Blackhawks defenseman Nikita Zadorov likes playing with Ian Mitchell because he doesn’t feel like he’s carrying the rookie on his back.
“He’s a first-year guy, but on the ice it doesn’t feel like you’re playing with a first-year guy,” Zadorov said. “He gets in the battle. He gets in scrums. He tries to close quick in the d-zone. Plays hard. He has a good offensive IQ. He can make plays. It’s enjoyable.”
But inevitably, there are times when Mitchell looks like a rookie and it was no surprise that his inexperience was exposed against one of the best teams in the NHL. Mitchell’s tough series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the first week of March earned him his first NHL demotion — a healthy scratch in the two-game series against the Dallas Stars.
“Definitely humbling,” the 22-year-old Mitchell said. “What I learned is that when things start to go bad, you can’t let it snowball, and you’ve got to find a way to top it and get it moving in the other direction. Just try to make a simple play that would just start to get that good feeling for me — whether it’s a breakout pass or having a good gap, forcing a dump. Just trying not to let the errors compound and all of a sudden you’re way in over your head and can’t get out of it.”
Mitchell has generally acquitted himself well in his first NHL season as coach Jeremy Colliton has allowed him to learn the hard way. That’s happened often for the 2017 second-round draft pick, but most often against top-tier competition. He has two goals and four assists and a minus-7 differential in 28 games with an average ice time of 15:27.
Even Colliton’s benching of Mitchell was more management than punishment. And Mitchell took advantage of the two-game break to literally see the game from a different perspective in the press box, focusing on veterans Duncan Keith, Connor Murphy and Calvin de Haan.
“It allowed me to see that there’s a lot more time out there than maybe it feels like at times,” Mitchell said. “When you sit from above it seems lot easier than it is at ice level.
“I watched a lot of Murph, Duncs and Cal just to see how they played. That was really helpful for me just to see their poise and their presence with the puck. That’s something that was kind of getting away from me in Tampa.
“Jeremy put it best — he said I went from hunting to being the hunted. For most of the year I’ve been getting really comfortable, but that break was really good for me to reset. I think I’ve rebounded well the last two games [against the Panthers].”
Mitchell already looks like a keeper. Now the Hawks will see how well he learns and adjusts to the elite level of play in the NHL — and perhaps get an indication of just how high Mitchell’s ceiling is.
The Hawks (14-11-5) begin a two-game series against the Lightning at 6 on Thursday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa. It’s a perfect opportunity for Mitchell to show he’s learning from his rookie mistakes. The rematch is at 3 p.m. Saturday, also at Amalie Arena.
“It’s great timing,” Mitchell said. “I’ve always set high goals and I want to be the best player I can be. To get right out there against arguably the best team is really exciting and it’s a great chance for me to improve and get to that top level. So I’m really excited for it.”
