C Casey Mittelstadt (2017, 8th, BUF) II

[1972]

You have Lind 11th because Vancouver

 

[57special]

No one here gives a crap about Canuck's draft picks. Why bring your persecution complex to a thread about Casey Mittlestadt?

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Had the opportunity to watch Casey and the Minnesota Golden Gophers play Penn State tonight. He was clearly the best on the ice for both teams. Unfortunately, Minnesota is a terrible team and we're outshot like 60-15. Mittlestadt made a lot of great plays and had a deflection goal. On a better team, Casey would have likely have had multiple points tonight. He played 2nd line center and I do not believe he was used effectively or frequently enough by the Minnesota coaching staff. He needs to fill out his frame a bit more but his talent is definitely there. Looked like an NHL player.

 

[Fortier40]

 

[57special]

Yeah, the Gophers aren't very good this year. If I was Lucia(coach), I'd be riding Mittelstadt like a horse, but he simply doesn't. I think CM might be better served playing a bit of AHL next year, then NHL.

 

[MichaelFarrell]

Yeah, the Gophers aren't very good this year. If I was Lucia(coach), I'd be riding Mittelstadt like a horse, but he simply doesn't. I think CM might be better served playing a bit of AHL next year, then NHL.

They didn't use Casey on the first line whenever he was clearly the guy generating the most offense. I really don't understand the coaching staff.

 

[57special]

Yeah, it's not like CM is going to be there for a long time. Why not use him?

 

[Frolov 6'3]

Those jerseys and colours are awesome.

AS Roma like.

 

[ecemleafs]

you love the talent, but he needs to make simple plays more often instead of trying to do everything. it aint working in the ncaa consistently. its gonna be even more difficult in the nhl.

 

[57special]

you love the talent, but he needs to make simple plays more often instead of trying to do everything. it aint working in the ncaa consistently. its gonna be even more difficult in the nhl.

I, and many others, said the same about Barzal. Boy were we wrong.

 

[Chainshot]

His line was responsible for all of the Gophers' goals last night.

 

[Dominance]

I, and many others, said the same about Barzal. Boy were we wrong.

Barzal could actually make those plays regularly, though. As the previous poster pointed out, CM isn’t on that level.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

I still think he will eventually put it together. But not impressed with his season so far.

 

[ponder]

I, and many others, said the same about Barzal. Boy were we wrong.

Yeah, over the years I’ve thought the same thing about Barzal, Kuznetsov and Kadri, and was wrong about all of them. Highly skilled players generally learn how to adapt, and that skill shines through at the next level.

CM has special skill, and you really see it when he plays against his peers - he was IMO the best player at the WJCs. He’s also hardly struggling in the NCAA, he’s very often the best player on the ice, and just 2 points off leading his team, despite missing some games for the WJCs, and being a teenage rookie. He’s not putting up Connor/Eichel numbers, but he’s also on a way lower scoring team. I wouldn’t worry if I were a Sabres fan, he’ll be a good one at the NHL level.

 

[PKWeber]

Who is better, Poehling or Casey?

 

[Bonin21]

CM has more point potential in the NHL, but Poehling is probably a slightly higher probability of being a solid NHLer (2nd/3rd line) for a long, long time.

 

[Snippit]

Who is better, Poehling or Casey?

I don't pretend to watch the players regularly but based on my only viewings:

Poehling was legit bad at the WJC, while Casey was the best forward and arguably player.

 

[Elias Pettersson]

I don't pretend to watch the players regularly but based on my only viewings:

Poehling was legit bad at the WJC, while Casey was the best forward and arguably player.

What you say is true. However, using WJC as the only comparison doesn't work. If we're on the case of USA WJC performances, Jordan Schroeder looked like a legit star prospect in the making and Brock Boeser looked like a bust. You have to take in account their current seasons and I think it's fair to compare Poehling and Mittelstadt since they're in the same league.

The argument for Poehling is that he plays in a tougher division (NCHC >>> Big 10) and is putting up better numbers while being defensively better.

However, if I had to pick, I'd still take Mittelstadt at this point. He has the tools and the potential to be a legit #1C in the NHL, he just needs to put it together. I still think his season is disappointing for what's expected of him and you wont change my mind. That being said, I can realistically see him bounce back next year if he's still in NCAA and put up 1.5 ppg in his sophomore year.

