Sound familiar?

Less than three years ago, that was Jack Eichel, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2015 draft, set to go to Boston University for his freshman year before hopefully turning the Sabres into a Stanley Cup contender for years to come.

Two years later, albeit with less hype and more realistic expectations, Casey Mittelstadt has become Buffalo’s next big thing.

The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native’s talents were on full display Wednesday night at Northwest Arena as Team USA’s Under-20 World Junior team took on Belarus in a IIHF 2018 World Junior Championship exhibition game.

Team USA’s Casey Mittelstadt (11) works to gain possession of the puck during Wednesday night’s game against Belarus at Northwest Arena. P-J photo by Chad Ecklof

The University of Minnesota freshman did not disappoint.

Mittelstadt had a goal and an assist before the first period was over, and added a second assist in the third period as the Americans blew out Belarus, 14-0.

“You grow up wanting to be a Gopher when you are from Minny, so for me that was my dream. As you get older you start watching Team USA and that becomes a dream of yours too,” Mittelstadt said. “One of the first times I started realizing about Juniors was when (John) Carlson scored that overtime goal (in 2010) and ever since then it’s kind of been a dream of mine.”

Eichel and Mittelstadt have shared a similar path through the amateur hockey world. Both have starred for Team USA in their teens and chosen the NCAA Division I route as opposed to Canadian junior hockey route.

Eichel was selected just one spot behind Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Connor McDavid three drafts ago while Mittelstadt was projected by some to go higher this past summer before falling to the Sabres at No. 8.

If his game continues to grow and shine like it did Wednesday night, he could become a steal whenever he does choose to play professionally, which could be as early as next year.

“It’s cool to be back here and back near Buffalo. I’m excited to get back to Buffalo and have some fun there,” Mittelstadt said. “It’ll be cool to be there but at the same time I’ve got to remember that I’m a member of Team USA right now and I want to be with my teammates, have some fun with them and try to block out the distractions.”

On his third shift of the night, Mittelstadt received a pass from Riley Tufte in the high slot, curled to his right for a better shooting angle and beat the Belarus goaltender to his glove side to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.

Less than three minutes later, Mittelstadt was not officially credited with an assist even though he sent a stretch pass from inside his own blue line across the middle of the ice to a streaking Tufte, who fed Kieffer Bellows for a goal to make it 4-0.

Just over three minutes later, Mittelstadt picked up his first assist and second point of the opening frame, dropping a pass between his legs to Tufte, who beat the Belarus goaltender again for a 5-0 lead.

Mittelstadt capped his scoring in the third period when he fed Kailer Yamamoto — the Oilers’ first-round pick this past summer — at the side of the Belarus net for his second assist of the night.

“Overall we are pretty skilled and we have quite a bit of talent to make plays and have a lot of fun with the puck,” Mittelstadt said. “There is a lot of system stuff and little things that we have to clean up.”

Playing with Tufte and Bellows for a majority of the night, Mittelstadt and his teammates looked like they could be a force to be reckoned with when the real competition gets underway the day after Christmas in Buffalo.

“I don’t think it’s even a question. For pretty much every team it’s Gold Medal or bust,” Mittelstadt said about his team’s expectations. “You get a group of guys in that room that are that competitive and you watch them do it last year, you don’t want to let down anyone that did it last year. For us it’s important to get there, create our own identity and try to have some fun and win some games.”

That tournament will be highlighted by an outdoor meeting with Canada on Dec. 29 at New Era Field, a game Mittelstadt has certainly circled on his calendar.

“We are all very excited for it. It’s going to be a very cool experience for us to be able to get out there,” said Mittelstadt, who played an outdoor game last year in high school. “I’ve played one outdoor game before and the atmosphere won’t even be close to what it’ll be out there. … At the same time we have to win the first game before we get there. They are all just as big.”

Just three days later, Eichel and the Sabres will be on the big stage, taking on the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic at Citi Field in New York.

Hundreds of miles apart, Buffalo’s future will be on display for the whole world to see.