Ian Mitchell (ice hockey)

Playing career

Mitchell was picked 57th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL draft, but he chose to play college hockey at the University of Denver beginning in the 2017-18 season. He made an immediate impact on the blue line, putting up two goals and 28 assists in 41 games. Denver captured the 2018 NCHC Tournament title, earning a spot in the 2018 NCAA tournament, but the Pioneers fell to Ohio State in the second round. The following season, Mitchell was named an alternate captain and posted six goals and 21 assists. Though Denver lost early in the 2019 NCHC Tournament, they still qualified for the NCAA tournament and made a run to the Frozen Four, where they were defeated by UMass. Mitchell thought about turning pro and signing with the Blackhawks before the 2019-20 season, but he decided to return to Denver, where he was named captain. He had his best college year, scoring a career-high 10 goals and adding 22 assists for 32 points, earning AHCA First-Team All-American honors. Denver was scheduled to face Omaha in the 2020 NCHC Tournament, but the tournament was canceled before any games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2020 NCAA tournament was also called off. Mitchell skipped his senior season and signed an entry-level contract with the Blackhawks on April 11, 2020. He made Chicago’s opening night roster for his delayed rookie year. He recorded his first NHL point on January 22, 2021, assisting on a Calvin de Haan goal against the Detroit Red Wings, and scored his first NHL goal on February 11, 2021, against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Though he wasn’t a regular in the lineup, Mitchell spent most of his rookie season with the NHL club, finishing with three goals and four assists in 39 games. In 2021-22, he didn’t replicate that success at the NHL level, spending most of the year with Chicago’s AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. There, he scored 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points in 57 games, and added a goal and an assist in five playoff games before the IceHogs were eliminated in the second round by the Chicago Wolves. He appeared in eight NHL games that season, recording just one assist.