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Ian Mitchell

Ian Mitchell Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Mitchell passed through waivers unclaimed, Friedman reports.  No one was placed on waivers today.

Friday: The Boston Bruins have placed defenseman Ian Mitchell on waivers for the purposes of being assigned to the AHL, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Mitchell began the year on Boston’s injured non-roster list, and will now head to the minors after returning to full health.

Mitchell joined the Bruins via trade in 2023, packaged alongside Alec Regula in the deal that landed Chicago Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno. Mitchell made the move out East having totaled 82 games and 16 points worth of NHL experience with the Blackhawks. His first season in the Bruins organization was split between the NHL and AHL lineups, with Mitchell ultimately slotting into 13 games and scoring two points with the Bruins. He was one of many minor-league defenders rotated into the lineup as Boston battled through injuries, though he was far more productive in the minors. Mitchell managed six goals and 24 points in 42 games with the Providence Bruins, falling just 11 points shy of his career-high, set in 57 games with Rockford in 2021-22.

Mitchell was originally drafted in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft and proceeded to spend three impactful years at the University of Denver. He recorded 89 points in 116 games on the Pioneers’ blue-line. He’s yet to find that same production at the pro level, though could be in store for an increased role with Providence this year, following Mason Lohrei’s promotion to an everyday NHL role.

Boston Bruins Sign Ian Mitchell To One-Year Extension

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The Boston Bruins will retain some of their defensive depth as the team announced a one-year, two-way contract extension for defenseman Ian Mitchell. The deal will pay Mitchell the league minimum of $775K at the NHL level in a contract that will make Mitchell arbitration-eligible next summer.

Acquired by the Bruins in a cost-cutting move last summer, Mitchell was traded with Alec Regula from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Taylor Hall and the contractual rights to Nick Foligno. Of the two, Mitchell was the only one to suit up for Boston last season as Regula spent the entirety of the 2023-24 season with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Similarly, Mitchell spent 42 games in Providence scoring six goals and 24 points from the blue line as he finished third on the team in scoring among defensemen.

Regulated to a flexible depth option in a much deeper defensive core, Mitchell played in 13 games for Boston this past season where he tallied two assists in total. Even though he saw his games played total slashed by nearly 20 after moving on from the Blackhawks, Mitchell still maintained an average of more than 15 minutes of ice time per game.

With the emergence of Mason Lohrei last season and in the playoffs, Boston should have much of their defensive core put in place heading into the 2024-25 NHL season. Due to this fact, Mitchell will likely start the season back in Providence in the same depth option role he spent in the Bruins organization last year.

Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub was the first to report the Bruins had extended Mitchell. 

Bruins Recall Nine Players From AHL

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The Boston Bruins have added to their black aces as they have recalled nine players from the AHL’s Providence Bruins (as per AHL Transactions). Providence was eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack last Friday for the second year in a row allowing the Bruins to recall the nine players today to take part in the remainder of the Bruins playoff run. Boston will face elimination once again tomorrow night in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series against the Florida Panthers.

Joining the Bruins’ black aces will be forwards Joey Abate, Trevor Kuntar, Marc McLaughlin, Georgii Merkulov, Anthony Richard, and Oskar Steen. Defensively, Michael Callahan and Ian Mitchell will join the team, while goaltender Michael DiPietro also received a callup.

Abate just completed his second season in the NHL and has yet to see NHL action in his brief professional career, while Kuntar was a rookie this season in the AHL after being drafted in the third round back in 2020.

McLaughlin has had brief appearances in the NHL in each of the past three seasons posting four goals in 14 games, including a goal in his only NHL appearance this season. The 24-year-old grew up near Boston and was the captain of Boston College in his final two NCAA seasons.

Merkulov led Providence in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 67 AHL games. The undrafted free agent signing has been a solid offensive contributor in the AHL since arriving in 2021-22. The 23-year-old saw his first NHL action this season going scoreless in four games.

Richard has been a mainstay in the AHL for eight seasons but has bounced around in recent years. The former fourth-round pick in 2015 has had a few cups of coffee in the NHL throughout his professional career, posting four goals and four assists in 24 NHL games. The 27-year-old had a goal and two assists in nine NHL games this season with Boston.

Steen spent much of the year with Boston dressing in 34 games but tallying just a single goal. He fared much better in the AHL scoring 12 goals and adding four assists in 25 AHL games. The native of Karlstad, Sweden has been in the Bruins organization for five seasons and remains a tweener bouncing back and forth between the AHL and the NHL in each of the last four years.

