Player Discussion Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th) #37 - Part III

[Chainshot]

Let’s not pretend he’s a lost cause. He’s a second year player who has insane puck skills, speed, passing, and competitiveness.

He needs to go to Rochester, work on his game, and have Taylor build his confidence. It’s seems to be working for Thompson. Plenty of kids get sent down and come back stronger. Jokiharju is a case in point.

And the communication here is big - let him know clearly what it is that they want him to work on and how to proceed. Also be clear that the assignment isn't going to be just a few days or a week - he needs to go down and WORK. There are still the bones of a good player there. Just fill out his game.

And again, that he worked hard this summer doesn't mean he's at the point he needs to be as a pro. His speed and endurance aren't things that seem to be all that yet -- he can continue to work on himself physically do gain more speed and certainly get his cardio up so that he's able to execute better.

 

[toomuchsauce]

Maybe the organization wants Casey on the extended Tage Thompson development plan: that is, not one but *two* full seasons of completely useless, ineffective NHL play, followed by AHL development as needed. Twice the development!

 

[Buffaloed]

Let’s not pretend he’s a lost cause. He’s a second year player who has insane puck skills, speed, passing, and competitiveness.

He's not competitive. That's why he's not succeeding. He plays like he's in the Beauty League.

And again, that he worked hard this summer doesn't mean he's at the point he needs to be as a pro. His speed and endurance aren't things that seem to be all that yet -- he can continue to work on himself physically do gain more speed and certainly get his cardio up so that he's able to execute better.

I think he got in the best shape of his life in the Tim Connolly sense.

 

[Man of Principles]

I'm getting dead tired of Mittelstadt. He is non-existent. He makes zero impact on the game on a consistent basis. I'm ready to call him a trade chip, but he won't be one for long if he continues playing this way.

The only players I currently dislike more than Mittelstadt are Bogosian, McCabe, and Sobotka.

 

[FloridaSabresFan]

Dear Botts,

Send Mittelstadt to rochester.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Here's my proposed plan to get Mitts back on track:

1. Announce that they're going to scratch a forward on a rotating basis
2. Mostly scratch Mitts, to the confusion both players and fans, and not actually do any kind of rotation
3. Keep insisting you're rotating scratches, even when it's clear you're not.
4. Frustrate the player who is getting mixed signals from the team, and has to answer questions from the media on why the coach is scratching you.
5. Profit

 

[Icicle]

I agree he needs a confidence booster in the AHL. He hasn't seen much time with the puck on his stick since high school being so outsized. He's over stickhandling and bobbling the puck too much. His defensive game is par for the NHL though. Calls for him being a bust I think are just recency bias since he got promoted to the NHL on a crappy team with crappy linemates probably too young. Some of you are forgetting he's only 21.

 

[Gabrielor]

AHL please.

It STILL isnt too late.

For clarity, I still like Mitts ALOT. I still have high hopes. I don't think the NHL is the right place, right now.

 

[Buffaloed]

I didn't think much of it at the time but did Mittelstadt make the right choice?
NHL Draft: Casey Mittelstadt's unique path from high school to likely top 10 pick
After finishing his junior year at Eden Prairie (Minn.) High last spring, Mittelstadt had several options in front of him for where he could spend the 2016-2017 hockey season. He could graduate early and enroll at the University of Minnesota, getting a jumpstart on his time with the Gophers. He could play for the Green Bay (Wis.) Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Or, the rarer move in the bunch would be to play his senior season at Eden Prairie.

He chose the latter. Well, the latter two, actually. He started the winter in the USHL, played a high school season, then finished up back in the USHL.

 

[Chainshot]

It was interesting to see Pronmon doing a re-evaluation of his own prospect ratings, mentioning specifically how Mittelstadt hasn't shown the skating ability he thought Mitts had. Casey is one of the ones he over-estimated the most, per his own words.

Pronman: NHL prospects I was wrong about, 2019 edition

...whose skating I graded as above-average as prospects, but in hindsight that was the one area I was really off on both, as their skating and pace has not been all that impressive at the pro level.

