Colorado's new second-line center came in hot at the deadline but has since cooled a bit.
The Colorado Avalanche acquired Casey Mittelstadt to solve their second-line center issue but he has not been able to get fully comfortable with the team yet.
"I'd say he's hit a little bit of a lull. I liked his game when he first came, I thought he was involved in producing and still being a responsible defensive player," head coach Jared Bednar said. "I think some of the offense has gone away from their line a little bit which is a little bit like the rest of our team, some struggles on the defensive side."
The Avs' coach is not concerned with his young forward's abilities — he said getting on the scoresheet will help his confidence and that can go a long way to boost production.
"I think, especially the system, I think every game I start to feel a little more comfortable — little less thinking, more reacting," Mittelstadt said. "I think that's the place I'm trying to get to, you know I think I'm really close, really close. It's been a lot of fun, and I'm excited to keep going."
Bednar said he has sat individually with Mittelstadt and gone over video to help get him where he needs to be as a member of the team.
"I talked with him just a few days ago, we sat and talked about a handful of things. It's still being able to be responsible within the structure of the game but then like let loose and let your instincts take over at times," Bednar said. "And so we discussed a few things, some video and hopefully it gives him clarity on what we expect from him and where he has a little bit more freedom to like get up and go and use his skills."
The 25-year-old center has nine points in 17 games played but has shown a great deal of potential and skill at times since joining the team.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a different season and anything can happen — for the Avalanche, getting congruent for a full 60 minutes consistently is imperative to go deep in the postseason.
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