The Buffalo Sabres have had some high draft picks and young players that maybe have not met the fan’s expectations. Most players on the Sabres were not performing at the level that was expected at the beginning of this season. But since the coaching change, players began to play at a higher level. There have been two players specifically that have seen a massive jump in performance since the midseason coaching change in Buffalo, Casey Mittelstadt, and Rasmus Dahlin.
Fans in Buffalo remember seeing Casey Mittelstadt dominate in the 2018 World Junior Championships. They remember being extremely excited about this Buffalo Sabres prospect. But they also remember maybe being a little underwhelmed with Casey’s performance in his first few years in the league. But now we are finally seeing Mittelstadt start to shine.
Much like the rest of the team, Mittelstadt struggled at the beginning of the year. But since the Sabres fired Ralph Krueger and brought in interim head coach Don Granato, Casey is showing what he can do. Along with the rest of the team, he is playing with so much more confidence than he was at the beginning of the year.
In his last 11 games, he has seven goals and three assists. In only one of those 11 games does Mittelstadt not have a point. And he has not posted a negative +/- since March 29th.
Rasmus Dahlin has also been playing at a higher level as of late, much like Mittelstadt. Though Dahlin has not been putting up points a the same rate as Casey, Dahlin’s confidence seems to be through the roof.
Dahlin seemed lost and hesitant to handle the puck when Krueger was head coach. But now, with Granato acting as the head coach, he looks to have regained his confidence and is much more comfortable skating with the puck.
Seeing these two perform at such a higher level as of late should provide some reassurance to Sabres fans that these guys still have the potential to be great in the NHL. And when you look at how young they still are, with Mittelstadt being 22 and Dahlin being 21, they both have so much more time to develop even more.