Zack Mitchell Explained

Zack Mitchell
Birth Date:1993 1, df=yes
Birth Place:Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lbs:194
Position:Right wing
Shoots:Right
League:DEL
Team:Augsburger Panther
Former Teams:Minnesota Wild
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
Dinamo Riga
Dinamo Minsk
SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers
HC Ambrì-Piotta
Draft:Undrafted
Career Start:2014

Zachery "Zack" Mitchell (born 7 January 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He is currently under contract with Augsburger Panther in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Minnesota Wild.

Playing career

Mitchell played major junior hockey in his native Ontario, with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League. Undrafted, Mitchel scored 83 points in 67 games in the 2013–14 season with the Storm. He completed his junior career with the Storm as the franchise leader in games played with 322 before he was signed by the Minnesota Wild to a three-year entry-level contract on 4 March 2014.[1]

After attending his first training camp with the Wild, Mitchell was assigned to begin the 2014–15 season and his professional career with affiliate, the Iowa Wild of the AHL on 27 September 2014.[2] In his rookie season with Iowa, Mitchell was the only player to appear in every regular season game, contributing with 17 goals and 35 points in 76 contests.

In the final year of his rookie contract, Mitchell received his first recall to the Wild in the 2016–17 season, on 9 November 2016.[3] He made his debut the following night, in a victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on 10 November 2016.[4] He went on to appear in 11 games for Minnesota over the course of the season.[5] [6]

In the 2017–18 season, on 26 October 2017, Mitchell recorded his first NHL goal in an eventual 6-4 win against the New York Islanders, along with fellow rookie Luke Kunin.[7] [8] Mitchell was reassigned to Iowa later but Kunin stayed up. Mitchell was recalled from Iowa on 21 November 2017, while Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin were sent down.[9] On 1 January 2018, Mitchell was placed on waivers by the Wild,[10] and was then assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, on 2 January.[11] Mitchell finished the season playing in a career best 23 games with Minnesota, contributing with 3 goals and 5 points.

As a free agent from the Wild in the off-season, Mitchell joined his second NHL club in agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract with the Los Angeles Kings on 14 July 2018.[12] In the 2018–19 season, Mitchell played exclusively with AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, posting 15 goals and 31 points in 61 games.

Leaving the Kings organization at the conclusion of his contract, Mitchell opted to sign his first contract abroad in agreeing to a one-year deal with Russian club, HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL on 1 July 2019.[13] In his first season abroad in the 2019–20 season, Mitchell made a successful transition away from the North American style, registering 17 goal and 26 points in 54 regular season games with Nizhnekamsk.

At the conclusion of his contract, Mitchell left Nizhnekamsk as a free agent but continued in the KHL after securing a one-year contract with Latvian based club, Dinamo Riga, on 4 August 2020.[14] Registering 6 goals and 9 points in 24 games, Mitchell was traded mid-season from Dinamo Riga to HC Dinamo Minsk on 28 December 2020.[15]

After one season in the Swiss National League (NL) with SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers, Mitchell returned to the KHL in agreeing to a one-year deal with HC Vityaz on 14 June 2022.[16] Mitchell was released from his contract with Vityaz before making an appearance with the club and returned to the Swiss NL, in playing just one game in the 2022–23 season with HC Ambrì-Piotta before he was sidelined due to a shoulder injury.

In a return to health in the off-season, Mitchell as a free agent opted to sign a one-year contract with German club, Augsburger Panther of the DEL on 21 June 2023.[17]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GPG A Pts PIM
2008–09Toronto MarlborosGTMMHL7742489074
2009–10Guelph StormOHL5937102552020
2010–11Guelph StormOHL61910192461672
2011–12Guelph StormOHL673738753262242
2012–13Guelph StormOHL682234563451124
2013–14Guelph StormOHL67315283402012183012
2014–15Iowa WildAHL7617183512
2015–16Iowa WildAHL7022204226
2016–17Iowa WildAHL6211112210
2016–17Minnesota WildNHL110000
2017–18Iowa WildAHL4216173310
2017–18Minnesota WildNHL233254
2018–19Ontario ReignAHL6115163133
2019–20Neftekhimik NizhnekamskKHL54179261440000
2020–21Dinamo RigaKHL246396
2020–21Dinamo MinskKHL21512171050004
2021–22SC Rapperswil-Jona LakersNL51111223861230
2022–23HC Ambrì-PiottaNL10000
2023–24Augsburger PantherDEL485182310
NHL totals343254
KHL totals992824523090004

International

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wild inks Mitchell to entry-level deal . . 2014-03-05 . 2014-03-05.
  2. Web site: Wild reduces training camp roster to 39 . . 2014-09-27 . 2014-09-27.
  3. Web site: Wild recalls Bertschy, Mitchell and Reilly from Iowa . Minnesota Wild. 2016-11-09. 2016-11-09.
  4. Web site: Mitchell making NHL debut . Minnesota Star Tribune. 2016-11-10 . 2016-11-10.
  5. Web site: Zack Mitchell. hhof.com. Hockey Hall of Fame. 12 December 2017.
  6. Web site: Mitchell recalled from Iowa. NHL.com. Minnesota Wild. 12 December 2017. St. Paul. 26 October 2017.
  7. Web site: Shorthanded goals help Wild win against Islanders. NHL.com. 27 October 2017.
  8. News: Christensen. Joe. Luke Kunin and Zack Mitchell feel thrill -- and relief -- of first NHL goals. 12 December 2017. Star Tribune. 26 October 2017.
  9. Web site: Minnesota Wild recalls forward Zack Mitchell from Iowa. NHL.com. Minnesota Wild. 12 December 2017. 21 November 2017.
  10. Web site: Myers. Dan. Parise expected to return to lineup Tuesday. NHL.com. 3 January 2018. 1 January 2018.
  11. Web site: Wild activates Zach Parise from Injured Reserve. NHL.com. 3 January 2018. 2 January 2018.
  12. Web site: LA Kings sign Zack Mitchell to a one-year contract . . 2018-07-14 . 2018-07-14.
  13. Web site: Neftekhimik has signed a contract with Zack Mitchell . . 1 July 2019 . 1 July 2019 . ru.
  14. Web site: Forward Zack Mitchell joins Dinamo Riga . . 4 August 2020 . August 4, 2020 . lv.
  15. Web site: Zack Mitchell traded to Dinamo Minsk . . . December 28, 2020 . 28 December 2020 . Belarusian.
  16. Web site: Zack Mitchell new signing for Vityaz . . 14 June 2022 . 14 June 2022 . Russian.
  17. Web site: Center Zack Mitchell will be a Panther . . 21 June 2023 . 21 June 2023 . German .