AHL announces Mittelstadt and Postava as October award winners

The AHL has named Laval Rocket defenceman Luke Mittelstadt its Upper Deck Rookie of the Month for October and Grand Rapids Griffins goaltender Michal Postava its Goaltender of the Month. The league also named Providence Bruins forward Mikey Eyssimont its player of the month for October.

Mittelstadt finished the month with 16 points in 11 appearances, made up of five goals and 11 assists. His October included four games in which he collected three points.

He scored in four consecutive games from Oct. 10 through Oct. 17. That stretch included the overtime goal that gave Laval a 5-4 win at Belleville on Oct. 16.

Special teams accounted for much of his production: 12 of his 16 points came on the power play, including four goals. The league said Laval led the AHL with a 29.2 per cent power-play success rate, scoring on 14 of 48 opportunities.

Postava gave up five goals on 108 shots across four October starts for Grand Rapids, a 1.25 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. He stopped 18 shots in a 5-2 win at Cleveland on opening night, then made 36 saves on 37 shots in a 2-1 home-opener victory over Manitoba on Oct. 9. Two 5-1 wins followed: 22 saves against Chicago on Oct. 11 and 27 against Rockford on Oct. 18.

He also reached the NHL during the month. Postava made his debut on Oct. 22 at Vancouver, then won his first NHL start on Oct. 26 at Edmonton, making 24 saves.

Over two seasons with the Griffins, the 24-year-old from Czechia is 22-6-0 with a 1.62 GAA, a .940 save percentage and four shutouts in 30 regular-season games. He shared the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award in 2025-26 after Grand Rapids allowed the fewest goals in the AHL. Undrafted, he signed with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent on June 10, 2025.