If you were to rank Ian Mitchell among his Detroit Red Wings teammates at the blue line, he's probably clocking in behind Justin Holl. But you know what? He's got some qualities that I like for him to be a seventh defenseman if injuries strike or if the Wings are suffering from inept play.
Looking at his overall numbers from his last stop in Boston, Mitchell tallied 28 games between 2023-24 and 2024-25, putting up just three points, but also 36 blocks. This shows me he knows how to get in front of scoring lanes, and when you check out his advanced statistics, they're not too bad.
Last season, he spent 15 games on a bad Bruins team, and still ended up with a 91.3 on-ice save percentage, an 11.9 on-ice shooting percentage, and was on the ice for eight goals for, and nine against. Not bad at all, considering how the Bruins all but tanked last year.
That said, there's a reason he's never made the NHL full time. And one is his sheer lack of offensive productivity. Even third-pairing defenseman at least boast respectable play in the offensive zone, but Mitchell's 40.6 Corsi For is telling.
Ian Mitchell makes for greater depth than the Detroit Red Wings may realize
Ian Mitchell's destined for Grand Rapids, don't get me wrong. But if Steve Yzerman, at any point in the season, pawns off Justin Holl's and maybe Erik Gustafsson's contracts should they keep struggling, or if Travis Hamonic's really finished, it wouldn't surprise me if the Wings gave Mitchell a handful of games or even if he clocked in regularly as the seventh blueliner.
If he carves out 15-16 minutes per game when he's called on in that scenario, I wouldn't be surprised if he came in and did his job. But, the likelier scenario is that he'll stick around Grand Rapids while the Wings fail to find a suitor for their bad contracts, especially Holl.
Still, Mitchell gives them another option and acts as an incredible insurance policy if Yzerman needs to rotate more talent onto the big club should the blue line struggle. Mitchell's also a cheap option that won't break the bank should the Wings need that stopgap, and it makes him a valuable lower-end asset this season.
He'll never be the most exciting, highlight-reel defenseman, but with guys like Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson, he doesn't need to be.