Willie Mitchell (ice hockey)

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
team=Vancouver Canucks
former_teams= Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
New Jersey Devils
league = NHL
position = Defence


image_size= 200px
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 205
nickname = Bill Pickle
Steamboat Willie
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1977|4|23
birth_place = Port McNeill BC, CAN
draft = 199th overall
draft_year = 1996
draft_team = New Jersey Devils
career_start = 2000

William Mitchell (born April 23 1977 in Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada) is a professional ice hockey defenceman. He currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League and is known primarily as a shutdown defenceman. Mitchell has previously played with the New Jersey Devils (with whom he was originally drafted), the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars.

Playing career

As a junior hockey player, Mitchell competed in several leagues. Growing up in British Columbia, he played one season for the Kelowna Spartans of the BCHL in 1994–95, before joining the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL. In his last of two seasons with Melfort, Mitchell was honoured with the Top Defenceman Award and was named to the SJHL First All-Star Team.

Crossing the border, Mitchell then played two seasons in the ECAC with Clarkson University. In his first season, he was named co-Rookie of the Year with fellow future NHLer Erik Cole. In 1999, he was also named an ECAC First Team All-Star and a NCAA East Second Team All-American.

After being drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 8th round, 199th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, he made his NHL debut in 1999–00. However, in just less than two seasons with New Jersey, in which he played primarily in Albany with the Devils' AHL affiliate, he was traded to the Minnesota Wild, on March 4, 2001, for defenceman Sean O'Donnell.

With the Wild, Mitchell became a full-time NHLer and in 2004, also represented Team Canada in the World Championships, earning gold.

After an inactive lockout season in 2004–05, Mitchell returned to Minnesota for a fifth season after re-signing to a one-year contract. [citeweb|title=Wild re-sign Mitchell, Bouchard, give White a multi-year contract|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2005-08-09-free-agent-roundup_x.htm|accessdate=2008-09-29|publisher=USA Today] In December, he was named team captain as part of the Wild's monthly rotating captaincy (he was then succeeded by Brian Rolston in February). [citeweb|title=Defenseman Mitchell named December captain|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nhl&id=2245423|accessdate=2008-09-29|publisher=ESPN] However, as Mitchell's contract was set to expire at the end of the season and it became apparent the team would not make the playoffs, on March 9, 2006, he was traded away to the Dallas Stars as a rental player in exchange for defencemen Martin Skoula and Shawn Belle. [citeweb|title=Minnesota Wild Transactions|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/teams/transactions?team=min&year=2006|accessdate=2008-09-29|publisher=ESPN] Mitchell closed the season playing 16 games and one playoff round with Dallas before becoming an unrestricted free agent in the off-season.

As a result, on July 1, 2006, the Vancouver Canucks of his home province signed Mitchell to a four-year, $14 million contract. [citeweb|title=Canucks sign Willie Mitchell|url=http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170234&hubname=nhl|accessdate=2008-09-27|date=2006-07-01|publisher=TSN] Coupled with the acquisition of goaltender Roberto Luongo, new head coach Alain Vigneault employed a defence-first system that Mitchell excelled in.

During his second season with Vancouver, he missed ten games with a fractured vertebra. The injury was sustained on December 31, 2007, in a loss to the Calgary Flames, while trying to dodge a check. However, Mitchell continued to play with the injury for nine games afterwards. [citeweb|title=Canucks' Willie Mitchell breaks vertebra in back|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/01/29/willie-mitchell-injured.html?ref=rss|accessdate=2008-09-27|date=2008-01-28|publisher=CBC Sports] At the end of 2007-08, he was awarded the Babe Pratt Trophy as the Canucks' top defenceman.

With the departures of long-time Canucks captain Markus Naslund to free agency in the off-season, Mitchell was considered a leading candidate for captaincy. [citeweb|title=Mitchell ready, willing, able to lead|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2008/01/29/willie-mitchell-injured.html?ref=rss|accessdate=2008-09-29|date=2008-09-26|publisher=The Province] However, on September 30, 2008, the Canucks surprised everyone by making team MVP Roberto Luongo the first captain to be a goaltender since 1947–48. Mitchell was, instead, named alternate captain along with Ryan Kesler and Mattias Ohlund. Due to Luongo's limitations as a goaltender, Mitchell will be responsible for the captain's traditional role of disputing calls by the officials and relaying messages to the coach. [citeweb|title=Canucks name Luongo new team captain|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=ae878727-3ba1-417e-b905-220f7662d563|accessdate=2008-09-30|date=2008-09-30|publisher=Vancouver Sun]

Off the ice

Willie Mitchell was married in the 2005–2006 NHL off season and resides in his hometown of Port McNeill during the summer, where he fishes avidly. [citeweb|title=Canucks' Mitchell is doing his part to help the environment|url=http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/story.html?id=c0a32ac7-5128-494c-a764-c49d6cfbed88&k=42186|accessdate=2008-09-29|date=2008-03-13|publisher=CanWest News Services]

His grandfather, Les Mitchell played in the West Coast Hockey League and earned a tryout at the New York Rangers camp during the Original Six era.

Awards & achievements

*ECAC Second-Team All-Conference Team - 1998
*NCAA East Second All-American Team - 1999
*ECAC East Second All-American Team - 1999
*Babe Pratt Trophy (Canucks' best defenceman) - 2008

Career statistics

References

ee also

*List of NHL players
*List of NHL seasons

External links

*hockeydb|35430|Willie Mitchell
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/players/2121/ Willie Mitchell at SI.com]
*TSN-NHL-profile|1544|Willie Mitchell
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/players/2121 Willie Mitchell at Yahoo Sports]
* [http://canucks.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8465185&service=page&tab=prf Official Vancouver Canucks Player Bio]