On the backend 24-year-old Callahan just completed his third professional season, playing in a career-high 70 AHL games. The former fifth-round pick has yet to make his NHL debut and doesn’t offer much offensively, posting just four goals and 13 assists this season.

Mitchell came over to the Bruins from the Chicago Blackhawks last summer in the trade that sent Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall the other way. He looked like he may have found a home on the Bruins blueline early in the season but hasn’t dressed in an NHL game since December 23rd and was demoted to the AHL. With Providence, the 25-year-old posted solid offensive numbers with six goals and 18 assists in 42 games.

DiPietro’s young career feels as though it’s come full circle as the netminder had a few NHL starts early in his career with the Vancouver Canucks after an impressive OHL career, but his play fell off and he was relegated to the ECHL last season. This year, Dipietro bounced back and posted impressive AHL numbers with an 18-9-2 record to go along with a .918 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average.

The nine men will join several of their other Providence teammates along for the ride with Boston as they look to extend their playoff run tomorrow. The black aces are unlikely to see action in the playoffs, but they will have an opportunity to practice with the Bruins and soak in the atmosphere of the NHL playoffs.

East Notes: Tarasenko, Tomek, Bruins

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With the Senators being nowhere close to a playoff spot, pending UFA winger Vladimir Tarasenko sits atop their list of trade chips.  However, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch notes that there is some talk that the 32-year-old might prefer to finish the year in Ottawa.  Tarasenko can control his fate as he has a full no-move clause.  Sticking with them might allow Tarasenko to play a bit higher in the lineup which certainly doesn’t hurt from a negotiating perspective but at the same time, the potential to go deep in the playoffs and contribute could also help his case for securing a multi-year deal on the open market, something he wasn’t able to do last July, instead settling for a one-year, $5MM pact.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Flyers goalie prospect Matej Tomek has signed a one-year extension with Litvinov of the Czech Extraliga, per a team release. The 26-year-old was a third-round pick (90th overall) back in 2015 but struggled in limited college action, resulting in him heading back overseas in 2019.  Since then, Tomek has spent time in both Slovakia and Czechia.  This season, he has a 3.00 GAA and a .911 SV% in 31 games with Litvinov.  The Flyers hold his rights indefinitely so this extension won’t have any impact on that front.
  • A day after recalling defenseman Ian Mitchell and assigning Justin Brazeau to the minors, the Bruins reversed those moves, per the AHL’s transactions log. Brazeau scored in his NHL debut back on Monday after his AHL deal was converted to a two-year NHL pact.  Mitchell, meanwhile, has been shuffled back and forth several times this season.  He has two assists in 13 NHL games so far while adding 14 points in 22 games with Providence.

Bruins Recall Ian Mitchell, Grzelcyk Is Day-To-Day

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Joe Pohoryles of The Hockey News is reporting that the Boston Bruins have recalled defenseman Ian Mitchell from their AHL affiliate in Providence. Mitchell hasn’t dressed for an NHL game since December 23rd after making the team out of training camp as the seventh defenseman. He started the season with two assists in 13 NHL games and was then assigned to Providence and has posted three goals and 11 assists in 22 AHL games. Mitchell has played in 95 NHL games over four seasons and has four career NHL goals and 14 assists.

Mitchell’s recall could signal that fellow defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will miss some time. Grzelcyk was injured in Boston’s 6-5 overtime win last night against the Edmonton Oilers and the Bruins are calling his status day-to-day. Boston is already without their top left-shot defenseman Hampus Lindholm, and Grzelcyk’s injury leaves them down another defenseman.

Grzelcyk isn’t having one of his better offensive seasons as he has just two goals and five assists in 43 games. However, this is largely due to his role changing a bit this year as he has seen far less power play time and far more time killing penalties. The 30-year-old has spent more time on the penalty kill this season than the last three seasons combined and has just over five minutes on the power play this year. Special teams aside, Grzelcyk’s play at even strength hasn’t been as strong this year, and it will be something he’ll likely be looking to work on when he is healthy and in the lineup again.

Ian Mitchell Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Mitchell has cleared waivers, Friedman reports, paving the way for him to be sent back to Providence, a move they quickly made.

