OTTAWA — To suggest the often outspoken Ron Wilson was calling out John Mitchell this past weekend might be stretching things a bit.
But there is little doubt that the Maple Leafs head coach was delivering a verbal boot to the butt of Mitchell when he addressed the media last Saturday.
“In these final 15 games, (Mitchell) needs to play as well as he can possibly play to put himself into position to be up here next year,” Wilson said candidly at the time.
Mitchell seems to have received the message loud and clear.
Just ask the Ottawa Senators.
With the Leafs nursing a 1-0 lead over their provincial rivals early in the second period Tuesday night at the Corel Center, Mitchell turned on the jets to squeeze by an attempted check by mammoth 6-foot-7 Sens defenceman Andy Sutton, then ripped a shot into the top corner past goalie Brian Elliott to put the Leafs up by two. It was just his fifth goal and 15th point of the season.
Every now and then, Mitchell pulls off an impressive play like this, providing management with a peek of his raw natural talents.
Mitchell, 25, has shown promise, dating back to his days with the Toronto Marlies. At that time he was praised for his skill set by Doug Gilmour, then a member of the Leafs organizational management group.
In the 2008-09 season, Mitchell’s first with the parent club, he scored 12 goals and added 17 assists while getting his feet wet at the NHL level.
This season, the sophomore jinx seems to have bitten him. Hard.
That is painfully obvious when you see Mitchell peeling off his equipment after a morning skate like Tuesday’s at Scotiabank Place here in Ottawa.
A large brace that runs down almost the entire length of his left leg serves as a reminder of the knee injury that knocked him out of the lineup for almost a quarter of the season thus far. He has also had his bell rung a couple of times, the most recent occasion coming on March 6 at Scotiabank Place when he was crushed by the Senators’ Chris Neil.
“I suppose I’m feeling all right,” Mitchell said on Tuesday. “It’s a little tough getting back to top speed when you’ve been out 20 games because of a knee injury. And getting hit in the head is not fun, let me tell you.
“You want to get into a groove but I’ve been having a tough time keeping it consistent. You have one good game, one bad game. I need to go on a run,”
Tuesday night was a good start.
mike.zeisberger@sunmedia.ca
