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Full Mittel Jacket

August 1, 2017, 12:30 PM ET [22 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill is a masked bandit who should be locked up for the Brinks truck robbery he recently performed. Botterill laid in the weeds then pounced on Casey Mittestadt with the 8th overall pick at the NHL Draft in June.

Mittelstadt, the reigning "Mr. Hockey" award winner for being the high school player of the year in Hockey State Of Minnesota, dropped jaws at Sabres prospect development camp in July.



Mittelstadt reached deep into his hockey bag of tricks and put on a show for the thousands of Sabres fans in attendance at the team's annual 3v3 tournamnent. Mittelstadt's vision, hand skills, rifle wrister, slick edge work and puck possession skills were front and center for all to see on each and every one of his shifts of the 3v3 scrimmage. Mittelstadt wanted the biscuit on his twig at all times. This kid possesses NHL speed and skill at age 18. He thinks the game so well and has the skill set of Phil Kessel. There is a lot to love about Mittelstadt's overall game.






Mittelstadt led Team White to the championship win at the 2017 French Connection 3v3 tourney.







Thanks, Buffalo Sabres








Mittelstadt isn't resting on his laurels but rather writing exciting new chapters during his ascent to his dream of playing in the NHL.


I can see Mittelstadt playing just one season at U Minnesota then transitioning directly to Buffalo. In my opinion, the only thing he needs to do right now is to add man strength to his upper body and core. Unlike Canadian major junior hockey, NCAA college hockey will allow Mittelstadt to pump iron religiously from Monday to Thursday for the next 10-11 months. NCAA teams play their games on Fridays and Saturdays which means Mittelstadt and other top college prospects can develop their bodies more completely in preparation for the NHL.

Mittelstadt has helped Team USA to flex it's hockey muscles at the 2017 World Junior Summer Showcase. Team USA has won three straight games after kicking Canada 8-2 on Tuesday. Last weekend, USA beat Finland and Sweden to begin the showcase.

On Tuesday, Mittelstadt stole the show by scoring two goals and adding two assists for four point

Through three games, Mittelstadt has recorded six points (1 PPG, 2 5v5 Gs, 3A), 8 shots on goal, and has a team leading +6 rating.

Mittelstadt, who is heading to the University of Minnesota to begin his freshman year has not disappointed at the WJC summer tourney.

Buffalo Sabres are closing their eyes and imagining a day in the near future when Mittelstadt, Jack Eichel and Samson Reinhart are Buffalo's scoring power trio.


Logan Brown scored two goals and Jake Oettinger made 20 saves as USA White defeated Canada Red, 8-2.

USA White blitzed Canada five-goal first period.

It only took 96 seconds for Mittelstadt to start the rout with a zesty sauce to Brown.

Two minutes later, Mittelstadt went high cheese for the PPG.


Brown and Mittelstadt connected again with 4:27 remaining in the period to give USA White a 5-0 lead entering intermission. Mittelstadt identified Brown to the right of the crease where he fired a wrist shot just under the crossbar for his second goal of the period.

Sabres prospect Cliff Pu scored to make it 5-1 USA.

Brett Howden cut the USA lead to 5-2.

Then Mittelstadt lit the lamp and closed the show.

Dylan Samberg and Joey Anderson to make it an 8-2 final score.


Sabres fans will love seeing Mittelstadt skate and create with Team USA at the World Junior tournament in Buffalo in December and January !!











Thanks, USA Hockey













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When Jason Botterill assumed the Buffalo Sabres GM helm in May, he promised to implement and more comprehensive skills development program at the NHL and AHL levels.

Today, Botterill has taken yet another bold step closer to duplicating the Wilkes Barre Scranton-Pittsburgh template for success by adding another former NHLer who will work with Sabres prospects to maximize their skills.

Botterill has hired former NHL defenseman Mike Komisarek as a player development coach.


Phil Housley continues to add value to his coaching staff.


Last month, Housley hired associate coach Davis Payne and assistant coach Chris Hajt.


Assistant coach Tom Ward and goaltending coach Andrew Allen were retained from the Bylsma-Murray administration.

Botterill is putting his money where his mouth is in terms of adding more resources to augment the skill inside his organization. The daunting challenge for NHL head coaches is to maximize the skill on their rosters while players are spending less and less time on the ice for practices. The rigors of the compressed NHL schedule is that players don't practice as much today as they had five or ten years ago.

In his ten year tenure in Pittsburgh, Botterill gave his AHL and NHL players the opportunity to work with skills coaches on their off days and during the summer. Botterill and the Penguins have won the Stanley Cup three times in the past eight years. The NHL is a copycat league. Botterill and Housley are in the process of shifting the paradigm from losing to winning by rebuilding the culture inside the Sabres and Rochester Amerks organizations.

Komisarek joins former NHLers Krys Barch and Adam Mair as player development coaches. Seamus Kotyk is Buffalo's goalie development coach.

Komisarek, 35, played 11 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes.

Komisarek and Botterill are descendants of the Red Berenson coaching/leadership tree. Komisarek and Botterill starred for their respective Michigan Wolverines teams.
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