John Mitchell Showing Versatility

John Mitchell was signed by the Colorado Avalanche prior to the 2012-2013 to essentially replace Jay McClement on the third line. He brought the same kind of defensive awareness as McClement but had better offensive upside.

In his first season with the Avalanche, Mitchell posted 10 goals and 10 assists, but the Avs finished last in the Western Conference and obtained the number overall pick in the draft where they selected Nathan MacKinnon.

It looked like Mitchell would be traded after the Avs selected MacKinnon. With Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene already on the roster at center, it looked like Mitchell would get bumped down to the fourth line. Instead the Avs retained Mitchell, keeping him on the third line and mostly at center with MacKinnon on the wing. Mitchell stayed on the third line for most of the season, often playing with a rotating cast of linemates, but consistently producing. He ended up posting a career high 32 points.

Not having Duchene for the first five games of the series in the playoffs against the Minnesota Wild and losing Tyson Barrie in game three were obviously big blows to the Avalanche, but not having Mitchell for the entire series might have been the most overlooked factor as to why the Avs lost in the first round.

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This season has been a bit of a struggle for Mitchell. He’s spent most of season on the third line, once again playing with a rotating cast of linemates, but he’s also battled a leg injury that kept him out of the lineup 14 games earlier in the year. He’s played well, but, like most Avalanche players this season, he hasn’t played consistently.

However, due to an unfortunate injury to MacKinnon, Mitchell is finally getting a chance to show off his talent.

In recent games he’s played on a top two line with Matt Duchene and Jarome Iginla, looking very comfortable with two of the more talented players in the league. Mitchell wasn’t signed by the Avs to put up big numbers. They brought him in to be a defensive third line forward and help kill penalties, but Avs fans have certainly noticed his offensive skill over the years.

Mitchell has very good stick skills. Duchene and MacKinnon are two of the best as stick handling their way through traffic with fancy dekes, but Mitchell is right there with them. He’s great at showing the puck and then taking it away to get by defenders. He’s shown this plenty of times in his three seasons with the Avs, it’s just gone unnoticed because it often times leads to nothing as his shot isn’t on the level of Duchene and MacKinnon and he hasn’t been playing with the most offensively talented players on the team.

On a line with Duchene and Iginla, Mitchell is getting a chance to shine offensively. Not only does he get extra space with his fancy stick skills, he gets extra space because teams are more worried about his linemates. And when he does pass the puck, he’s passing it off to a guy who knows how to score.

I’ve often criticized Mitchell for being a little too fancy with the puck on the third line. When you’re playing with guys like Max Talbot and Cody McLeod, it’s easier to just chip the puck in and go to battle on the boards. But with talented offensive players like Iginla and Duchene, those stick skills pay off.

Mitchell has been one of the most versatile players for the Avalanche and it’s easy to see why Patrick Roy promoted him to the top six. He can play wing or center, power play and penalty kill. Even though he’s better suited in a third line role due to his lack of finishing ability and speed, he’s not out of his element on one of the top two lines like Jordan Caron was a couple of games ago. Even though I like Caron’s game, it’s that kind of simple game that is better suited for the third or fourth line, as he was clearly in over his head while skating with Iginla and Duchene.

Expect to see Mitchell’s name a lot more on the scoresheet from now until the end of the season as he continues to thrive alongside his new linemates.

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