Faster Feet, Same Hands: Mittsy's Summer Skating Work Is Paying Off
Casey Mittelstadt spent his summer in Minnesota with a very specific goal: get faster. Twelve games into the season, his coach says you can already see it, and the numbers back him up.
Mittsy has 4 goals and 3 assists in 12 games, and he's a +8. That's 0.33 goals per game, up from 0.21 last season, and he's doing it in about 1:16 less ice time per night. On Saturday against the Sharks he had his best night of the season so far: the opening goal, the second assist on Fraser Minten's game-winner, three shots on goal and a +3.
"I felt like maybe I was a little slow"
Mittelstadt was honest about it back in September. "I think personally for me, I felt like maybe I was a little slow last year," he said. "So I think getting stronger and getting faster. Trying to work on some skating stuff. For me, I think I am pretty good with the puck and handling it, but sometimes I lose my feet. That was my biggest focus."
He described the work as "a lot of jumping and obviously a lot of stuff on the ice as well," with workouts and skating sessions back home in Minnesota alongside a group of NHL players. His approach was simple: "Just trying to stick with it, keep working out, keep skating."
Sturm: "You can see it already"
Marco Sturm noticed. Before Saturday's game, the Bruins coach said: "He always had good hands and the brain, but I think he worked on it over the summer on the skating part. He worked really hard in the summer, and you can see it already. I think he's quicker, he's faster and he's been rock solid."
Mittelstadt kept it low-key, the way he does. "It was nothing crazy, I guess, not a lot of big changes," he said. "Obviously you have things you want to work on each year and it's going good so far this year. I'm happy with the plan I had."
Breaking down the opener: 20 seconds of pressure
The first goal on Saturday is a good example of what this line does when it gets going. The NHL's play-by-play has the Bruins in the Sharks' end for 20 straight seconds before the puck went in, with six Boston attempts in that stretch: Hagens had a shot blocked at 2:48, Mittelstadt missed the net at 2:51, Hagens had three more blocked or wide, and Lindholm put one on Alexandar Nedeljkovic at 3:05.
The Bruins kept the puck alive, kept bodies in front, and kept coming.
At 3:08, Mittelstadt was right where he needed to be. The NHL logs it as a wrist shot from right at the top of the crease, with Lindholm and Hagens getting the assists. 1-0 Bruins, and Mittsy's fourth of the season.
That's the summer work in action. Getting to the net a step quicker is what turns a rebound into a goal.
The Lindholm and Hagens connection
Three of Mittelstadt's four goals this season have come with Elias Lindholm and James Hagens on the ice: against Utah on Oct. 8, against Philadelphia on Oct. 10, and against San Jose on Saturday. He's also set up goals by Minten (twice) and Hagens. Over his last three games he has 2 goals and 2 assists, with at least a point in each.
Our take
He put in the work, and it's showing. Mittelstadt named his weakness, went home and worked on it, and his coach saw the difference right away.
The goals are coming. He's scoring more often in less ice time than last season.
He's a big part of what's working. At 9-2-1, the Bruins are getting scoring from up and down the lineup, and Mittsy is a big part of it.
Keep skating, Casey. Let's go, B's. 🐻