Casey Mittelstadt's road back to the Buffalo Sabres' lineup might be shorter than expected.
Mittelstadt was cleared for contact ahead of practice Friday in LECOM Harborcenter, a significant step in the 23-year-old center's recovery from a setback that's kept him out of the lineup the past two games.
For the third time this season, Mittelstadt is out of the lineup trying to overcome the upper-body injury that's dogged him since it cropped up midway through the season opener in October.
Mittelstadt showed no signs of rust while participating in all drills during practice, though he was an extra during line rushes. It was unclear how long he would be limited to a yellow noncontact jersey after what coach Don Granato described was a buildup of fluid around the area in which Mittelstadt had surgery in December.
"That’s exciting to see Casey in a regular jersey and moving around," Granato said. "The end of practices a couple weeks ago, he was exhausted. Now, I look over your shoulder and he’s out there still going. His posture is way better. He wasn’t slouched over or anything like that. So, he’s going in the right direction based on all of that, and I think his recovery is faster, as well."
The next steps for Mittelstadt are uncertain. Granato expressed hope that Mittelstadt can be considered day to day, but it was too soon to lay out a timeline to return. Granato said he will err on the side of caution with Mittelstadt because the 2017 first-round draft choice hasn't played much the past four months.
"Granato wants to see more fire out of this team. I'm all for it. Skate. Attack. Forecheck. Make some plays. Overcome adversity for once," writes Mike Harrington.
Mittelstadt has been limited to only seven games this season because of separate upper-body injuries. The first occurred in the season opener Oct. 14 and kept him out until early December. Mittelstadt returned for three games, only to suffer a similar injury that required surgery. He was back in the lineup Jan. 25, but there were noticeable signs of rust. Mittelstadt lacked his typical speed and didn't appear capable of forechecking effectively. He left during the first intermission of his third game back and didn't return.
The Sabres feared a re-injury, but learned Mittelstadt simply had fluid around the area of his surgery. He skated on his own during the All-Star break and practiced in a noncontact jersey Wednesday. Although Mittelstadt was moving at game speed in practice Friday, he'll need more time to get his conditioning back.
"It was a major jump to go from a yellow jersey the other day after Day One into a full practice today, which is really nice," Granato said. "It’s an indication that yes, he could be in a day-to-day situation. ... His standard is so high that I don’t want to put him in a situation that’s going to be aggravating or compromising to him and it might take a couple extra days of practice conditioning to get closer to his personal standard, but I think with him being out around four months not playing much hockey, I want to make sure we don’t rush him back into it."
Mittelstadt is an important part of the Sabres' plans for the present and future. He was the club's best player during training camp this fall, earning a spot on the top line and first power-play unit. A breakout season was expected after Mittelstadt's outstanding performance under Granato late last season, including 17 points over the final 22 games.
In the family
Cammi Granato, one of the best women's hockey players in the history of the sport and sister of the Sabres' coach, was named assistant general manager of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, joining Niagara University graduate Émilie Castonguay in a front office led by Jim Rutherford.
Luukkonen hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury Jan. 11, and although his talent tantalized in nine NHL appearances this season, coach Don Granato didn’t feel comfortable turning the starting job over to a prospect who has missed so much time.
Granato, 50, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and played in every IIHF Women's World Championship since the event's inception in 1990 up until 2004. She announced her retirement as a player in 2005 and became the NHL's first female scout upon joining the Seattle Kraken in 2019.
"Pretty excited for her," Don Granato said. "She’s worked hard. She’s endured a lot. I read a couple of her quotes that were kind of funny and sad all in one. She’s earned her way up physically, emotionally, everything. ... Obviously, I’ve talked to her a lot. I’ve talked to her a lot more in the last week as she’s headed into this. I couldn’t be happier for her. I think she’s surrounded by lots of good people there, which is also a key to this whole thing."
Adjustment
In search of secondary scoring following another loss, Granato made significant changes to his lines Friday, placing Peyton Krebs at left wing next to Dylan Cozens and Victor Olofsson. The Sabres are receiving outstanding play from their top line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, but the rest of the forward group hasn't done enough to challenge opponents. This is a notable change for Olofsson, who has zero goals over his last 29 games.
