Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt’s funk has festered, but he believes hard work is the one way out

Casey Mittelstadt lives and breathes hockey, maybe even more than the typical NHL player.

It’s part of what helped him become one of the best prospects in his draft class, what helped him figure it out at this level after a slower-than-anticipated start, and why he has connected so well with Nathan MacKinnon since arriving in Denver before the trade deadline last season.

It’s also a big part of why he believes a recent funk will be in the rearview mirror soon.

“I haven’t really had something like this since I was really young,” Mittelstadt said. “It’s been better, obviously improving, but I would say probably not to the point where I would like it to be. I’m not super worried, though. I feel like I work hard, and my whole life pretty much revolves around this game. I feel like that usually takes over and wins at some point.”

Mittelstadt was an instant hit with the Avs last season. He arrived, slotted in as the new No. 2 center behind MacKinnon and was a perfect fit. Beyond the 10 points in 18 regular-season games, it was Mittelstadt’s work in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs experience (nine points in 11 contests) that cemented his place in Colorado.

Armed with a new three-year contract, Mittelstadt started this season off strong as well — even with the Avalanche short on top-six wings because of injuries and a suspension. Normally a pass-heavy player, he had six goals and 13 points in the first 10 contests and was a huge part of helping the club shrug off an 0-4 start and stay afloat with all the key guys missing.

Then, in a weird twist, Mittelstadt’s output began to dip even as the quality of his linemates improved.

“It’s gone cold. It’s obviously a confidence thing,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I keep putting them out there in situations, hoping that he’s going to pop off a little bit for us, and it hasn’t really worked out that way yet.

“There’s a mental side of it that he has to take care of on his own. He has our support. He knows that I really like him as a player. I love his creativity. Sometimes he has the ability when he’s not playing a great game to still be a difference maker, making a play or two here and there. I’d like a steadier, more impactful player throughout the course of the 60 minutes we play from him. He knows that. He’s going to have to work through it.”

Mittelstadt has just one goal in the past 27 games. He’s never been a big shooter, but he’s only been credited with six shots on goal in the past 17 games. He did have one Friday night against Utah that he wasn’t credited with, but zero or one isn’t much of a difference.

It’s not the lack of goals that’s an issue. He’s not creating as many scoring chances for others, either. He’s one of the best players on the team at winning battles along the wall and hanging onto the puck, when his game is in good form. That’s been a struggle as well.

“When maybe I’m not playing as well, I don’t have the puck as much, so when I do get it, you want to make a great play, do something special versus just maintaining and keeping the play alive,” Mittelstadt said. “I think that’s probably part of the struggle for me.”

Mittelstadt said his issues are not injury-related. He’s just trying to dig his way out of a funk. How much he cares feeds how hard he works, but it also affects his confidence. It’s a fine line.

“He’s going through it. I have a lot of confidence in Casey, in his ability to be able to get this back on track,” Bednar said. “But it has lasted longer than what I would like. We’ve had multiple conversations. I think Casey is a little hard on himself. I think he’s got to free himself so he can just go out there and play. Having said that, we’ve had multiple conversations, looked at some video, some things to get specific with and now it’s up to him to work through it.”