Casey Mittelstadt — Green Bay Gamblers, USHL
Casey Mittelstadt is the consensus No. 1 among American skaters, and he is the 2017 version of Clayton Keller — at least regarding his nationality, position, and draft rankings. Ranked fourth by Future Considerations and 13th by ISS Hockey, Mittelstadt could go off the board anywhere in the top 15. I personally like him a lot and expect Mittelstadt to be at least top-10 pick.
"A smart, quick and highly skilled center…has a tremendous first-step jump, change of pace and ability to make defenders miss…though not the biggest or strongest player on the ice, he finds success in loose puck battles by using his smarts and insane ability to shield the puck from defenders…never takes a shift off, and has added noticeable muscle and speed this season…will finish chances with a quick release on a wrister or powerful snap shot…puckhandling skills are excellent and he is able to create scoring chances in almost all of his offensive-zone shifts using his great vision and understanding of the game…aware of his defensive responsibility and backchecks hard to cover…sets up scoring chances using accurate, hard passes…always in the action and loves being the go-to guy…can beat defenders or gain the zone by utilizing this hands, feet or brain…a potential future top-line, two-way guy."
Like Vilardi, Mittelstadt can play on the wing as well, but he feels home at centre. At 6-foot-1, he is not overly tall, but he weighs in at 200 pounds, which he uses to his advantage with and without the puck.
With Mittelstadt, Horvat, Brandon Sutter and Brendan Gaunce, the Canucks could be set at centre for years to come. Depending on the outcome of their season and the draft lottery, Mittelstadt is a very realistic pick.
There has been a lot of movement in the top 31s of all scouting services so far, with players like Mittelstadt moving up and down. Whether the Canucks end up picking, third, eighth or 12th, Mittelstadt will be an option.