Two things have always been true for Casey Mittelstadt in his hockey career: He can be too hard on himself, but he always digs his way out of a slump through hard work.
Then he encountered a rough patch unlike anything he’d ever experienced last year with the Colorado Avalanche. It cost him a chance to settle at a place he thought might become home.
It also gave him time to reflect on a whirlwind two years that saw him uprooted twice — and helped him realize that when times get tough, he needs to work on putting down the shovel.