Colorado Avalanche's Casey Mittelstadt Poised for Best Season Ever – Hockey Writers – Colorado Avalanche

Casey Mittelstadt photo persistence pays off. After struggling with the struggling Buffalo Sabers for six seasons, Mittelstadt was traded to the Colorado Avalanche at last year's deadline. He impressed enough to earn a three-year contract extension from the Avs in June, and now the 25-year-old center is poised to put in one of the best seasons of his career.

Filling the middle spot on the second line, Mittelstadt may not be a household name. However, Avalanche fans know how important this position has been to their team's success, and are looking forward to seeing what he can do over the course of a full season. Here's a look at how Mittelstadt is set for the Avalanche's breakout campaign in 2024-25:

Mittelstadt Fills Key Role For Avs

Ever since they lifted the Stanley Cup in 2022, the Avalanche have been searching for a second-line center. Nazem Kadri opted out of a lucrative contract with the Calgary Flames after that season, and the Avs tried to piece together a multi-player deal. JT Compher, Evan Rodrigues, and Alex Newhook have tried to fill the role in 2022-23 with mixed results. An indication of how that test went is none of the three on the team.

Colorado released Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton to fill the gap before last season. The result was even more inconsistency. Enter Mittelstadt. The Avalanche had to give up a promising young defenseman in Bowen Byram, but Mittelstadt immediately stepped in and looked like the solution to Colorado's problems. He collected five points in his first six games and was the team's highlight reel during their playoff run.

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Mittelstadt scored nine points — including six assists — in the team's 11 postseason games in 2024 and was instrumental in their five-game upset of the Winnipeg Jets in the first round. Five of his assists came in that series – including a three-assist night in Colorado's 6-2 win in Game 3. Most importantly, he showed he can make an impact as a second-line center. After posting less than 16 minutes per game in his 18 regular-season contests with the Avs, he averaged nearly 17.5 minutes per game in the playoffs, continuing to inspire coach Jared Bednar's confidence in him — and more playing time could come in 2024 — 25. .

Mittelstadt In Perfect Condition

Entering his eighth NHL season, Mittelstadt has never posted a 20-goal campaign and has never scored 60 points. He came closest in 2022-23 when he scored 59 points behind 44 assists. His career high in goals in a season came in 2023-24 when he scored 18 goals between Buffalo and Colorado. While the Sabers are trying to build something — and they have good building blocks in Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin — the Avalanche have the most offensive firepower.

Mittelstadt comes from a difficult offensive situation in Buffalo to a Colorado team that thrives on its depth. In his first four seasons in Buffalo, the Sabers scored 200 goals just once. The scoring has taken off over the past three seasons, but the team has never come close to the playoffs – Buffalo has never scored more than 84 points in any of its six-plus seasons. To put that in perspective, the Avalanche had just one season with fewer than 90 points in that stretch — including three 100-plus points in the past three seasons. They also scored less than 200 goals once in that span. That was the shortened 2020-21 season by 56 games, and the Avs led the NHL with 197 goals.

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Stepping into the starting scoring position on the second line, Mittelstadt's numbers have nowhere to go but up. He'll likely start the season centered on Artturi Lehkonen and Nikolai Kovalenko on that second line, but that could change if Gabriel Landeskog or Valeri Nichushkin return. Additionally, the Avalanche like to return superstar Nathan MacKinnon to the position with Cale Makar on the power play, meaning Mittelstadt should get quality minutes on the man advantage, too. All of that should add up to increased production as Mittelstadt swings to the top.

Mittelstadt Production Forecast

He has only missed two games in the past two seasons, so his fitness has not been questioned. If Mittelstadt can stay healthy, there's a good chance he'll set career bests in every key offensive category. He played a lot with Lehkonen to close last season, and the familiarity should help him. If Landeskog can successfully return to form after missing the past two seasons, that could push Jonathan Drouin down to the second line. The trio of Mittelstadt, Drouin, and Lehkonen played only six games together last season but scored four goals.

Add in more time on the power play, and Mittlestadt is set for a big scoring season. He should hit his 18-goal mark, and his first 20-goal campaign is likely on the horizon. He should also have a shot to close at 50 assists, which would put him among the team leaders. Combining those numbers would put him at around 70 points this season — which would be fourth on the Avs in 2023-24. To put it another way, Kadri was third on the team in scoring with 87 points in 2021-22.

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If Mittelstadt can get anywhere near 87 points, look. That would put the Avalanche in a much more dangerous position than they already are. Remember, Mittelstadt had played with the same team for most of his six-plus years in Buffalo. Although he was sharp in his short time with the Avalanche, there was still an obvious learning curve to adapt to the system for Bednar and his teammates. If he can get through that offseason, 2024-25 could be Mittlestadt's real season. That's exactly what Colorado needs from him, and he looks ready to deliver.