Storm Stories-Zack Mitchell
By Rich Davidson, guelphstorm.com Storm Stories is a Guelph Storm original weekly feature for the 2012-13 season spotlighting current Storm Players and giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the player’s lives on and off the ice.
Casual fans and students of the game alike can all agree that Caledon, Ontario’s Zack Mitchell has all the tools to be a competitor at any level.
Listed at 6’0, 185lbs, Mitchell possesses good size for a scoring right winger. Playing on the first line this year with Tanner Richard and Scott Kosmachuk, Mitchell finds himself in third place in team scoring, putting up 17 goals and 26 assists at the time of this writing – good for 43 points.
If there’s one common argument amongst Mitchell’s critics, if anything, it’s that he had a slow start to his career as a member of the Guelph Storm. Back to back sub 20 point seasons left many wanting more from the talented forward, most of all himself.
It’s believed to be the main reason he has yet to be drafted to the NHL. But for Zack Mitchell, there may be yet light at the end of the tunnel.
In the hockey world, “What have you done for me lately?” is an all-too-commonly asked question. But if that’s the case, Mitchell’s 75 point campaign last year was sure to leave an impression on pro scouts, even if they weren’t yet ready to put their stock in him. Mitchell is doing his best this season to keep that momentum going.
“I’ve been working hard again this season, not only to put up points, but to do the little things as well,” he says. “I want to play hard at both ends of the ice. I think my first couple of years caused the scouts to hesitate last year, but I’ve come a long way since then.”
In the midst of his fourth season with the Storm, Mitchell is once again on pace to put up solid numbers, an impressive feat during a year in which Guelph has been riddled with injuries and has lost key roster members for long stretches of time.
Mitchell, who as a child idolized Pavel Bure and Pavel Datsyuk, spent his early days playing hockey in Caledon and later for the Toronto Marlies minor hockey organization, where he won a league championship.
“I had a ton of fun playing minor hockey when I was a kid,” Mitchell says. “I owe a lot to my parents for all of their hard work and dedication to my hockey career back then. They were always there to make the commute to practices and games with me and always made sure to cheer me on and support me.”
“Another important person for me that I always looked up to is my older cousin. He played n the OHL as well and now plays for the Boston Bruins affiliate in the American Hockey League.”
“He made a big difference for me in terms of teaching me what I had to do to play and succeed at a high level.”
While Mitchell understandably has his mind on the NHL entry draft this summer, he’s quick to point out that his main focus is on taking this team to the playoffs in his final year of junior hockey.
“After the holidays we seemed to get everyone back from injury,” he says. “We’re on a bit of a roll now, winning a bunch of games in a row. But we play in a tough division, and we’re going to have to keep working hard if we want to go all the way this year.”
“At this point in the season nobody can afford to take a game off.”
With only twenty games left to play in the 2012-13 season, the Guelph Storm find themselves in a dogfight with the Kitchener Rangers for fourth place in the Western Conference, while third place is still in striking distance if the Storm can keep building momentum.
It’s in these next twenty games that Guelph will hope to set the stage for a successful playoff run, while Zack Mitchell will also hope to make a strong case to be drafted come June 30th. Certainly, it’s safe to say that a long playoff run will not only benefit the city of Guelph, but Zack Mitchell as well.
Storm Stories is a Guelph Storm original weekly feature for the 2012-13 season spotlighting current Storm Players and giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the player’s lives on and off the ice.
Rich Davidson is a freelance hockey writer covering the Guelph Storm this season. Follow Rich’s work at:
www.rdsportswriter.com
