DENVER – Junior defensemen and captain Ian Mitchell of the Denver Pioneers hockey team presented by Centura Health, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
 
Mitchell finished his collegiate career with 18 goals, 71 assists, 24 penalty minutes and a +41 plus/minus rating in 116 career games. The 2020 First Team West All-American led the Pioneer defense in scoring in each of the last three seasons and his 71 assists rank 11^th all-time among DU defensemen.
 
In his junior season, Mitchell was tabbed First-Team All-NCHC and named a finalist for NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year after tallying 10 goals and 22 assists in 36 games, finishing the regular season tied for 6^th among NCAA defensemen in scoring. Among NCHC defensemen, the Calahoo, Alberta native shared the lead in goals (10), ranked 2^nd in points (32) and 3^rd in assists (22). Mitchell also led NCHC defensemen in shorthanded goals (2), game-winning goals (3) and shots on goal (100), while ranking second in power-play points (18). In conference play, Mitchell had seven goals and 13 assists in 24 conference games, finishing 3^rd among NCHC defensemen in conference scoring. In addition to the league accolades he received his season, Mitchell was named to the All-NCHC Rookie Team in 2018 and Second-Team All-NCHC in 2019. He also excelled internationally where he represented Canada at the 2019 World Junior Championship and 2019 Spengler Cup, winning a gold medal in the latter.
 
In the classroom, Mitchell was an AHCA All-American Scholar, three-time member of the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and three-time NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete for maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in each year of competition.
 
The Blackhawks selected Mitchell in the second round (57^th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft. Mitchell served as an alternate captain for Denver in 2018-19 and captain in 2019-20.
 
"We want to congratulate Ian on his signing with Chicago," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle said. "We thank him for his three years of service to our University and hockey program. He always did the right thing, he put others before himself and he was a model citizen for all to follow. We wish him the best of luck on the next chapter of his career."
 
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