Who is Casey Mittelstadt?
Can you start a podcast with me, please? I need something to [Music] [Applause] [Music] do. Send it out in front of the score. Elias launch to the heavens. Here’s a chance. Pra go. Scores. Oh my. What a move by the rookie. Twoon one. Poster not moving in with Marsh. Get it to it. Score the zone. Coyle dances in back and scores. Win home right wing corner. Posternog is there. He scores. David post wins this for Boston. Welcome in everyone to Bruins tape to tape. I will be your host tonight. Maria from Watertown. We are recording on June 2nd and this episode will be released on June 4th. We are going to start the first of a series of what we are going to call player profiles and they’re going to be very specific to our trade deadline acquisitions. Three of which are coming up on restricted free agency status. But before we dive into that, I want to welcome in my co-host because I feel like I haven’t seen you in quite some time. Caroline, welcome in. Hi, Maria. How are you? I’m good. I’m good. I’m good. I miss you, too. Um, we’ve had a little bit of a lull. Little bit of a lull. We’re waiting on some uh some Bruins Bruins news. In the meantime, we’ll uh make a little bit of new news or noise of our own. um until they break some news news. Indeed. Indeed. It’s hopefully uh a very big week for the Bruins. As you know, and as our regular listeners know, I’m a religious follower of 32 thoughts to stay in the know about everything that’s happening around the league. And per one of my favorite sources, Freriedman from this week’s uh podcast that the Bruins are down to their final two candidates. Uh and Joe Sako is not one of them. Um and there is some speculation that possibly possibly he will end up in Toronto uh to take the place of uh Lambear who went out to Seattle. So, a little bit of shuffling around. Hopefully, what we see is uh part of a trend of maybe some new coaches that are coming in. Um some fresh blood because this league certainly needs it. Well, that will be a big tell for me. And as as Caroline just mentioned, the hope is that early this week. Now, early this week means a variety of different things to different people. I’m thinking Wednesday at the latest, even though one might refer to that as midweek. Um, but the big tell for me will be whether or not whoever is offered and accepts the job will have the flexibility and the ability to choose his or her own coaching staff. Because if that’s not the case, if that is not the case, um I would I would have some concerns. Y there. I would have some concerns there. Um and I’m hoping that it’s somebody who and and and I understand about wanting to work with someone who brings familiarity to the organization, but don’t we have enough of that already? And I’m referring to one of the candidates whose name has been thrown around, which is Marco Sturm. But again, we already have so many other former Bruins already in in the house, so to speak. But I don’t know, maybe they know better than than I do. Yep. Exactly. Exactly. So, we shall see. There’s also been some I guess I’ll call it a rumor because of course until it’s been confirmed by the organization, we have to kind of make that assumption. But there’s also been talk that uh Chris Kelly and uh the Bruins skating coach have both also been relieved of their duties, relieved of their responsibilities. So, but again, it hasn’t been officially confirmed. Yes. um by anyone, but I think that confirmation will come when you name a head coach and that head coach names a new coaching staff, right? Open addition by addition by subtraction at this point in time. Um and you know, we we do know that Zado will be involved with the organization this season in some capacity. I also thought I read somewhere that perhaps Patrice Berseron was going to have some involvement in the organization in the upcoming season. Um but uh we shall see. We shall see. In the meantime, not only are we waiting with baited breath for this announcement, yeah, we’re waiting what seems to be an eternity for game one of the Stanley Cup finals to start on Wednesday night. And I’ve I’ve seen it and I’ve heard it in many places on the social medias about this is crazy that the hockey season is extending this far at this point. It’s it’s it’s crazy. And and the players must be Yes. chomping at the bit to to get going here. Yes. Everything that I’ve seen online from reputable sources, you know, indicates that players certainly would prefer not to wait this amount of time. Um, and you know, I posed a question on social media. Um, although apparently most folks didn’t really understand my question, but I swear I remember watching, you know, religiously hockey when I was in high school and in college, you know, and this was 25 years ago. I do not remember there being this kind of a gap at all. Uh but then again when you’re younger and your concept of time passing is very different. Um you