Friday: The Bruins placed defenseman Ian Mitchell on waivers Friday, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Boston has ferried Mitchell up and down between the NHL and AHL frequently throughout this season, his first in the Bruins organization. This is his second time on the waiver wire since the regular season began, last clearing on October 26. Given that he’s now played more than ten games in Boston since then, he will need to clear them again to head to AHL Providence.

Most recently, the Bruins brought Mitchell up from Providence under emergency conditions on December 23, and he logged 10:50 of ice time and recorded a +1 rating in that night’s 3-2 loss to the Wild. Boston converted his recall into a standard one the following day. He was a healthy scratch in their lone game since the holiday break, a win over the Sabres on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old right-shot defender has played in 13 games for the Bruins on the season, logging replacement-level stats in replacement-level minutes. He’s recorded two assists, a +6 rating, and a mediocre Corsi share of 46.6% at even strength while averaging 15:18 per game. He’s also made four appearances for the P-Bruins this season, recording an assist and a -4 rating. The 2017 second-round pick of the Blackhawks joined the Bruins in June when his signing rights were part of the trade for winger Taylor Hall, promptly inking a one-year, one-way deal worth the league minimum of $775K.

Mitchell has always been a strong skater and was a high-end point producer in college, but he hasn’t shown the all-around game worthy of an NHL defender throughout his four seasons of experience at the top level. He’s never eclipsed the 40-game mark in a single season and has yet to avoid an AHL assignment, only earning NHL jobs as the sixth or seventh defenseman on the Blackhawks’ and Bruins’ depth charts at the highest. He lands on the waiver wire today with four goals, 14 assists and 18 points with a -15 rating over 95 NHL games.

It’s unlikely another team will submit a claim for Mitchell over the next 24 hours since he’s already gone unclaimed once this season. He will be a restricted free agent with salary arbitration eligibility next summer.

Minor Transactions: 12/24/23

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With no games on the NHL schedule until Wednesday, many teams snuck last-minute transactions in before the full roster freeze kicked in.  We’ve covered a handful of them here throughout the day in Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and St. Louis; here’s a rundown of the remaining moves.  All transactions are via the AHL’s transactions log unless otherwise noted.

  • The Capitals returned winger Ivan Miroshnichenko and center Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey. Both players were recalled on Tuesday with Miroshnichenko making his NHL debut.  He was held off the scoresheet in his three appearances while Lapierre has five points in 14 games with Washington so far.
  • The Red Wings re-assigned center Austin Czarnik and defenseman Simon Edvinsson back to AHL Grand Rapids. Czarnik has been shuffled back and forth frequently this month and has one assist in 16 games with Detroit while Edvinsson, who was only brought up Saturday, made his season debut last night.
  • The Kings loaned Jacob Moverare back to AHL Ontario after playing just shy of 15 minutes last night versus Calgary. The 25-year-old has been recalled and sent back down ten separate times each since mid-November.
  • The Golden Knights have loaned goaltender Isaiah Saville back to AHL Henderson, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). He has been serving as their interim backup with both Adin Hill and Logan Thompson injured.  As Thompson remains on the active roster, Saville was eligible to be sent back down.  The 23-year-old was activated off SOIR earlier this month and has made three appearances for the Silver Knights.
  • The Bruins sent three players back to AHL Providence – defensemen Mason Lohrei and Parker Wotherspoon along with center Patrick Brown. Lohrei has five points in 17 games so far in his first full professional campaign while Wotherspoon is logging nearly 16 minutes a night in eight games with Boston.  As for Brown, he cleared waivers early in the season and has been brought up four separate times now; he has an assist in nine games at the top level so far.
  • Boston also made one other transaction as they converted defenseman Ian Mitchell from an emergency recall to a regular one, per CapFriendly (Twitter link). Mitchell was recalled on Saturday and has two assists in 13 games with Boston so far.  The Bruins will now be ineligible to send him down until after the roster freeze lifts.
  • The Maple Leafs have returned center Pontus Holmberg to AHL Toronto. It’s the third time he has been sent back down since Wednesday as Toronto has been shuffling him up and down quite frequently.  The 24-year-old has an assist in eight games with the big club so far.
  • A day after recalling him, the Coyotes have sent center Justin Kirkland back to Tucson of the AHL. The 27-year-old had spent the full year with the Roadrunners prior to yesterday’s move, notching ten points in nine contests.
  • Grant Hutton is once again on the move as the Islanders have sent him back to AHL Bridgeport, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He has been recalled and re-assigned six times apiece in the last month and has been limited to just two appearances with New York so far this season.

