[Sabremetrix] Une pièce sous-estimée pour les Sabres avant la saison prochaine : Casey Mittelstadt. Il a récolté 19 points lors de ses 15 derniers matchs (mené BUF de 4 points sur une durée), 12 de ces points étaient des points primaires 5v5
One underrated piece for the Sabres heading into next season: Casey Mittelstadt
He had 19 points in his last 15 games (led BUF by 4 points in than span), 12 of those points were primary 5v5 points
— Sabremetrix📊 (@Sabremetrix) June 17, 2023
—
seeldoger47
4 Comments
evolving hockey’s GAR model has Mittelstadt as about a 90th percentile forward last season. that’s just below forwards like Nylander and Meier but above Kaprizov, Marchand, B Tkachuk, Eriksson Ek, Larkin, and Tavares and that’s despite playing like one of the worst skaters in the league through the first three months of the season. I’m excited to see what an entire season of him playing well looks like.
He was great with skinner.
I want him to be our 3rd center and give him Tom wilson, and another grinder scorer.. would be fun to watch
Skinner needs talented players to produce. He can’t carry a line on his own. It’s pretty apparent Mitts is the same at this point. That’s fine. Most players in the NHL can’t carry a line independently on their own as it is. Think of the random players who have played with Crosby over the years because of an injury or something and ended up looking amazing during the limited ice time, but who ultimately never end up ascending beyond the AHL during their careers and are forgotten in a few years. Contrast that with a 4th line Jeff Skinner. There is the player who is brought down to the levels of other players and the player who lifts everyone up to his level.
If you want a more Sabres-oriented example of line independence, Dylan Cozens looks like he is one who is able to make the best of players he is paired with. He demonstrated that this season. Would he benefit from playing with better talent? Absolutely. Anyone would. But it’s a situation of diminishing returns.
Mitts needs talent to match his own to excel. He stepped up to play as a first line player when it was needed. He didn’t pick the third line up (specifically VO) to a first line caliber. At this point it’s on the coaches to find him complimentary players as we’ve seen what he is capable of.