BUFFALO, N.Y. — I was shocked when it took until right before training camp for Casey Mittelstadt to sign a one-year contract for what was his qualifying offer. After two seasons in professional hockey, Mittelstadt has shown next to nothing and I don’t think it was the best idea to try to get more at this point of his career.
Mittelstadt was forced into a top six NHL role as a 20-year-old and it was a role he wasn’t even remotely ready for. Last season he was even worse as he struggled scoring just four goals and five assists for nine points in 31 games.
Jason Botterill finally had to admit how he had botched this kid’s development and sent him to Rochester. Things didn’t go any better down there until Chris Taylor seemed to finally get through to him. Mittelstadt has not been one to keep himself in top physical condition and Taylor got him on the right path. When the AHL season paused, Mittelstadt had 18 points in his last 22 games. When he started his AHL career, it took the kid seven games to get his first goal.
With Jack Eichel nursing a minor injury, Mittelstadt has been given a great opportunity in this training camp. The 2018 eighth overall pick has centered Taylor Hall and Victor Olofsson. He’s looked pretty good on both days of camp and Ralph Krueger said, “He was our strongest finishing forward in the last three or four weeks in Rochester.”
“He’s worked on his fitness, he’s worked on his foot speed and you can see the skill set that he has, but until we asses players in the game environment, it’s too early to draw lines where they’re at.”
I can tell you on Saturday, all the players had left the ice, but Mittelstadt was still out there with a coach working on his game.
“He has a very good attitude, we feel that he’s embracing the challenge to be a depth player that can come in and play on any line, but the initial indications are that he’s increased his speed, he’s increased his fitness and that will help him a lot in his game," Krueger said.
Krueger had no information on the severity of Olofsson’s injury, but if he has to miss time, that could open the door for Mittelstadt to play. Coming into camp, he definitely wasn’t in the top 20 players. I don’t even think he was in the top 23 for a roster spot.
Krueger spoke about him being a depth player. I think if everybody is healthy, his role starts as a taxi squad player. All that could change if he continues to have a good training camp.
This is a huge year for Mittelstadt. If he goes to Rochester he must be one of the Amerks best players. He has to start showing the talent he showed back for Team USA at the World Juniors in Buffalo.
