Camp Preview: Rookies aim to make a difference

When the fourth annual Prospects Challenge begins next week, Sabres fans will be offered a live look at the depth of the organization. Players entering their first full professional seasons or first seasons in North America will certainly highlight the roster and some of those future Sabres will have an eye on playing in the NHL this season.
Rasmus Dahlin will be the talk of the town as the first-overall pick settles in for his rookie year. If you missed our camp preview story on him earlier this week, you can find that here. But he isn't the only rookie that fans will be watching.

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After leaving the University of Minnesota after his freshman campaign in the spring (in a season that included Tournament MVP honors at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship), Casey Mittelstadt found himself in a spot where he could show what he can do in the NHL. He signed his entry-level contract with Buffalo and played in six games, registering his first career goal and four assists.
Depending on what the game situation calls for, he could be viewed as the team's No. 2 or No. 3 center.
"Wherever I am, I'll be happy to do my best and be happy to contribute to the team," Mittelstadt, the eighth-overall pick in 2017, said. "I have high expectations for myself. I'm hard on myself so I want to come in and prove I can play and make plays at the highest level."

He also impressed during development camp, where a good number of these young players skated and learned some of the basics of the professional game away from the rink. It was the fourth such camp for Brendan Guhle and it showed.

Buffalo's second-round pick from 2015 earned the Craig Ramsay Award for his leadership at development camp.
"I'm trying to help the younger guys along, be a good vocal guy in the room and show everyone where everything is," Guhle, who was roommates with Dahlin, said. "If they need help, ask questions and I'll be here to answer it."
Guhle played 18 NHL games last season and picked up five assists. He put in a lot of work at the AHL level, where he recorded 26 points (8+18) in 50 games.

"Obviously, we're very excited about developing a young player like Brendan Guhle," Sabres general manager Jason Botterill said at this year's draft. "You've seen some of our decisions, to get a player like [Brandon] Hickey. We're excited about a player like [Casey] Fitzgerald, who's in our organization, too.
"So as excited as we are about Brendan Guhle, we want to make sure there's more Brendan Guhles coming. That was one of the emphases for us."
While Alexander Nylander did not skate at development camp this past summer, Rochester Americans coach Chris Taylor noticed that the 2016 first-rounder was stepping up to be a leader off the ice.
"He's being a mentor to these kids which, that's the first step right there," Taylor said. "He's not worried about himself. He's looking after these young guys coming in for the first time."

He suited up for 51 AHL games last year and then scored his first NHL goal when he was called up for the final three games of the season. He was also a top player for Team Sweden at the World Junior tournament, where he recorded seven points (1+6) in seven games en route to a silver medal.
He'll look to use those experiences to help him make the Sabres roster this season and continue to headline the recent influx of Swedish-born players.
Rasmus Asplund, Victor Olofsson and Lawrence Pilut, all of whom played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League last season, have made the jump across the pond. It'll be the first season in North America for each player.
At 20, Asplund (2016, second round) wrapped up his third season playing against men and posted 28 points (8+20) in 50 games. Olofsson, 23, led the SHL in goals with 27 markers in 50 games. Pilut, 22, a left-shot blueliner, was named the SHL's Defenseman of the Year and signed an entry-level contract with the Sabres as a free agent (fun fact: Pilut's father was an American forward who played in Sweden for 17 years and then went into coaching).
Olofsson, a seventh-round pick in 2014, has blossomed into a scoring threat with a buzz-worthy shot.
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"I would say he's become a terrific prospect, really," assistant general manager Randy Sexton after the French Connection Tournament in June. "It's a big step from the Swedish Elite League to the National Hockey League. But for him, what he brings is an NHL release. We saw glimpses of it today, saw lots of evidence for it during the week.
"He's got an NHL release and he's got a nose for the net. He'll need some time to transition to the North American game but we're very excited about the offensive capabilities that he brings."
Andrew Oglevie and Brandon Hickey are products of the NCAA and will make their professional debuts this fall.
"I had interest from a few NHL teams, but Buffalo seemed like the best opportunity," Oglevie said. "Management seemed to know me and what type of player I could become best. Plus, I grew up playing with a lot of Buffalo natives who had plenty of good things to say about the city. I knew I'd fit in right away. So far, it's been a perfect fit."
Defenseman Will Borgen and center Vasily Glotov will enter their first full professional seasons after getting a taste of AHL action last year. Borgen (2015, fourth round) signed his entry-level deal on March 25 and played eight games for the Amerks while Glotov (2016, seventh round) signed an AHL deal after running out of junior hockey eligibility. Glotov skated in one AHL game and posted two points (1+1) in five ECHL games with Cincinnati.
Also of note, goaltender Linus Ullmark will share the net with Carter Hutton in Buffalo. Among rookie forwards, Danny O'Regan, C.J. Smith and Kyle Criscuolo have seen action with the Sabres over the last two seasons and will compete for playing time.
We'll have more on the players who will likely shape the Amerks roster in a Camp Preview feature this weekend.