Not long after announcing the signing of Frederic St. Denis, Pierre Gauthier ensured it was another very busy day for the roster of the Hamilton Bulldogs by sending defenseman Mathieu Carle to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Mark Mitera.Mitera, who will turn 24 in October, has yet to crack the NHL after being the Ducks' first round pick, 19th overall, in 2006. In fact, prior to last season, he hadn't been able to lockdown a permanent AHL spot either, but finally did, scoring 22 points in 71 games for the Syracuse Crunch, but with a dismal -15 rating.
Still, Mitera is considered a defensive defenseman and has a solid frame (6'3", 213 lbs.), so perhaps a change of organization will do him some good.
Carle showed potential to be a reasonable puck-mover with the Canadiens, but every time he impressed, injury knocked him back down. It seemed the final straw was his being passed by Brendon Nash on the team's depth chart last season, and as we mentioned in a post yesterday, Erik Cole taking #72 signaled the end of his tenure in the organization (Carle had worn #72 in his 3 NHL games).
This trade, along with the prior Ryan Russell for Mike Blunden deal, shows good asset management by Pierre Gauthier this summer. Neither Russell nor Carle had a future in Montreal, and he obtained two players with much untapped potential who just MIGHT fit in well with the organization and address bigger needs.
A scouting report on Mark Mitera done prior to last season by Hockey's Future, where he was considered Anaheim's 14th best prospect:
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