Sabres' Casey Mittelstadt: Skates on second line in first practice

In a preview ahead of Thursday's debut against Detroit, Mittelstadt skated on the second line during the morning skate Wednesday.

Evan Rodrigues gets bumped from center and will play on Mittelstadt's left wing with Sam Reinhart on the right side, while Ryan O'Reilly's trio stays intact but gets bumped down to the third line. Mittelstadt is one of the league's best prospects and he's being put in a position to succeed right away with Reinhart and Rodrigues both having strong finishes to the season. He's being thrown into the fire right away, but it's not like Detroit is a particularly tough opponent -- the Red Wings are 27th in the league in points, 23rd in faceoff win percentage, and have one of the weaker defenses in the league. However, many rookie centers entering the league take some time to adjust to the NHL speed and figure out how to win faceoffs, but if he finds himself in trouble both Rodrigues and Reinhart have played in the middle before. Mittelstadt's will be asked to be effective at both ends of the ice even though he's on a scoring line, but his presence alone may take some pressure off Jack Eichel as well.