 

[57special]

Who is better, Poehling or Casey?

IMO, CM is special, Poehling is not. The latter is more of a workaday player. I actually see CM backcheck quite a bit , but in general he is more from the Patrick Kane school of physicality, as is proper for his skills. Poehling more of a grinder. I would take CM all day, every day, because of his rare skill set...unfortunately , I can't see the future and know that CM will be a better player. He must continue to work on his body, not just his skills. NHL is a tough league filled with strong men.

 

[tsujimoto74]

What you say is true. However, using WJC as the only comparison doesn't work. If we're on the case of USA WJC performances, Jordan Schroeder looked like a legit star prospect in the making and Brock Boeser looked like a bust. You have to take in account their current seasons and I think it's fair to compare Poehling and Mittelstadt since they're in the same league.

The argument for Poehling is that he plays in a tougher division (NCHC >>> Big 10) and is putting up better numbers while being defensively better.

However, if I had to pick, I'd still take Mittelstadt at this point. He has the tools and the potential to be a legit #1C in the NHL, he just needs to put it together. I still think his season is disappointing for what's expected of him and you wont change my mind. That being said, I can realistically see him bounce back next year if he's still in NCAA and put up 1.5 ppg in his sophomore year.

You need to look at context. Mittelstadt plays on a pretty bad team that sorely lacks skill outside of him. The Gophers' entire offense runs through Casey. Poehling is 4th on his team in scoring (he's played 3-4 less games than the guys ahead of him, but is 6-9 points behind them); Mittelstadt is 2nd on his (1 point off the leader with 4 less games played). Poehling is also riding a high shooting %, which might not be sustainable. I've never seen anyone who actually watches college hockey express any disappointment with Casey's play outside of an off game here or there. The kid is tremendously talented, but he's playing in a less than ideal situation with the Gophers. They're just not good this year.

 

[57special]

I also see the potential for CM to get significantly better as he matures physically and gets stronger. If he doesn't take training seriously then, ya, he might not go far, but you can say that about anybody. Best thing for him would be to get an ATO with the AHL and get a taste of what he will be facing a year or two down the road. That should motivate him, if he indeed needs it.

I'm very high on CM....this is not meant to be a reflection on Poehling, who has a chance to be a decent middle six C in the NHL.

 

[Chainshot]

IMO, CM is special, Poehling is not. The latter is more of a workaday player. I actually see CM backcheck quite a bit , but in general he is more from the Patrick Kane school of physicality, as is proper for his skills. Poehling more of a grinder. I would take CM all day, every day, because of his rare skill set...unfortunately , I can't see the future and know that CM will be a better player. He must continue to work on his body, not just his skills. NHL is a tough league filled with strong men.

I've seen Mittelstadt around 20 times with the Gophers this season and Poehling about half that with looking in on Borgen and Peterson with the Huskies. Poehling will be a player, he's got 2-way chops and enough puck-retrieval chops that seem to project to a nice mid-line or a complementary top-line player. He makes sound hockey plays. That said, he's not usually if ever breaking someone down one-on-one. It's not his game and that's fine, he still does pro-style things that will offer very solid contributions in the future.

Mittelstadt seems like he'll be an at-worst 2nd line scorer who can run a powerplay on his own, from entry to running either the low hub below the net on the right or half-wall/point from the left. Even with PSU keying on him this weekend, he was able to make things happen that generated chances and goals (five points for the weekend) but his backchecking was pretty solid and even that helped to spring his line for o-zone time. He's made progress in his play away from the puck and the commentary right from the drop of the puck by the BTN guys is about how technique corrections had CM doing 8-9-10 pullups about a week after getting into the Gophers' training regimen. I'm sure that will continue to be overblown. In puck contests, he has shown that ability to win pucks in tight and either jet off on his own or snap the puck to a teammate for transition which was a concern of mine from early season viewing.

 

[Boxscore]

Who is better, Poehling or Casey?

This is like saying, "Who's better, Jordan Staal or Nicklas Backstrom?"

Mittlestadt. By a country mile.

 

[Guy Gadowsky]

CM was the only gopher to show up vs PSU the last couple weeks, so props to him

 

[AmericanDream]

kid better stay one more year, play with a solid incoming freshman class, and put up some dominating numbers. Plenty of top players stayed for 2 years, i think it would do him well if he sticks. Buffalo is in no rush for him yet.