 

[ForsbergMoDo21]

For the myriad criticisms Botteril gets, burning a year of Mittelstadts ELC for six games or whatever it was is often forgotten. That pissed me off. Was there any justification for that? He was 3.5 years from walking into FA as a college senior. It was such a stupid move I’m convinced there must be some facet of it I don’t understand.

 

[FloridaSabresFan]

I don't understand Botts refusal to send him down. Maybe the should take a look at Grigorenko's history with the sabres

 

[sincerity0]

For the myriad criticisms Botteril gets, burning a year of Mittelstadts ELC for six games or whatever it was is often forgotten. That pissed me off. Was there any justification for that? He was 3.5 years from walking into FA as a college senior. It was such a stupid move I’m convinced there must be some facet of it I don’t understand.

AND promised him NHL time. Same thing with Tage. We traded for Tage and he comes into camp saying he’s promised NHL time. Mitts should have been in college last year and in the AHL this year. Botterill panicked

 

[Chainshot]

For the myriad criticisms Botteril gets, burning a year of Mittelstadts ELC for six games or whatever it was is often forgotten. That pissed me off. Was there any justification for that? He was 3.5 years from walking into FA as a college senior. It was such a stupid move I’m convinced there must be some facet of it I don’t understand.

It's something a lot of teams do as a way to entice a player into signing.

 

[Chainshot]

AND promised him NHL time. Same thing with Tage. We traded for Tage and he comes into camp saying he’s promised NHL time. Mitts should have been in college last year and in the AHL this year. Botterill panicked

I don't mind that they signed him after a year at UM. What I do mind is that they didn't send the two of them down earlier last year. Heck, not putting Mitts on the Rochester playoff roster as even a clerical move was dumbf***ery, even if the idea was to hope he got an invite to the WC's. The nature of Mitts' "LBI" that kept him from participating seems like so much window dressing.

And to have wasted nearly 30 games with this kid wallowing this year? Inexcusable.

 

[sincerity0]

I don't mind that they signed him after a year at UM. What I do mind is that they didn't send the two of them down earlier last year. Heck, not putting Mitts on the Rochester playoff roster as even a clerical move was dumb****ery, even if the idea was to hope he got an invite to the WC's. The nature of Mitts' "LBI" that kept him from participating seems like so much window dressing.

And to have wasted nearly 30 games with this kid wallowing this year? Inexcusable.

I’m not dying on the hill about signing him. Ideally he spends one more year developing in the NCAA. My assumption is that Buffalo wanted him signed so they could control his exercise routine a bit more. He could lift under their guidance during the season. My issue is the same as yours — he never got sent down. It’s again with the Tage thing too.. these guys were inexplicably promised NHL time. To the extent promised is a bit of a mystery.

Botterill can say this and that about development but what they’ve done with Casey is criminal. He’s getting 10 minutes a game. Send him to Rochester, get 15-17 min ES + PP/PK time. He puts up a PPG+ and make some paper moves so he’s eligible for the playoffs if we are in contention.

I don’t want to hate Mittelstadt because he’s so young and the skill is evidently there. He’s just not ready. If we can see it then Botterill can say it. At least in the end they made it right by sending Tage down. Personally it might be difficult but there has to be a breaking point where a players confidence is permanently impacted.

 

[ForsbergMoDo21]

It's something a lot of teams do as a way to entice a player into signing.

I understand the mechanics of it. But why did they need to entice him? He was a decent college player who they had guaranteed control over for a minimum of 3.5 years. If he was a junior or senior and could threaten going to FA, it makes sense. But he was a freshman.

Between this and the overpayment for Skinner this summer, it makes me feel like Botteril doesn’t understand when he has the leverage. This move was either panic or a complete misunderstanding of the situation by Botteril.

At least with Tage, he finally showed a willingness to lose face and do what’s right for the player and the team (albeit a year late). Hopefully he comes to the sane realization with Mittelstadt.

 

[Kyndig]

Mitts has a good shot but he never shoots, hes always looking to pass it and he forces it into an area where he just ends up turning it over. He doesn't seem to be using his stick handling as much and that was one of his other strengths. Skating wise I think he's average but the fact that he looks out of shape even on a short shift it looks like hes plodding through a swamp. I don't remember him really winning any battles along the boards either..last time I remember people saying he was going to be good is when he clowned Subban a year ago...haven't really seen that since.

