Evan Rawal
If you know anything about the Colorado Avalanche, you know that acquiring good people is important to them. Obviously, being a good hockey player is pretty darn important in the NHL, but you want to know that you’re bringing in someone who will have no problem fitting in to your locker room.
It sounds like the Avalanche did exactly that on Wednesday when they acquired Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres.
“Good kid,” an Eastern Conference scout told me.
He’s also a heck of a hockey player.
On Wednesday night, Jared Bednar sure sounded excited about the possibility of adding Casey Mittelstadt to his lineup.
“He’s got, I don’t want to say elite, but he’s got fantastic hands and feet and he thinks the game,” Bednar said. “His hockey sense and the way he thinks the game and can play in offensive situations is high-end.”
It will be interesting to see who they put Mittelstadt with when he gets to the Avalanche. The obvious fit on one wing is Valeri Nichushkin, but with Artturi Lehkonen taking over on the top line, that likely puts Jonathan Drouin on his other wing. That might be a little too much passing for one trio.
“Very skilled, has a good brain,” the scout told CHN. “Has worked hard to round out his game. He is a distributor of the puck, almost too much. I think he can shoot/score more.”
After the win on Wednesday, Bednar did say that Mittelstadt isn’t all that different from Drouin, although they play different positions. However, like Drouin, Mittelstadt has worked hard to get better in all facets of his game.
“He will have success with the guys he will play with in Colorado. He’s worked hard to be more consistent,” the scout said said.
That being said, there was still some skepticism from this scout on how big of an upgrade Mittelstadt would be for the Avalanche.
“I am not 100% sold, however, that he is an upgrade from RJ,” they said.
There’s only one way to be sure, and that’s for him to get on the ice with his new team.
Mittelstadt is set to arrive in Denver today and speak to the media. It’s an optional practice, but he may still get on the ice. Expect him to step into the lineup tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild. I’ll begin my deep dive on both Sean Walker and Mittelstadt today for upcoming film rooms on CHN+.