Ian Mitchell’s future emerges as key storyline for Blackhawks development camp

The highly touted defensive prospect is slated to return to the University of Denver after camp ends.

All the big names in the Blackhawks’ prospect world will be in Chicago this week for development camp, and certainly some of them — Kirby Dach, Adam Boqvist, Alex Nylander — are more well-known than Ian Mitchell.

But Mitchell’s combination of high potential and precarious contract situation makes the 20-year-old defenseman arguably the most interesting man to watch.

Originally a 2017 second-round pick, he could become an unrestricted free agent in two years, if he doesn’t sign with the Hawks before then. And even if he does — for what it’s worth, Mitchell has been steadfast that such is his intention — there’s drama about where Mitchell will play this coming season.

Mitchell surprisingly announced on April 17, a few weeks after his University of Denver squad made a run to the NCAA’s Frozen Four, that he planned to return to Denver for 2019-20. In May, he was named team captain.

Yet that’s proven to not be the end of the story.

Hawks GM Stan Bowman may be preparing a new pitch to try to convince Mitchell to sign this week, The Athletic’s Scott Powers wrote Friday, now that Henri Jokiharju’s trade to Buffalo has made Mitchell’s route to an immediate NHL job (or big AHL minutes at the least) easier.

That report sparked an overreaction on social media, with many thinking Mitchell is now likely to sign.

Nevertheless, both David Carle, Mitchell’s coach at Denver, and Mitchell himself painted a different picture in interviews with the Sun-Times last week.

“I want to be patient and be a full-time dominant player in every single shift in college hockey before I make the jump,” Mitchell said. “Denver is a great place to develop, so I love it here and I don’t feel I am ready to leave quite yet.”

“I’m sure [the Hawks] would have liked me to come out [of college], but they are also very supportive of my decision and didn’t necessarily pressure me one way or the other. They made it very clear that it was up to me.”

Carle, too, remains unfazed about the possibility of losing his star.

“I don’t think anything’s changed in Ian’s mind,” the coach said Friday. “He’s pretty steadfast in his conviction — it’s not based on emotion — and when he makes a plan, he sticks with it.”

Mitchell, like many of the Hawks’ D prospects, is rather offensively inclined: he scored 27 points in 39 games in his 2018-19 sophomore season. He’s also improved in other areas, bulking up to 181 pounds and working with Carle and Eaton to improve his gap control at the blue line and physicality in front of the net.

There’s really no question whether or not he’s ready for the next level.

“Everything that I’ve seen over his first couple years at Denver, I think he could’ve made that transition to pro hockey and potentially competed for a spot with Chicago,” said Mark Eaton, the Hawks’ director of player development.

It’s just a matter of Mitchell’s preference.

If Bowman’s potential persuasions do fall on deaf ears this week, Mitchell’s NHL contract drama will be delayed until spring, when it should heat up to an even higher degree.

He plans (as of now) to return to Denver after camp concludes Friday instead of staying in Chicago for two more weeks of training with team staff, like many of the team’s other top prospects are doing.

There, his captaincy duties will begin promptly.

“He has an unbelievable ability to remove himself from a situation and think about how his actions affect the other people around him, and he cares more about the program than he does about himself,” Carle said. “This is a big opportunity for him to grow as a person.”