Posted: 04/04/07

Can't say no
UVM's Mitchell signs NHL contract with Sharks

Chris White | contributing writer
cwhite@smcvt.edu

UVM's Torrey Mitchell has signed a contract with the NHL's San Jose Sharks. (photo courtesy of UVM)

People deal with problems all the time, but it is not often that these problems involve a professional contract.

University of Vermont Catamount hockey co-captain Torrey Mitchell faced a dilemma: sign a professional contract with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League or stay in school for his senior season with the Catamounts. He chose to pursue his dream of playing in the NHL.

“I pretty much said this is an unbelievable problem to have,” the junior forward says. “It came down to asking myself ‘Can I pass this up?’ I couldn’t say no.”

A long time coming

The San Jose Sharks drafted the rights to Mitchell in the fourth round of the 2004 NHL Draft with the 126th selection overall. From there, Mitchell opted to enroll at UVM, where he led the Catamounts in scoring this past season.

He made the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Rookie Team as a freshman and was named an Honorable Mention Hockey East All-Star the past two seasons.

This past season, Mitchell compiled 12 goals while guiding UVM to an 18-16-5 overall record and a 10-5 record in Hockey East. His 35 points ranked 14th best in Hockey East and his 23 assists ranked seventh best.

UVM men’s hockey head coach, Kevin Sneddon, says Mitchell was the best two-way player in Hockey East this past season and that’s why San Jose offered him the type of contract it did.

“The numbers aren’t quite there,” Sneddon says. “But Torrey is so responsible defensively that a pro team will spend less time teaching him how to play defense at the next level.”

Mitchell says it is tough to leave his coaches who have helped him develop the past three years and he will miss his teammates, but he knows they understand the opportunity that lies ahead of him.

“It is always a little frightening moving on,” says Mitchell, who had already played two minor league games for the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Worcester Sharks before speaking with the Echo.

Mitchell says he has had fun so far but already notices the realities of the professional game just by playing for San Jose’s AHL affiliate. Winning hockey games is now the one and only focus, he says.

“I’m entering into the business of sports now,” he said. “In college there are no trades, no fighting, and the coaches focus more on developing their athletes as people and players. That is all different now in the pros.”

He says the game itself is a lot different in the professional ranks as well. There are bigger players who make fewer mistakes, and survival is a main concern for teammates and opponents alike.

“If you take someone’s spot, there will be other guys pushing at you to take yours,” Mitchell says. “You need to be focused and sharp or you will look out of place.”

Hit the books before you hit the ice

Mitchell says he will eventually complete his degree from UVM. (photo courtesy of San Jose Sharks)

The fact that Mitchell will skip his final year of college in pursuit of the NHL doesn’t mean he underestimates the balance between student and athlete.

“I’m just putting my education on hold for a bit,” he says.

After the 2007 spring semester, Mitchell will be 10 classes shy of graduating from UVM. He says he plans to take the remaining classes at UVM over the next three summers while also completing several general education courses online.

Academics are hard to ignore for someone like Mitchell, who is the son of two high school teachers who graduated from McGill University in Montreal.

Torrey’s father, Steve, played running back for the Bishop’s University football team in Lennoxville, Quebec his first two years of college and then played right-wing for the McGill hockey team until he graduated. His mother, Sheila, played varsity basketball all four of her college years, also splitting time between Bishop’s and McGill. They both graduated with physical education degrees.

Mitchell says his parents have always put his education ahead of hockey so he would have something to fall back on. However, Steve says the Sharks offered a contract that almost no one could refuse.

"The deal was quite strong relative to the market place," Mitchell’s agent Kent Hughes said in a recent Burlington Free Press article.

“Sooner or later you just have to say go for it,” says Steve Mitchell, who is also a high school athletic director. “Torrey wouldn’t make the amount of money they offered in 10 years, even with his degree,” he says. “Plus, if he went back to UVM and got hurt, the offer won’t be there next year.”

Despite putting academics first, Steve never overlooked his son’s hockey career. Steve would actually build and maintain an outdoor backyard ice skating rink each winter. Steve says he worked so hard on it that the local zamboni man gave him a piece of his zamboni blade so Steve could clean the ice more easily.

“The rink became a popular thing on the block,” Steve says. “I always worked on the ice and Torrey always played.”

Carrying on the tradition

This is the second year in a row that a player from the UVM men’s hockey program has signed a two-year entry level contract with a professional team, according to Sneddon. Last year it was defenseman Jaime Sifers, who is now playing in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.

There have been 11 Catamounts who have gone on to play in the NHL. Among them are goaltender Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and left-winger John LeClair, who helped the Montreal Canadians win a Stanley Cup in 1993.

Mitchell has spent three years playing hockey in the Albert L. Gutterson Field House (Chris White, photo)

Sneddon says players usually spend a little bit of time in the minor leagues before entering the NHL. He says Martin St. Louis, a 1997 graduate of UVM, played two seasons in the AHL before moving on to the NHL, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2004 playing right wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Because of losing Mitchell, Sneddon says there will be holes to fill next season.

“We lose what Torrey brings to us both on and off the ice,” he says. “He’s a complete player and will do anything to win. Off the ice, he’s been a leader by example and has done everything we’ve asked of him.”

Mark Lutz, assistant captain of the UVM men’s hockey team, says the team will miss Torrey’s personality and how he seemed to find the right balance between being serious and having fun. He was not a very outspoken leader, but always set the example for his teammates, Lutz says.

“Torrey was very well respected,” he says. “When he had something to say everyone really listened.  Everyone knows the passion he had for hockey and our team, and we really fed off the energy he put out.” 

Sneddon says he thinks Mitchell could have been an all-American, all-league, and Hobey Baker Award candidate if he decided to return for his senior season, but also thinks he carefully weighed the pros and cons and made the right decision.

Mitchell has played hockey for his whole life, he says.

“I started playing when I was two years-old,” Mitchell says. “And just a couple weeks ago I started to realize ‘Man, I’m that close.’”

Mitchell says hopefully he can impress some people when he reports to San Jose in the fall. He has tremendous speed, great competitiveness, and dedication to improving, Sneddon says.

“The odds are against you if you try to continue playing hockey,” Steve says. “But if you can do it, it’s worth every penny.”