know so I posted about that online and everyone’s like well they have to wait because if there were games I understand why they do it today. I get it. I understand. I don’t remember it being like this precoid. Yeah. Th this seems like an interminably long and period of time. And the other thing is now you’re going to be potentially conflicting with NBA games as well. But I will say I am so glad that the broadcasts of these games is going to be on TNT and not the ESPN platform. Glad just for a variety of reasons. None, not the least of which is that the broadcasts and the intermission reports are head and shoulders so much better on TNT. So much better. Yep. I don’t have to listen to Ray Ferraro any longer. At least for the Yeah, I’m not not a not a fan. And and in case our viewers are wondering who who I’m Maria, what what for our our audio listeners, uh it looks like you’re sporting a brand new t-shirt. I Yeah, I got myself a little swag. I got myself a nice little Florida Panthers t-shirt with our friend Brad Marshian’s name on the back because I’m Did this use our code? I did use our code. All right. Well, I’m pulling for our boy. I’m pulling for our boy. So, that’s a great reminder that if you’re going to be buying some swag, whether it’s over the summer for any new players or Stanley Cup champions, make sure you click the link uh because we are a shop affiliate. So, every purchase you make through our link uh helps support the pod. So, yes, I I helped I helped me help us. Um but uh and uh one other piece of NHL news today is that a couple of awards were announced by the league. That’s right. And um Alexander Barov for the Florida Panthers Center for the Florida Panthers won the Selki and also won the what is called the King Clancy That’s right. award for his contributions to his sense of community. And when I started reading the story, I read that since 2019, he has been donating a set sum of money for each goal and a set sum of money for each assist. And to date, he has donated $420,000. Wow. To a local children’s hospital. It’s amazing to help with cancer research. So, um, you know, we we can say a lot of things about the the Florida Panthers and Sam Bennett and Sam Bennett. But Alexander Barov is a class act. You can you can see why he’s he’s the captain of the team. You can see why he’s won um he’s won more than one Silky Trophy, too, during the course of his career. So, um, you know, and now he may have the opportunity to hoist back-to-back Stanley Cups just to be back there. Not that I’m going to turn this into a Florida Panthers show. However, any team to get back there three times in a row says something about Yeah. your team, your organization, your determination. So, it’s not it’s not an easy place as we very well know. It is not an easy place to get to year after year after year. So, we’ll see whose year it is. Well, here. And speaking of back-toback champions, again, the final big piece of news in the PWHL is that uh Minnesota won uh back-to-back championships as well. So, uh, hat tip to to those ladies. Congratulations to those ladies, too. They had a great great season and a great showing for their league and a league that, uh, should grow should grow over time. Absolutely. So, congrats. So, let’s talk about uh these these players. Um, although I think we need to take a quick break. We’re gonna take a nap. We’re going to take a quick break to hear from our sponsor DR at DraftKings and then we’ll dive right in. All right, Bruins fans. If you’re thinking about picking up some new gear, now’s the time. I’m already planning to grab a fresh Posternok jersey this fall. Who knows, maybe he’s rocking a new letter on the front. The NHL shop is running tons of season ending and summer sales right now, including 20% off fanatics gear. And here’s the best part. When you shop through our link in the show notes, a portion of your purchases helps support this podcast. Same gear you’d find at the Pro Shop, but with way better perks. So, stock up, save big, and help keep Bruins Tape the Tape rolling all year long. The fastest game on the ice just hit another gear. Welcome to the Stanley Cup playoffs, where legends are made and every shift could turn the tide. And now with DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NHL, you can take every slapshot, breakaway, and overtime thriller to the next level. New to betting on the Stanley Cup playoffs? You’re in for an exciting time. Getting started is a breeze. Fire up the DraftKings Sportsbook Act. Pick your team to win. 