Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt has made his value known in the month of March.
Signed through 2024, Casey Mittelstadt may have plenty of chances to prove his worth to the Buffalo Sabres. Drafted eighth overall in 2017, Mittelstadt struggled to gain traction in the league.
This past season, Mittelstadt initially won the top center job out of training camp but an upper-body injury derailed his season, and perhaps his career, with the Sabres. However, Mittelstadt has rebounded as of late, with five points in nine games in March, and it may give him at least one more season to prove his worth to this young Buffalo Sabres team.
Can Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt experience the Granato Effect?
Since taking over at head coach, Don Granato helped turn defenseman Rasmus Dahlin into a dynamic two-way player. He also helped rejuvenate Jeff Skinner, whose production fell off of a cliff for two seasons. Then there is Tage Thompson, who had a meager 35 points in 145 NHL appearances before he tacked on 45 in just 58 games this year.
No, Granato has not turned the Sabres into Stanley Cup contenders. It’s hard to overhaul a franchise that has adopted a culture of perpetual losing for over a decade. But Granato has shown he can slowly and surely turn around existing talent.
Skinner, Dahlin, and Thompson have grown into franchise cornerstones. And while it’s farfetched to believe he can do the same to Mittelstadt, it’s still possible Granato can salvage the meager start to the forward’s career.
Coming into the tilt with the Vancouver Canucks, Mittlestadt logged just six points in 20 games. His shooting percentage tanked to just 5.9%, and his face-off win percentage dropped from 49.0 in 2020-21 to just 42.5 this season.
While Mittelstadt continues to struggle with consistency, a strong finish to the season might give him one more chance to prove his worth. But, his improved production in March needs to carry over into the final month of the season.
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)