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Photo by: Brady Paitrick
'U' Captain Mittelstadt Signs Contract with NHL's Canadiens
3/13/2026 12:15:00 PM | Men's Hockey
80 career points in 152 games for the Gophers
MINNEAPOLIS - Following a four-year career with the Golden Gophers men's hockey team, captain Luke Mittelstadt signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens on Friday. He also signed a one-year, one-way AHL contract and will join the Laval Rocket for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
A seventh-round selection by the Canadiens, 197th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft, Mittelstadt took to the ice for 152 games during a four-year career with the University of Minnesota. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore after landing a spot on the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team during his freshman season. From his spot along the blue line, the Eden Prairie, Minn., product finished his career with 80 points on 11 goals and 69 assists and owned a plus-46 rating. Mittelstadt registered 20 or more points in three of his four collegiate campaigns, becoming the 15th defenseman to record such a feat in program history.
In his final college hockey campaign, he bore a heavy workload while playing at an exceptionally high level. Mittelstadt matched a career-high 21 points in 2025-26 across nearly 27 minutes of ice time per game and faced off against the nation's top forwards every night. He finished second on the team with 19 assists, leading all defensemen in the Big Ten Conference and ranked 13th nationally at the end of the regular season. Fifteen of those points came when running the blue line on the man advantage for the Maroon and Gold. Mittelstadt was also one of two skaters to record multiple game-winning goals this year.
A seventh-round selection by the Canadiens, 197th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft, Mittelstadt took to the ice for 152 games during a four-year career with the University of Minnesota. He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore after landing a spot on the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team during his freshman season. From his spot along the blue line, the Eden Prairie, Minn., product finished his career with 80 points on 11 goals and 69 assists and owned a plus-46 rating. Mittelstadt registered 20 or more points in three of his four collegiate campaigns, becoming the 15th defenseman to record such a feat in program history.
In his final college hockey campaign, he bore a heavy workload while playing at an exceptionally high level. Mittelstadt matched a career-high 21 points in 2025-26 across nearly 27 minutes of ice time per game and faced off against the nation's top forwards every night. He finished second on the team with 19 assists, leading all defensemen in the Big Ten Conference and ranked 13th nationally at the end of the regular season. Fifteen of those points came when running the blue line on the man advantage for the Maroon and Gold. Mittelstadt was also one of two skaters to record multiple game-winning goals this year.
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