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Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkg.co/ftball. NFL Plus premium offer available only to new and former NFL Plus subscribers. Additional NFL Plus premium terms at NFL.com/terms. Welcome back everyone. We are going to start our trade deadline acquisition player profiles with Casey Middlestat. Casey Middlestat was came to the Bruins as part of the trade of Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche. In addition to Casey Middlestat, the Bruins got back a player named Will Zeers and a um 2025 second round draft pick. Now, Casey came to the Bruins with some term left on his contract. I believe he has one more year left at $5.75 million, which I think is making perhaps some people bristle a little bit in terms of, you know, some we I mean, let’s face facts. You’ve got some serious roster rebuilding and roster reconstruction to do here. And you know, Casey Middlestat has been talked about as perhaps being a viable trade candidate if if the Bruins wanted to seek something bigger and better in order to do this rebuild a little bit quicker than many of us may be anticipating. I I don’t think there’s a lot of appetite for, you know, a three, four, fiveyear rebuild at at this point. So, you know, what what do you do with a player of Casey Middlestat’s stature? He’s he’s young. He’s he’s only 26 years old. He’s a left-handed center. Um, he was drafted eighth overall in the 2017 entry draft. He played 81 games last season. They weren’t all with the Bruins because he had time with the Avalanche. 15 goals, 25 assists for a total of 40 points. But the stat that I Your favorite stat. Well, my my and I and I know he’s a minus 29. Yeah. And the struggle was real for him during his games with the Bruins. I myself didn’t see enough to excite me in the fact that, you know, we brought this player in. Now, maybe it was more the fact that, you know, you got a draft pick, you were able to move Charlie Coyle, but you’re on the books for this $5.75 million salary for one more year. So, um I don’t know. And and I know there were some, you know, again, Don and either Don or Cam might have made some comments about not having a shoot first mentality, but this is the same, you know, management group that at one point said, “Well, we want quality over.” Now you’re you’re quick to point the finger at at a player. and that said player seemed, you know, a little bit confused by that that comment. And, you know, this might also speak to hopefully when a new coach comes in, there’ll be a new structure or an improved offensive structure put in that might benefit a young player like Casey Middlestat. Cuz let’s face fact, our young players have not not benefited or grown in Ruan’s current structure. So, um, your your thoughts on on on uh on Casey? Yeah, I think so. the I know your favorite statistic is uh the plus minus and certainly uh I I I like others. I know there are others but that’s that’s kind of a scary it’s a little bit of a scary number. Yeah. So, I mean certainly it’s a statistic that I I go to one of the first ones that I go to either, you know, there there are some uh fairly simple metrics out there that exist either in a game or for a player that I think can tell you a lot right away, right? That’s what’s great about them. So, like folks who are part of our Discord group know that I have a reliance on always checking, you know, shots on goal in a game. Shots on goal isn’t like, you know, the end- all beall that can tell you everything about a game. But if you know how a team plays and you then see how they are doing with the shots on goal, it can often tell me right away what kind of game that team is is having. Right. Yes. Uh, for example, in the playoffs, watching the Florida Panthers, uh, in [Music] game five, I believe, five, was it where they lost or six? I don’t remember now, where they lost against, uh, Toronto. It may have been six. Uh, yeah, it was six because they played at home. Yes, they were at home. Yeah, they were uh this is a team that not just smothers uh defensively, but they are also very uh aggressive offensively. And so for that game, the fact that they were kind of behind the eightball on the shots on goal told me everything that I like confirmed everything that I was kind of experiencing watching the game like, okay, they’re probably going to lose this. They the same exact thing happened when they lost the one game to Carolina, right? So that’s kind of like a quick and dirty stat metric and and uh plus minus also has a lot of value in that sense as well because if I see a player independent of all other players have a minus 29. Whoa boy, what is wrong with that player? And then you look at the whole team and when they are on a team like the Boston Bruins where so many of those players this season were in the red for plus minus. I’m a little more forgiving of that horrible stat because all of like not all of the players but a lot of players had really bad plus minus. So it tells me something a little different that it was more of a global issue if you will as opposed to you know him being the problem right I mean look at Mason Laurai who we will talk about uh this summer certainly in detail my favorite stats to to look at when I want to look a little bit more deeply into okay what