Many of these transactions will be undone on the 27th or 28th as NHL teams return to action.  In the meantime, these teams will save a bit of salary money and cap space with these demotions.  Toronto and Ottawa’s moves could have AHL implications as well as their two affiliates will play on Tuesday so the players they sent down could suit up in that contest.

Bruins Recall Ian Mitchell

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The Bruins have added some depth to their roster for the final game before the holiday break as the team announced that defenseman Ian Mitchell has been recalled from AHL Providence on an emergency basis.

The 24-year-old was acquired during the summer as part of the Taylor Hall trade, signing a one-year, one-way deal for the NHL minimum back in July.  Mitchell made Boston’s roster out of training camp, spending the first few weeks with the team.  However, the Bruins opted to waive him in late October and after he cleared, he was sent to Providence.

That said, Mitchell hasn’t exactly seen much action in the minors as this will mark his seventh recall since early November.  As a result, he has played in just four games for Providence, two of which came this week; he has a single assist in those four appearances.  Meanwhile, he has seen a bit more action with Boston as Mitchell has a pair of helpers in 12 games while averaging just under 16 minutes a night.

With the Bruins off until Wednesday after tonight’s contest, expect Mitchell to be sent back to Providence before the full roster freeze comes into effect later tonight.

Atlantic Notes: Domi, Harris, Hutson, Mitchell

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While the Maple Leafs have done well in the standings since moving Max Domi to center last month, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that the third center spot should still be a key priority for GM Brad Treliving as he looks to add to his roster.  Domi is up to 14 points on the season now after a slow start but it’s his defensive concerns that could be problematic come the postseason when mistakes become more magnified.  David Kampf is a better fit on the fourth line than the third so if Domi isn’t able to shore up his defensive play, adding another middleman could be required by the trade deadline in March.  Of course, Toronto is deep into LTIR so finding the money to do that and shore up their back end will be more difficult.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Canadiens defenseman Jordan Harris took part in a full game day skate for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury last month, notes TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 23-year-old has played in 16 games so far in his second full NHL season, picking up three assists and 28 blocks while averaging a little under 19 minutes a night.  Earlier this week, Montreal indicated that Harris was still 10-14 days from returning so he’s still likely a game or two away from being available to suit up.
  • Still with Montreal, GM Kent Hughes made an appearance on The Sick Podcast (video link) where he indicated that they plan to sign prospect Lane Hutson after his college season comes to an end. The 19-year-old was a late second-round pick in 2022 and has been quite productive offensively with Boston College, notching 68 points in 54 games over his first two seasons so far.  The Canadiens are likely going to use Hutson down the stretch which means he will burn the first year of his entry-level deal this season even if he only plays in a handful of games.
  • The Bruins made a pair of paper transactions, assigning and subsequently recalling defenseman Ian Mitchell, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 24-year-old was brought up on an emergency recall back on December 5th but has played just twice since.  The paper moves may have been simply to stall his waiver clock by a day; after a player clears waivers, he’s exempt until he plays in 10 games or has been on an NHL roster for 30 days.

Charlie McAvoy Out Day-To-Day

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Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic is reporting that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. While very little information is available with regards to the injury, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery did tell the media that McAvoy does not have a head injury.

McAvoy was unable to finish the Bruins’ game last night against the Buffalo Sabres after he suffered an injury just over a minute into the third period of their 3-1 loss. Very few details were available after the game other than that he had an upper-body injury, and the club didn’t know the extent of it.

McAvoy is the Bruins defensive leader in many statistical categories and would create a massive hole if he is sidelined for any length of time. The Bruins are already without the services of defenseman Derek Forbort, who was placed on LTIR yesterday, and would likely have to rely on someone like Ian Mitchell to enter the lineup in McAvoy’s absence.

McAvoy has been nearly a point-a-game player this season with three goals and 14 assists in 21 games thus far while averaging over 24 minutes a night of ice time. His average ice time is almost a minute higher than his career average and it appears that it may be wearing on the 25-year-old. McAvoy has been a minus player in nine of his last 10 games and is a combined -11 during that time.

Now plus/minus doesn’t tell the whole story, but it is certainly an alarming indicator that McAvoy is slumping. In those ten games, McAvoy does have six assists, but after starting the season with 11 points in 11 games, he has certainly slowed down in recent weeks.

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