for the AHL lead with nine goals and leads Rochester with 13 points. Rosen’s 12 points are tied for 10th in the league.

Check out these connections between the two first-round picks from Saturday. First, Kulich makes a play in the neutral zone and sets up Rosen on the rush:

Rosen later returns the favor on the power play (following some nice work by Kulich to maintain possession along the half wall):

2. Speaking of first-round picks, Matt Savoie tallied five points (2+3) in six games on his conditioning assignment with the Amerks.

“I think Matthew Savoie has shown what he was starting to show at rookie camp before he got hurt,” Rochester coach Seth Appert told reporters Friday. “How good of a player he is, why we drafted him ninth-overall, how good of a summer he had, how much different he looks even than he did in the playoffs last year.”

3. Olivier Nadeau (fourth round, 2021) scored his first professional goal in the win over Syracuse, a redirect on a drive to the net:

CONTENT CORNER

We know you miss Jack Quinn as much as we do. Watch his episode of "Speed Dating" with JJ Peterka below, then check out Rasmus Dahlin mic'd up at a recent practice.