For the past two seasons, the Colorado Avalanche searched for an answer to its second-line center question.

When the 2024-25 campaign begins Wednesday night in Las Vegas, that spot in the lineup will no longer be a problem. Casey Mittelstadt is not only a solution, he could be a critical part of how the Avs navigate early uncertainty and why this club could make another run at a Stanley Cup once the roster is whole.

“I think he’s going to have a great year,” Avs star Nathan MacKinnon said. “He looks awesome. He’s a lot more comfortable around the room and on the ice. I think the sky’s the limit for him. There’s a lot of untapped potential.”

After Nazem Kadri left for Calgary following the Stanley Cup run in 2022, the Avs spent the next season and two-thirds looking for his replacement. Not having a guy who could anchor the second line behind MacKinnon was a significant flaw on a roster that didn’t have many.

Then, a bold move. Colorado traded Bo Byram, the best young player in the organization and the No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft, to Buffalo for Mittelstadt. He was also a top-10 pick, and like Byram hadn’t fulfilled all of his immense potential.

Mittelstadt played well upon arriving and looked at home during his first taste of Stanley Cup Playoffs hockey. The Avs locker room isn’t for everyone, but he was quickly embraced.

“Just coming for the playoffs, he didn’t have that in Buffalo, so he was just getting his feet wet,” said Jonathan Drouin, another new guy last season who found his place. “I think he did a great job. (Mittlestadt) works hard off the ice, he puts in the extra time on the ice after practice. I think it’s going to do wonders for him (to be here). He’s a hell of a player.”

With a new three-year, $17.25 million contract in tow, Mittelstadt is now part of Colorado’s core. When the Avalanche acquired him, general manager Chris MacFarland and coach Jared Bednar spoke of there being more for him to unlock in his game.

He set a career high with 59 points two seasons ago, and a new personal best with 18 goals last year.

“The main thing I want to work towards is being a very consistent player,” Mittelstadt said. “I think I’ve done a decent job with it over the last couple of years, but there’s obviously room for improvement. I feel like I’m in the right spot to do that. You see what the leaders do here and how they take care of themselves.

“I got here and thought I had it a little bit figured out, and then you learn a lot from these guys. I’m going to continue to try and learn and hopefully get better.”

The Avs generally like players to fit into one of two buckets offensively — either add speed and play fast, or help retain possession of the puck (or both, with guys like MacKinnon). Then there are “non-negotiables” as Bednar calls it, which pertain to the work on the defensive side.

Mittelstadt’s skillset looked like an instant fit for Colorado, particularly in the latter part of the offensive identity.

“His playmaking ability with the puck is honestly among the best I’ve ever seen,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said. “He can stickhandle in a phone booth. It’s crazy impressive. For him, I think getting the end of last year and playoffs under his belt, it gives him less of a learning curve. You can see it out there with his playmaking and his 200-foot game. He’s a great asset to have.”

While Mittelstadt’s role with the Avs is clear, who is going to play with him is not. Eventually, it could be two of Artturi Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin and Gabe Landeskog, but none of them are currently available.

If Bednar decides to keep Drouin, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen together on the top line, the Avs will need Mittelstadt to anchor an uncertain second trio. He’s also likely to start the year filling in as the net-front guy on the top power-play unit.

The guy who was a potential answer to a long-standing question is now someone the club is going to need a lot of from. There could be some added pressure there, beyond just settling in with a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations.

“I don’t really look at it that way,” Mittelstadt said. “I rely on the fact that I worked really hard this summer and have for a while now. I’m going to put my trust in that hard work and play the best I can.”

Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.

Originally Published: October 8, 2024 at 5:45 a.m.

The devastation of one mountain community thousands of miles away is drawing sympathy and action from another mountain community: Summit County in Colorado, has rallied around Asheville, North Carolina, after devastating floods and storm damage from Hurricane Helene.

It was a plan thought up by the local AutoStar dealership in Silverthorne, owned and operated by a family right out of Asheville, looking to help the folks back home after evacuating to the Colorado mountains themselves.

“I know what’s going on there and it’s absolutely devastating,” Kylie Olp explained. Her family runs the two shops, one in Silverthorne and one in Asheville. She said three employees so far have lost their homes, and that’s where the donations Coloradans are bringing in will go.

“Clothes, baby food, shoes, blankets, non-perishables,” Olp said. “Which is everything people need right now during this time, all the roads are so closed there, it’s really hard to evacuate.”

Just in a week’s time of collecting, Olp said Summit County has filled the semi truck they are planning to drive back to North Carolina to the brim. She knows that was thanks to strangers who saw someone in a bad situation and jumped to help.

“It’s a very tight community up here,” said Evan Backues, a Summit County local who stopped by to donate. “Everyone is just a generous person and wants to help out where they can.”

That generosity is not lost on Dianna and Dustin Sweigard, the folks on the other end of this donation. Not only are they members of the AutoStar dealership family but they’re now looking at a completely flooded basement, cars washed out of the driveway by the flood, and no insurance to help cover the damages.

“Our homeowners (association), they didn’t even offer flood insurance in our area because of, you know, it’s never flooded or anything in our area,” Dustin explained. “You know, we just we don’t have anything.”

The two agreed to speak with Your Reporter in the mountains Spencer Wilson over Zoom while they sat among their destroyed property, with personal belongings littered across the muddy landscape that used to be their yard. They explained everything changed in the span of an hour during the storm.

“The one foot, two foot creek that runs down at the bottom of the property … within maybe 30 to 40 minutes, it just took out the entire first floor of our house,” Dustin said. Dianna nodded in agreement, adding “Consistent rain that just wouldn’t stop.”

They heard about the donation efforts happening in Colorado and were touched by the generosity of people who didn’t know them but still agreed to help.

“There are probably just no words, really.” Dianna said. “I mean, we’re just very grateful for the hope that people that have helped and that have just you know, whether it’s just a phone call or it’s kind words and it’s prayers. It’s just you know, it’s the fact that people are showing kindness.”

The dealership plans to start the long drive back to North Carolina with the donations this week.

Village Medical has closed its obstetrics practice in Colorado and will no longer provide medical care for women during pregnancy or childbirth at its Fort Collins offices.

The national health care provider confirmed the closure in a statement to the Coloradoan on Monday, noting the decision was made to “streamline” its services and “prioritize primary care.” Patients will be contacted directly about the change, according to Village Medical spokesperson Molly Lynch.

When asked whether Village Medical doctors were fired as part of this change, the company said, “we do not discuss the termination of employees.”

In other news: Vaccination rates at some local schools concern state, county health officials

“However we want to make it clear that we did not let go of all our OB doctors — there are many who remain on staff and will serve our patients though high-quality primary care,” the company continued in its statement. None of these physicians will provide obstetrics care, Lynch clarified.

Village Medical has been in Northern Colorado since 2022, when it purchased Associates in Family Medicine — one of the largest primary care health practices in Northern Colorado. Obstetrics “had been a cornerstone” of the practice since Associates in Family Medicine was founded in 1962, according to Village Medical.

Colorado was the only market where Village Medical offered obstetrics care, Lynch said.

Former Coloradoan reporter Pat Ferrier contributed to this report.

Election 2024: Voters invited to learn more about ballot issues at Fort Collins, Loveland presentations

Want more news from Coloradoan reporter Erin Udell? Subscribe to her weekly NoCo Experiences newsletter.