( Photo Credit: Eric Bolte / Imagn Images )

By: Declan Flavin | Follow me on Twitter / X @FlavinDeclan

The Boston Bruins are in a reset, and Casey Mittelstadt is in one of his own for his career. Things have not exactly panned out how he wanted after being selected eighth overall in the 2017 National Hockey League draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Luckily, this organization is a great place for Mittelstadt to work on nuances of his game that could use improvement. There will definitely be trade noise that pops up as long as he is with the Bruins, but hopefully he can zone that all out and lock in on his game. If he fails to contribute on both sides of the ice, he won’t be around for very long.

Mittelstadt’s offensive game is heavily focused on playmaking more than anything else. He has almost double the amount of career assists as goals, sitting at 155 assists and 81 goals. This player is a natural fit for two dependable scoring linemates.

Regardless, the dynamic for him and his projected linemate, Pavel Zacha, is that one of them will have to tap into their scoring ability a little more for the second line to thrive. Now on a second franchise that offers more stability than the Sabres did, maybe this season is the year he can progress in that area. Being an eighth overall pick alone is enough to have the Bruins take a look at what can improve from a shooting standpoint, and with their history of progressing middle-line players, it’s more possible than we think.

His defensive game will be as important, as Mittelstadt has never been much of a contributor in his own end. Just as the two can address their offensive game, Zacha will be able to help Mittelstadt in this area with his defensive progression.

The Bruins organization has always preached being good in their own zone before anything else, and their patience will be thinner considering last season’s flaws in that area. Of course, with the forecheck priority as a team, Mittelstadt needs to be tougher in wall battles than he has been before. If he can support his teammates along the walls and contribute as much as he can to caving in defensemen to their own boards, that will translate perfectly to defensive improvement.

Scoring is never a guarantee, so if Mittelstadt can just start by ramping up his forecheck game, he will begin to develop the two-way capability the Bruins will covet going forward. This isn’t exactly natural to him, but there is no better time to go back to the drawing board than this upcoming season.

The one thing he cannot do is fail to bring physical energy, because that is at the top of General Manager Don Sweeney’s mind. The emphasis on forecheck will call on a lot of different players to get out of their comfort zone. Consistent effort will be the table-setter for a more rounded Mittelstadt in 2025-26.