2021 Player Report Card: Casey Mittelstadt

Total Season stats: 41 GP, 10 G, 12 A, 22 PTS

Age: 22

Contract Status: RFA

Here’s a little graph showing how Casey’s CF% fluctuated from the start of his season (left side of X-Axis) and the season's conclusion (right side of X-axis). Probably worthless, eh? Haha

• Here are two charts from Micah (hockeyviz.com) depicting Casey’s offensive impacts on the powerplay and at 5v5 this season. While these numbers are tough to truly evaluate due to the offensive evolution brought in by Interim Coach Don Granato, we can still see some signs of what Casey brought this season and could bring going forward./

And my personal favorite thing of this season for Mittelstadt is the evolution of Ralph Krueger:

“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.

Paul Hamilton - WGRZ (3 January 2021)

And from February 1st

Ralph Krueger on Casey Mittelstadt, who practiced with Eichel and Olofsson today: "His offseason program has helped increase his foot speed. He looks lighter on his skates. ... He is definitely a future offensive threat, a power-play player, a playmaker with scoring ability."

— John Vogl (@BuffaloVogl) February 1, 2021

Lastly, some highlights from another horrible season

Casey Mittelstadt, 3-1 #LetsGoBuffalo #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/OVcCFGwldG

— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) April 24, 2021

Casey Mittelstadt ties it up at 1-1 #LetsGoBuffalo #NYR pic.twitter.com/W3uF8Gthh0

— Buffalo Hockey moments (@SabresPlays) April 3, 2021

In my opinion, I think Casey had a fantastic season from a prospect some, or most, thought was struggling. Expected to spend significant time in Rochester from the acquisitions of Cody Eakin, Eric Staal, and the (surprise) development of Dylan Cozens, Casey spent the first chunk of the season in the dog house, otherwise known as the taxi squad, only seeing 7 games of action before the month of March. Becoming a regular starting on 7 March, Casey demonstrated an ability to center a line and be an offensive force other teams had to respect.

For my money, he went from a “sure, protect him” come July, to now being worthy of being part of our 1-2-3 punch down the middle long term.

Season Grade: B+

How would you grade Casey Mittelstadt’s 2020-21 Season?