Mittelstadt flashes form at Sabres development camp

BUFFALO -- Buffalo Sabres forward prospect Casey Mittelstadt wasted little time in making a strong first impression on his new organization, and at the same time left his potential future teammates in awe.
Mittelstadt, the No. 8 pick of the 2017 NHL Draft, was competing in the championship game of the 3-on-3 tournament at the Sabres development camp, which ended Tuesday. Playing for Team White, Mittelstadt, 18, carried the puck through the neutral zone deep into Team Gold's end and skated wide of the net because of the defensive presence of forward Bobby McMann. Despite that, Mittelstadt was able to take a wrist shot that beat goalie Kyle Keyser over the shoulder on the short side.

"That was the first time I saw Casey play and I think he's one of the better players I've ever seen play," said center Rasmus Asplund, the Sabres' second-round pick (No. 33) in the 2016 draft. "He's so shifty and so hard to play against. I got to play with him [on Tuesday], but he has such good skills."
That one moment encapsulated what made Mittelstadt, who played at Eden Prairie (Minnesota) High School, the 2017 winner of Minnesota's Mr. Hockey Award and the No. 3 ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting.
"We're excited to have him as part of our organization," general manager Jason Botterill said. "We knew he was a great person off the ice. There were things he had to work on. Upper body strength, yes, but you see what we're excited about. We saw a lot of lower body strength in some of our off-ice testing and just his interaction with our staff, ideas to improve his game, and then he's going to a great program at Minnesota this year.
"We're expecting him to really blossom as well, as there'll be an adjustment to NCAA hockey. He's going to be surrounded by good players there and we're expecting a very strong year from him."
Said Mittelstadt: "I think everyone wants to come out and play well, but I think it's important to take things in and try to become a better player and take things home with you that you need to work on. So for me, I definitely found some things I need to work on, but I think I did well."
Mittelstadt had a built-in mentor to prepare him for life as a Golden Gophers hockey player in forward Hudson Fasching, who played at Minnesota and made his NHL debut with the Sabres last season.

"It's a small world," Fasching said. "It's awesome. He's obviously a world-class player and he's a great guy."
The chance Mittelstadt had to pick Fasching's brain about what's to come at Minnesota was too much to resist.
"He's been through it so I've got a lot of random questions for him like any freshman," Mittelstadt said. "It definitely helps; it was good to have him here for the week."
He's already focused on playing at Minnesota this season.
"The main thing is we want to come in and win," Mittelstadt said. "Obviously with the national championship being in St. Paul, I know it's high expectations, but being a Gopher that's what you expect every year and that's what the fans expect. I think that's where we are going in and that's going to be our goal. There are a lot of little things we'll have to do along the way, but for us that'll be the start."