3 Buffalo Sabres skating under the radar in regular season’s twilight
The Buffalo Sabres have seen noticeable improvement from many of their core players this season. But there are three skating under the radar.
The Buffalo Sabres have built a solid group of core players that include the likes of Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin, Dylan Cozens, Mattias Samuelsson, Alex Tuch, Owen Power, Jeff Skinner, Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, and J.J. Peterka. There are others who have made solid contributions as well, even if we can’t label them as part of the inner-core just yet.
So who are the top three Sabres making their case to join the core listed above? Here are three names to look out for.
3 Buffalo Sabres skating under-the-radar
1 – Casey Mittelstadt
Casey Mittelstadt may be sitting at a -16 in the plus-minus category, but his 44 points in 73 games means he’s threatening to double his previous career-high points total of 25. While he can still stand to control the puck better (37 giveaways), Mittelstadt has also developed more of a grittier, defensive mentality, having logged 46 takeaways this season.
What’s more? The Buffalo Sabres are controlling the puck more than ever with Mittelstadt on the ice, with a Corsi For% of 51.6%. His Fenwick For% is still under 50%, but it’s sitting at a career-best 49.8%.
Overall, if Mittelstadt controls the puck a bit better and continues to grind it out when on the ice, he could remain on the bottom six for a long time. He has a year left to prove 2022-23 was no outlier.
2 – Henri Jokiharju
Perhaps no Buffalo Sabres defensemen has seen more ups and downs in 2022-23 than Henri Jokiharju. And from an overall numbers standpoint, he’s regressed.
Recently, however, Jokiharju’s occasionally been showing a more aggressive side, delivering bone-crunching hits when given the opportunity. His recent aggression has drawn attention, and if it gets more consistent, he could turn into a sound player on the third pairing next season.
As it stands, the jury is still out for Jokiharju, as his aggression needs to become more mainstream. But as the season reaches its final stages, he’s definitely worth keeping tabs on.
3 – Tyson Jost
When you look at Tyson Jost’s stat sheet, nothing noteworthy pops out. He’s got 20 points in 52 games, he’s -4 in the plus-minus, and he boasts just a 37.2% faceoff win percentage. Everything else looks pedestrian, at best.
What makes Jost one of the Buffalo Sabres best under-the-radar players? He can create chances, and that’s been huge for the team’s success offensively. At 5-on5, the Blue and Gold are controlling the puck over 50% of the time with Jost on the ice, and that number will only keep trending north with time as Buffalo gains more experience playing as a unit.
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Occasionally, Jost has also positioned himself well enough to score the occasional goal. Like Mittelstadt, Jost won’t impress you with his stats, but his gritty mentality earns him a spot on this list.
Source: Buffalo Sabres 2023-24 roster tiers: Where each player stands entering the offseason by Matthew Fairburn, TheAthletic.com
(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)