is what does this player have to bring to the table? um that might not be quite so obvious. And my two favorite ones have been individual points percentage. So that’s an IP and then player usage. So, uh if you follow us on Substack, you’ve seen a couple of times I’ve talked about player usage um and IP. And essentially when it comes to individual points percentage, it’s looking at the team goals that occur when the player is on the ice. Um so if a player is on the ice for 10 team goals and they had a hand in that, so they had at least a point goal or assist on six of them, then you’re looking at 60%. a high IP. So you’re looking at for for offensive players forwards of you know a 70 80% means that that particular player is extremely uh heavily involved in you know the offensive um you know game. So David Posterno, for example, this past season he had an 88.3 IP, right? Duh. He was there. So he was our our goal leader. So um interestingly enough for Casey Middlestep, he had a 60. So that’s not terrible. And um you know, I don’t know obviously the finer details and the nuances of what was happening on that Colorado team because keep in mind he was he played about 60 games in Colorado and then 20 games in Boston. And you have to remember again those 20 games can be not necessarily a good representation of who that player is. Obviously, there’s a lot that happens at the trade deadline. Um, right. But one statistic that I like to look at that kind of um evaluates both, you know, what the what maybe the coaching staff thinks of a player or, you know, you can draw kind of your own conclusions is the player usage. And so this particular statistic um compares a player, their time on ice, uh essentially most simply to forwards on their team, defensemen on their team, forwards across the league, and defensemen across the league. So where do they land in terms of how frequently they’re used on their actual team? So how are they contributing to the team itself? And then are they being used in a way uh you know similarly across other teams you know you can look at by their age by their position you know by the divisions you can kind of compare them to other players. Um, and Casey Middlestat actually played a lot of tough minutes. He was used actually quite a bit. Um, con comparing him to Charlie Coyle. If we’re going to we’re going to say, okay, we sent Charlie Coyle packing, we replaced him with Casey Middlestat. Um, not really a bad tradeoff, quite frankly, because you know, Charlie Coyle, he played 83 games. He had 17 goals, 18 assists for 35 points. Again, you you mentioned Casey Middlestat had 15 goals, 25 assists, 40 points. And when you’re looking at um their player usage, um Charlie Coyle was in the 85th percentile of uh you know average time on ice compared to competitors uh forwards and Casey Middlestat was in the 76th percentile. Um he’s also a very defensive player because he was uh in the 52nd percentile uh compared to defenseman. So he’s a center uh as Charlie Coyle is was and so you would expect them to be a little bit more defensively minded. So I’ll be really really curious to see younger and he is younger. And he is younger. So there’s that. There’s that. And you know again a full a full season Mhm. might Yeah. bring a bit more to the table from Casey. Mhm. Yeah. Exactly. You know, he he didn’t have a ton of time to learn the systems to really get infused into the culture. He walked into a locker room as a I would probably call him a younger veteran. I wouldn’t necessarily call him a veteran player, but at at 26, you know, he’s been in the league for a while. So, he’s walking into this vacuum that’s very stressful. I would say I don’t think that he should be part of he shouldn’t be traded just to be traded. If he’s going to be part if he’s going to be traded between now and July 1st if he were put in a package deal for someone truly a hockey trade. We’re talking about a hockey trade, right? You’re not talking about we’ve got to dump this salary because you you took this player and you agreed to take this player that need their thank wanting to have this player come back to us in return for right for Charlie Coyle. Yep. Right. he wasn’t acquired as a rental and I if he if he wasn’t already part of the team I would say yeah sure the Bruins you know they have all these open spaces they should take a flyer on him. Um so he might be worth taking a chance on but he’s also kind of on that on that cusp where it’s like don’t flip him. You’d be stupid to just take him and flip him, but again, if you’re trying to go after somebody massive, all right, I mean, okay, I’m not particularly attached because he’s only been around for a hot second. So, and and when have the Bruins ever, you know, done gone after somebody? I mean, the last time they did that was a Dano Charara. Let’s let’s face facts, okay? So, and I’m I’m not sure they’re in a position right now to be able They