Willie Mitchell (ice hockey)
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| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| Nickname(s) | Bill Pickle Steamboat Willie |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg/14 st 9 lb) |
| NHL Team F. teams |
Vancouver Canucks Dallas Stars Minnesota Wild New Jersey Devils |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | April 23, 1977 , Port McNeill BC, CAN |
| NHL Draft | 199th overall, 1996 New Jersey Devils |
| Pro career | 2000 – present |
Willie Mitchell (born April 23, 1977 in Port McNeill, British Columbia, Canada) is a professional ice hockey defenceman. He currently plays for the Vancouver Canucks and is known primarily as a shutdown defenceman.
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[edit] 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. In his first season, he was named co-Rookie of the Year with fellow NHLer Erik Cole. In 1999, he was also named a 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 the Wild and was named team captain, as part of the Wild's rotating captaincy, in December 2005. 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. 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. As a defensive defenceman, Mitchell excelled in a defensive system similar to that of Minnesota and was awarded the Babe Pratt Trophy in 2007–08 as the Canucks' top defenceman.
[edit] 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. 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. Willie Mitchell is also a very fond fisherman, as well, in his off time.
[edit] 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
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Clarkson University | NCAA | 34 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 105 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998–99 | Clarkson University | NCAA | 34 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 40 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998–99 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 29 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1999–00 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 63 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 71 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000–01 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 41 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 94 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000–01 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 29 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2000–01 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 17 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 11 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2001–02 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 68 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 68 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002–03 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 69 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 84 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 2003–04 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 70 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 83 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005–06 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 64 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 87 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 62 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 45 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 72 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 81 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 456 | 12 | 72 | 84 | 514 | 35 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 28 | ||||
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Willie Mitchell's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- SI.com
- Willie Mitchell at TSN.ca
- Yahoo Sports
- Official Vancouver Canucks Player Bio
| Preceded by Filip Kuba |
Minnesota Wild Team Captain Dec/Jan 2005–06 |
Succeeded by Brian Rolston |
| Preceded by Kevin Bieksa |
Babe Pratt Trophy 2007–08 |
Succeeded by pending |
