Buffalo Sabres 2017 top draft pick Casey Mittelstadt is having a solid, if unspectacular, season for Minnesota of the Big 10. While fellow Gophers will bolt campus for the holidays later this month, Mittelstadt will join his Team USA world junior teammates in Buffalo as they begin their quest for gold on home soil. New York Hockey Journal’s Tim Rappleye caught up with Casey in the midst of a scintillating series between Minnesota and Michigan.
NYHJ: As a freshman, you’re getting big minutes with the game on the line. This is your first go-round in the NCAA, and you’re demonstrating a big battle level.
Mittelstadt: Coming in I try and bring the same compete level back home in school and at the USHL. It’s not too much different — just try and come out and make plays, play my game and see where it takes me.
