Is Mittelstadt turning into a low-end 1C?

[BFLO]

Well, except for speed, which (whether you agree with the strategy or not) is clearly something the Sabres have been targeting in their recent roster moves. I love Mitts, but he’s not a speedster, and Adams has definitely made a point of making Buffalo faster.

By speed you are referring to skating speed only. Mitts is fast in terms of puck distribution and decision making, but with average skating speed.

The Sabres added guys who can skate fast, while retaining a bunch of the dumbest, slowest passers in the league. Just look at our PP compared to the Panthers last night. Tkachuck, Reinhart, Barkov are all as slow or slower than Mitts in terms of skating speed. But goddamn do they whip that puck around with speed. Tape to tape passing is always going to be faster than the fastest skater.

 

[Oscar The Grouch]

Agreed. An extremely low-end #1C. Worst in the league. Slightly better than the best #2 C in the league.

 

[benfranklin]

He’s solid as a rock defensively and has scored 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in the first 10 games of the season right after scoring 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 11 playoff games last year.

Should add in his linemates too, no offense to them, but just wait for whatever combination of Drouin, Landeskog, Nishushkin, and Lehkonen.

 

[benfranklin]

Well, except for speed, which (whether you agree with the strategy or not) is clearly something the Sabres have been targeting in their recent roster moves. I love Mitts, but he’s not a speedster, and Adams has definitely made a point of making Buffalo faster.

Sooooooo slow

Mittelstadt evens it up | NHL.com

 

[Avs2022]

He’s solid as a rock defensively and has scored 13 points (6 goals, 7 assists) in the first 10 games of the season right after scoring 9 points (3 goals, 6 assists) in 11 playoff games last year.

The best part is he's playing with 3rd and 4th liners on the 2nd line with all the Av's injuries. He is on the PP1 unit, but many of his points have come 5 on 5.

Wait until Nushy, Landy (maybe never) and Lehky come back.

 

[benfranklin]

The best part is he's playing with 3rd and 4th liners on the 2nd line with all the Av's injuries. He is on the PP1 unit, but many of his points have come 5 on 5.

Wait until Nushy, Landy (maybe never) and Lehky come back.

8 of 13 ES so far which is amazing playing primarily with Kovalenko and LOC.

 

[57special]

Big difference with him over the past 2-3 years is that he finally has enough strength. He always had the skill.

 

[bossram]

I thought the Mittelstadt trade (at the time) was excellent for the Avs. His reputation as a poor defensive player was years old. He was already showing himself to be a strong two-way center in Buffalo, the Avs correctly identified this, and now have have a premium 1C-2C combo.

 

[BKarchitect]

Big difference with him over the past 2-3 years is that he finally has enough strength. He always had the skill.

The Mittelstadt combine memes will live on in infamy. Glad he has been able to outrun them by just continually getting stronger and better.

Gopher fans will know better than me but I don’t think he was ever considered a particularly poor or unwilling defensive player even as a prospect...at least from a projection standpoint. That he’s leaned into being a really heady and hard-working two-way player as he’s developed is a nice wrinkle but not entirely surprising given that he has solid size and excellent hockey IQ.

The guy has also set himself up for a big payday in a few years with bridge deal. He will still only be 28 that following season. If he keeps on this path, he will be making bank.

 

[Chainshot]

Yeah, his IQ and playmaking ability were severely underrated when he was with the Sabres. It is shining brighter than a morning star in Colorado.

Perhaps by some who hadn't been watching him.

I thought the Mittelstadt trade (at the time) was excellent for the Avs. His reputation as a poor defensive player was years old. He was already showing himself to be a strong two-way center in Buffalo, the Avs correctly identified this, and now have have a premium 1C-2C combo.

His rep as being poor defensively was just that - reputation, not reality.

 

[josra33]

So is Monahan

Ok? Weird place for that comment…

 

[bossram]

His rep as being poor defensively was just that - reputation, not reality.

Yep. Problem is most people just believe in whatever preconceived notions they have. Had a lot of people telling me this was an L trade for COL, because Mitts is a "soft", "one-way" player.

 

[Beerz]

Has been a bad trade for Buffalo since day 1.

Bo has been ok .. but we definitely didn't need another PMLD ..

Mitts has been excellent for 2 years and should be centering the 2nd line in Buffalo with Cozens moving to wing or traded for a dman that we actually needed.

Oh well.

 

[sr edler]

Mittelstadt's so slick with the puck and Cozens treats the puck as a hand grenade. It's night and day.

 

[Miri]

Now he has settled into the role, i fully expect him to get to Kadri´s productivity levels of 2022.

 

[HaNotsri]

I assume Buffalo traded Mitts because of the contract situation. Otherwise it kinda doesn't make sense as Cozens for example is worse but still held quite a bit of value.

I don't think Adams ever talked extension with Mitts agent. Our gm is a special combination of dumb and lazy. My two favourite Sabres were Reinhart and Mittelstadt. The organization didn't want to commit to any of them.

Happy for Mitts though. I think he'll continue to improve, both him and Reinhart were smart players that were a bit behind in the physical department, you could tell they'd age like fine wine.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

He's my new favorite player. Just so unbelievably smart with the puck and an absolute dog when he doesn't have it.

Especially if he's the one who turns it over, he's a complete hound to make up for his mistake.


It's crazy what he's doing so far with the injuries we have and is just further proof of how important Centers are compared to any other position in hockey. The Avs have been missing anywhere from 4-6 Top 9 forwards all season, but our 1C and 2C being healthy has kept us competitive essentially.

 

[MarchessaultCantRead]

He's my new favorite player. Just so unbelievably smart with the puck and an absolute dog when he doesn't have it.

Especially if he's the one who turns it over, he's a complete hound to make up for his mistake.


It's crazy what he's doing so far with the injuries we have and is just further proof of how important Centers are compared to any other position in hockey. The Avs have been missing anywhere from 4-6 Top 9 forwards all season, but our 1C and 2C being healthy has kept us competitive essentially.

Same here, his puck control is insane! In the 3 assist game against Ottawa, he seemed like he had the puck on a string the entire game.

He’s a very impressive player!

 

[Sabresfansince1980]

I just about pissed off the entire Sabres board after the Mitts/Byram trade. I eventually got bored saying how bad it was to lose him. I don't need to take any victory laps because the threads here and on the Sabres board make it so obvious. Instead, it's the dagger that kills the last hope I had of staying a fan. 13 years of stupidity and counting. I could take it when much of the losing was a natural progression through a re-build, but now it's just one self-inflicted wound after another. Sabres fans are so desperate for hope that after trading Mitts and buying out Skinner (just so they could save cap and not replace him), that they put a lot of weight on revamping the 4th line and bringing Ruff in. In reality, the offseason moves amounted to a circular effort of mediocrity - two steps up, two steps back. I'm done with this inept organization.