Hopefully Fathead sends him down to the AHL soon, he needs to regain some confidence as well. In the offseason he really needs to go training with Eichel or something.

 

[mechaworm]

I'm not writing Mittelstadt off, but I'm starting to think he needs that AHL time if he's going to actually develop. Keep him up and stunt him.

 

[OkimLom]

I’m not dying on the hill about signing him. Ideally he spends one more year developing in the NCAA. My assumption is that Buffalo wanted him signed so they could control his exercise routine a bit more. He could lift under their guidance during the season. My issue is the same as yours — he never got sent down. It’s again with the Tage thing too.. these guys were inexplicably promised NHL time. To the extent promised is a bit of a mystery.

Botterill can say this and that about development but what they’ve done with Casey is criminal. He’s getting 10 minutes a game. Send him to Rochester, get 15-17 min ES + PP/PK time. He puts up a PPG+ and make some paper moves so he’s eligible for the playoffs if we are in contention.

I don’t want to hate Mittelstadt because he’s so young and the skill is evidently there. He’s just not ready. If we can see it then Botterill can say it. At least in the end they made it right by sending Tage down. Personally it might be difficult but there has to be a breaking point where a players confidence is permanently impacted.

BOLDED: And that's the problem. He was far from "just getting a better diet/exercise" regiment away from the NHL. He needed to learn and develop in a system. He's coming from high school. Even at the highest levels of High School hockey, it has a very elementary level of playing within a system. His drafted peers on the other hand played in a higher level system. Even some of them are sent back to learn more. Mittelstadt, needed to learn a competitive system, where he can focus on the small details of playing and the responsibility of playing center. He only played one year doing that. Anybody that watched him could see that was not enough and he needed at least another year.

A little more consistency offensively would've been nice to see. Yes, there were 10 games in which he played that he didn't record a point, but there were 24 games he didn't score a goal, and 17 games he didn't record an assist that he played in.

 

[slip]

I don't mind that they signed him after a year at UM. What I do mind is that they didn't send the two of them down earlier last year. Heck, not putting Mitts on the Rochester playoff roster as even a clerical move was dumb****ery, even if the idea was to hope he got an invite to the WC's. The nature of Mitts' "LBI" that kept him from participating seems like so much window dressing.

And to have wasted nearly 30 games with this kid wallowing this year? Inexcusable.

The only thing standing between Mitts and Rochester is Botterill's ego.

 

[jcbeze]

The only thing standing between Mitts and Rochester is Botterill's ego.

are you saying he has a big head? haha

 

[Bendium]

I am generally on the positive side concerning Jason Botterill's tenure here, but the handling of Casey so far I give him a negative grade for. From high school to second line NHL center in less than a year? I get that the team planned him for third line till Bergland bailed, but playing him in the NHL was a forced move to start with, and second line with your figures crosses stinks of using hope as a plan. That is never good. Its definitely not to late to start over, but you have ultimately lost time and made the window smaller. Get him to the AHL as their #1 center and leave him there until he is over ripe. Casey playing on the Sabres is hurting his development, the teams overall effectiveness, and the future potential of the asset pool. This ones a no brainer.

 

[Team Cozens]

I am generally on the positive side concerning Jason Botterill's tenure here, but the handling of Casey so far I give him a negative grade for. From high school to second line NHL center in less than a year? I get that the team planned him for third line till Bergland bailed, but playing him in the NHL was a forced move to start with, and second line with your figures crosses stinks of using hope as a plan. That is never good. Its definitely not to late to start over, but you have ultimately lost time and made the window smaller. Get him to the AHL as their #1 center and leave him there until he is over ripe. Casey playing on the Sabres is hurting his development, the teams overall effectiveness, and the future potential of the asset pool. This ones a no brainer.

Heck, I'd send him down for a month or two just for maximizing his ice time and confidence level. Play tons of PP time as well.

 

[Reddawg]

If we had done the smart thing and left him in college to continue developing, all the desperate hand-wringing right now would be about his perceived imminent bailout to sign with another team following his senior season in 20-21.