Willie Mitchell (ice hockey)

Early life

Willie Mitchell came into the world on April 23, 1977, in Port McNeill, British Columbia, a small logging town on Vancouver Island. His parents are Reid and Nadija Mitchell, and he has a sister named Chantal. His father retired as a heavy-duty mechanic for Western Forest Products, while his mother, originally from Croatia, retired from B.C. Ferries as a terminal service agent. His grandfather, Les Mitchell, played amateur senior hockey and once got a tryout with the New York Rangers during the Original Six era.

Les also scored the game-winning goal for the Nanaimo Clippers in the 1945 championship and was said to be the last person to skate at the Civic Arena in Nanaimo before it was demolished. Growing up, Willie worked on the docks unloading fish and cleaning equipment. He started skating at age four, taking figure skating lessons, and was a Vancouver Canucks fan, with his father taking him across to the mainland for games at the Pacific Coliseum. He played minor hockey as a winger for the North Island Eagles, winning back-to-back double-A provincial titles in pee wee and bantam.

At 15, he left home to attend Athol Murray College of Notre Dame in Wilcox, Saskatchewan, where he switched from wing to defence. Playing for the Notre Dame Hounds midget team in the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League, he put up 15 points in 31 games during the 1993–94 season. That led to an athletic scholarship at Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York.

Playing career

Mitchell began his junior career in the BCHL with the Kelowna Spartans in 1994–95, recording 11 points in 42 games. He then joined the Melfort Mustangs of the SJHL, and after his first season there was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the eighth round, 199th overall, of the 1996 NHL entry draft. Returning to Melfort for a second season, he recorded 56 points in 64 games, earning the Top Defenceman Award and SJHL First All-Star Team honours. He played two seasons of college hockey with Clarkson University's Golden Knights in ECAC Hockey.

In his freshman year, he recorded 26 points over 34 games, was named co-Rookie of the Year with teammate Erik Cole, and earned ECAC All-Rookie and ECAC Second All-Star honours. The following season, he led all Golden Knights defencemen in scoring with 29 points and a +13 rating in 34 games. In the 1999 ECAC Semi-final, he scored the game-winning goal with a slap shot from centre ice with three seconds remaining; Clarkson went on to win the ECAC championship, and Mitchell earned tournament MVP honours, ECAC First All-Star Team, and NCAA East Second All-American Team recognition.

He then turned professional, playing the final six games of the 1998–99 AHL season with the Albany River Rats, registering a goal and three assists.

Playing style

Mitchell plays as a stay-at-home defenceman. With the Vancouver Canucks, he became their top shutdown defenceman, matched against opponents' best players and used extensively on the penalty kill. He often formed a defensive pairing with offensive-minded Kevin Bieksa, who credited Mitchell with teaching him to be more aware of game situations before joining the rush. Mitchell uses a longer-than-usual hockey stick; prior to a game against the Calgary Flames on February 17, 2009, opposing head coach Mike Keenan accused him of using an illegal stick, but Mitchell asserted he used the league maximum length of 63 inches. He has served as an alternate captain on the Canucks, was captain for two months as part of the Minnesota Wild's rotating captaincy system, and was named captain of the Florida Panthers at the start of the 2014–15 season.

Personal life

Willie Mitchell married Megan, who is from Minnesota, in Napa Valley, California, on August 17, 2006. The couple lives in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighborhood and spends summers in Mitchell’s hometown of Port McNeill, where he is an enthusiastic fisherman. During the 2015–16 NHL season, Florida Panthers rookie Aaron Ekblad stayed with Mitchell and his wife. Mitchell gives back to Port McNeill through philanthropy.

In 2004, he launched the Willie Mitchell Classic, a celebrity golf tournament that raises scholarship money for local high school students. He has also donated used game gear to benefit the North Island Eagles, the minor hockey team he once played for. In the summer of 2009, he threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Safeco Field. In 2014, he was a VIP guest at the blue team’s chef’s table on the show Hell’s Kitchen.

Mitchell and Megan have two sons: Paxton, born on May 4, 2017, and Hayden, born in December 2020. On September 14, 2022, the Tofino Resort and Marina, which Mitchell co-owns, announced the cancellation of its Race for the Blue fishing tournament and the temporary closure of its 1909 Kitchen and Bar following allegations of inappropriate staff behavior.