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Buffalo Sabres: Rookies to watch in the Atlantic Division

By Robert Berger

BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 4: Casey Mittelstadt #37 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators on April 4, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Casey Mittelstadt
BUFFALO, NY - APRIL 4: Casey Mittelstadt #37 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during an NHL game against the Ottawa Senators on April 4, 2018 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Casey Mittelstadt /
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Anthony Cirelli – Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli still has eligibility for this year’s Calder Trophy race even though he played in 18 regular season games and 17 playoff games last year (the cutoff is 25 regular season games).

Cirelli was drafted out of Oshawa of the OHL in the third round of the 2015 NHL draft. He had a breakout season last year with the Lightning’s AHL affilialte the Syracuse Crunch (14-23-37 in 51 games) prior to being called up to the big club in March.

Cirelli spent the majority of his time in Tampa Bay with the bottom 6 forwards and only appeared on the power play twice in the regular season and 3 times in the playoffs. His lack of playing time last year is not necessarily a reflection of his Cierlli’s performance as the Lightning have a strong top 6 which brought them within one game of the Stanley Cup Final last season.

This top 2 lines will be incredibly difficult for Cirelli to crack. The centers in front of him are Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point who are entrenched in their respective roles. Barring an injury or a brutal training camp, there is no reason to believe that Anthony Cirelli won’t be starting the season in Tampa Bay. The question is if he is going to plateau on the third line or grow into a higher impact player.

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