Avalanche Draft Profile: Casey Mittelstadt

Get to Know Casey Mittelstadt

Date of Birth: 11/22/1998
Place of Birth: Eden Prairie, MN, USA
Ht: 5’11” Wt: 201 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Center
Team (League): Green Bay Gamblers/Eden Prairie (USHL/USHS)

Statistics

What Scouts See

Elite Prospects:

An electric offensive presence on the ice, Casey Mittelstadt brings the complete package of speed, skill, and hockey sense. He competes hard with every shift, and has the dynamic puck skills to keep up with his creativity, which is a hallmark of his game. His awareness is all-encompassing, and he never puts his teammates in positions where their time and space will be bottlenecked. Bigger players don’t phase him, as he thinks the game analytically and will find chinks in the opposition’s armor on the fly. As a result, Mittelstadt is often seen forcing more complicated plays that the opposition won’t be able to read in time. On top of all this, he can play a north-south game, and his transition game is already at an elite level. He’s a complete player with the predatory instincts necessary to succeed as a consistent and, perhaps, dominant point producer at the next level.

A smart, quick and highly skilled center…has a tremendous first-step jump, change of pace and ability to make defenders miss…though not the biggest or strongest player on the ice, he finds success in loose puck battles by using his smarts and insane ability to shield the puck from defenders…never takes a shift off, and has added noticeable muscle and speed this season…will finish chances with a quick release on a wrister or powerful snap shot…puckhandling skills are excellent and he is able to create scoring chances in almost all of his offensive-zone shifts using his great vision and understanding of the game

Highlights

NHL Potential

Mittelstadt has the potential to be a top center for whichever organization drafts him. His combination of size and skill jumps off the ice and he could be drafted anywhere in the top 10 without much of an eyebrow raise. He likely becomes the top forward prospect in whatever organization drafts him as he has the ability to take over games and could be one of the NHL’s top centers in just a few short years. He’s headed to the University of Minnesota next season.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

Awkwardly. While the Avalanche are certainly not too good for talented players, Mittelstadt’s best value appears to come at the center position and Colorado is already loaded down the middle, both in the NHL and with prospects. He’s likely a couple years away from being a full-time NHL player so there would be no rush but another center would not really fill any kind of need beyond the organization’s need for more talent.