Staal showing 'unbelievably hungry mindset' at Sabres camp

Eric Staal has become the elder statesman at Sabres camp, although you might not know it. At 36, he is more than a year older than Buffalo's second-oldest player (Carter Hutton) and one of just five 30-somethings on the camp roster. His 1,240 games played are tied for fifth among active players.
Through two days of practices, he has looked anything but over the hill.

"I feel good," Staal said Saturday. "I feel prepared, healthy. My body feels good. My mind feels as young as these guys that are here. It's going to be a fun process."
The Sabres acquired Staal from the Minnesota Wild in an offseason trade with hopes of his arrival carrying multiple benefits. On the ice, he gives the team a No. 2 center behind Jack Eichel who was an All-Star just last season. Off it, he brings a level of experience few others can offer.
The team feels good on both of those levels in the early going. Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said it has been apparent that Staal shares his philosophy on open, honest communication, a culture the team began fostering last season and is now looking to expand upon.
"Eric has just come into this responsibility and this challenge with an unbelievably hungry mindset," Krueger said. "You can feel he wants something to happen here and he believes something's gonna happen here, and he wants to be a part of it. You don't feel the age at all in his spirit, and that's important."

Staal's calm demeanor should help the Sabres in moments of adversity - although, as Krueger pointed out, so should his on-ice presence. The coach has already taken note of Staal's hockey sense and work ethic away from the puck, attributes that should serve his linemates well. Thus far, Staal has centered a line with Jeff Skinner (with whom he played previously in Carolina) and Sam Reinhart.
Skinner and Staal did not play together as much as one might expect during their years together in Carolina, having been split up then in favor of a balanced offense. That said, Skinner said the chemistry has been easy to strike in early sessions thanks in part to Staal's experience.
"He's pretty predictable," Skinner said. "He wins a lot of battles and he creates a lot of space out there with how big he is and how fast he can play. That's always nice when you're a winger. … He doesn't show signs of slowing down."
Now, onto more notes and observations from Day 2 of camp.

Staal on Reinhart: "His shot is pretty lethal"

Staal said he has quickly noted Reinhart's hockey IQ after skating with him in the early going, a common observation among those who have played with Reinhart in the past. But he's also been impressed with Reinhart's shot, a weapon Staal said he will implore Reinhart to utilize more often.
"His shot is pretty lethal," Staal said. "From watching from years prior, I don't think he shoots the puck enough, but I'll try to get that out of him maybe a little more this year. He's a very good player. I've liked his style, his competitiveness. … He's one of many guys I'm excited to be alongside right now."

Upping the tempo

Krueger specified offensive pace and defensive aggressiveness as two areas he is looking to evaluate in early practices. Playing with pace is as much about execution as it is about foot speed, and the returns have been promising in the early going.
"Increasing the pace means your skillset has to increase to maintain possession offensively if you're demanding pace," Krueger said. "That's what excited us yesterday and today. With the increased pace, they were still making plays. There was still the skill to be able to deal with it."
Defensively, Krueger repeatedly emphasized aggressive gapping as one of the tenets of his system last season and now hopes for continued growth in that area. When the Sabres run 5-on-5, 3-on-3, or even 1-on-1 drills, that's what he's looking for.
"Any of those even-up drills you're seeing, we're really assessing the ability of the players to gap up, to close those areas off, and to be more aggressive than we were last year when it comes to defending," he said. "And that needs to happen as a group, but we're taking elements of it in practice."

Saturday's practice

Victor Olofsson missed the second half of practice after crashing into the post during a 1-on-1 drill. Olofsson initially returned and completed the first half of the session but did not join the group when they returned to the ice following their mid-practice meeting.
Jack Eichel (upper body) and Linus Ullmark (post-immigration quarantine) remained absent from practice. Krueger said he expects both players to miss at least one more session, though he remained optimistic on their long-term outlooks.
"You just don't want to force anything," he said. "You can know that we're keeping them physically fit and that they've put in the work. They've put in the work to have a foundation where if they step in here in a couple of days, we're going to be fine. Again, I'm not at all worried by it and know that they will be ready on the 14th."
Here's how the two groups lined up Saturday.
Gold group
53 Jeff Skinner - 12 Eric Staal - 23 Sam Reinhart
4 Taylor Hall - 37 Casey Mittelstadt - 68 Victor Olofsson
28 Zemgus Girgensons - 20 Cody Eakin - 21 Kyle Okposo
13 Tobias Rieder - 27 Curtis Lazar - 72 Tage Thompson
38 Riley Sheahan - 25 Arttu Ruotsalainen
19 Jake McCabe - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 62 Brandon Montour
33 Colin Miller - 10 Henri Jokiharju
44 Matt Irwin - 88 Brandon Davidson
40 Carter Hutton
34 Jonas Johansson
Blue group
Forwards: Steven Fogarty, C.J. Smith, Andrew Oglevie, Brett Murray, Brandon Biro, Rasmus Asplund
Defensemen: Will Borgen, Casey Fitzgerald, Mattias Samuelsson, Jacob Bryson
Goalies: Michael Houser, Dustin Tokarski