don’t appear to have that kind of flexibility right now. No. Do they do they need to go out and like I don’t want to say make a splash because sometimes teams make decisions like that to get a fan base, you know, re-energized, reignited. Yeah. But do you I mean, does it work? You know, you you I mean, at at this point, I want them to focus on identifying Okay. Identifying right players. Well, first you have to identify what kind of system you want to play first and foremost, right? You need a coach. Well, you need a coach, right? And you need a coach to help you do that, right? Um and then go out and identify the players that you believe are going to get you there. So, yes, I’m I’m in agreement with you. I’ I’ve heard and read enough things. I mean, the fact that he was drafted eighth overall, there’s got to be something there. There’s got to be something there. Now, question, the million-dollar question is, are the Boston is the Boston Bruins organization the right organization to bring the best out of him? That’s my concern for any players who h are already established, you know. I mean, when I say established like, right? And you know, it’s experienced established players, and I’m not talking about guys in their late 30s, right? No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, we’ve seen Boston do that, but only with goalenders. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head who came in as this diamond in a in the rough and Boston was able to make him shine. kind of like with Lena Smallark or how Vegas did with Jack Eel, you know? I I mean I could be wrong and and listeners certainly call it call call me out on it but I can’t think of anyone who came to Boston from another team as a player skater player who all of a sudden became this phenom in the way that like Venus Almark was. Yeah. I mean, this was like, you know, I think of like a guy like Jerome Ginwa, but he was already he was already an established star in this league, you know, Hall of Famer in the league. So, you’re right. You’re right. I can’t I can’t think of one either. So, um, but you know, I I there should be enough upside there with the right the right system, the right coaching and, you know, linemates too. who you know you you put you you need the Bruins need to work towards putting these young players in the as best a possible scenario for them to be successful as you can at this point at this point because of you know how tragically wrong badly the season went last year what have you got to lose at this point like let’s get these guys if if there is upside to young players like Casey Middlestat then give them the resources, give them the tools, give them the guidance that they need from the beginning to bring the best out of them. Yep. Exactly. Yep. So, I’d say uh I mean I don’t want to give it him a resounding two thumbs up, but yeah, he’s worth I I am intrigued enough that I would like to see we need a bigger sample size. We need for him. Definitely. Definitely. We need And you know what? We’re likely going to get it because again, he’s he has one more year on his deal at nearly $6 million. 5.75. So even though the cap is going up, yes, I’m I’m not sure that, you know, there’ll be teams with an appetite to want to take that take that on unless it’s assuming assuming Elias Lynholm continues whatever, you know, the momentum that he had coming at the out of the end of the Bruins season and and the the um the World Championship tournament that he had which was extremely positive. If he can keep that going and he can bring that energy uh and effort and into the next season. Um I could easily see Casey Middlestat being successful as 3C again. Charlie Coyle replacement fine. I think he he would be fine. So, that’s my that’s my evaluation. That’s our take. I I I I think we’re in agreement. I think we’re in agreement on on this particular player. So, um you know, again, let let let’s hope that uh start with a new coach and new coaching staff and, you know, a different approach to the Brewer. And he was better across the board than Trent Frederick. So, friend of friends of the pod. Okay. Just just an aside, we cannot as much as as much as I wouldn’t mind seeing Conor McDavid hoist a Stanley Cup. Trent Frederick has no business reserve. No, no business going near that trophy. I’m sorry. No. No. And on that note, indeed. And now, make sure you uh like and subscribe. Yep. Absolutely. Follow us on all the social platforms. Uh subscribe to us on Substack. And any final things to say, Maria? Um, go Panthers. Go Bees. [Music] [Music] [Music]
🎙️ The Bruins acquired left-handed center Casey Mittelstadt as part of a trade deal with the Colorado Avalanche for Charlie Coyle at the 2025 trade deadline. But who is this player? Once drafted in the first round, he’s been moved a bit; so can Boston bring out his shine? Or is this another flop trade?
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