Madison Capitols blueliner Luke Mittelstadt wraps up his dominant 2021-22 campaign by being named to the All-USHL First Team. Mittelstadt is the first player in franchise history to be named to the First Team.
"We are very happy and proud of Luke for his accomplishment of making All-USHL First Team," said Capitols bench boss Tommy Upton. "He had a terrific year for us. From day one when he got here, he was absolutely on a mission to be one of the best defenseman in this league and this award sums up his work."
After playing just 12 games for the Lincoln Stars last season, Mittelstadt returned to the Capitols this year and wreaked havoc on the Eastern Conference. In 60 games played, the Minnesota Golden Gopher commit led Madison in scoring racking up 19 goals and 36 assists for 55 points. He finished 3rd in scoring and goals among all USHL defensemen. His 13 power play tallies was tied for the 4th best mark in the entire league.
Helping lead the Capitols in their year of many firsts, The Eden Prairie, Minnesota native continued firing on all cylinders during the 2022 Clark Cup playoffs. He helped lead the Capitols to their first ever playoff berth which culminated in Madison advancing to the franchises first ever Clark Cup Finals. Mittelstadt finished the post season 2nd in scoring for defensemen behind his blueline partner Ben Dexheimer, with 9 points (5G, 4A).
The Capitols leading scorer was named the USHL's Defenseman of the Week more than any other blueliner in the league this season. He won the weekly accolade in weeks 5, 20, 29 and for the Clark Cup Finals for the 2021-22 campaign.
The D-man tallied 13 multi-point games this season which was tied for 2nd on the team behind Casey Severo's 14. He had seven 2-point games, five 3-point games and one 4-point game.
"I can't speak enough of his talent and work ethic," Upton said. "His performance on the ice was very important for us throughout the year to help us accomplish the goals we were able to accomplish and the run we were able to go on to the finals. More importantly, he was tremendous off the ice for us. He was a great teammate. He impacted our program in such a positive way in his short time here and we're very thankful for him being a Madison Capitol."
Next up for Mittelstadt is he will move on in his young career and play for the University of Minnesota next year. He follows in his older brother Casey's footsteps by donning the maroon and gold for the historic Minnesota hockey program.
