Ian Mitchell: Extra-Time Specialist, Haircut Scandal, Gretzky’s Mansion, and Other Blackhawks Bullets

January 24, 2021, by Mario Tirabassi Chicago Blackhawks

Waking up on a Sunday morning to Chicago Blackhawks hockey is a rare treat. Even though the matchup is between two poor teams, still being able to watch the Detroit Red Wings take on the Blackhawks on National TV feels good. The NHL wants their Original Six teams to be main attractions and the league is better when they are.

Along that train of thought, the Red Wings and Blackhawks are pushed as main attractions, but are more or less undercard-worthy right now. The New York Rangers are on the up-swing, while the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Toronto Maple Leafs continue to put butts in seats. If the Blackhawks can put on a show on the main stage Sunday morning/afternoon, it’ll be a throwback to a feeling when they were the NHL’s main attraction, even just for an afternoon.

• The star of the show from Friday night, Blackhawks goaltender Kevin Lankinen will be the starter again on Sunday. He earned his first career NHL win in his second career NHL start, making 30 saves on 31 shots faced and has been in net for all three points in the standings for Chicago. He’s made the first step forward in the starting goaltender battle.

• Chicago held Saturday practice yesterday and a major scandal arose surrounding defenseman Duncan Keith and his glorious mane:

BREAKING: Ladies & gentlemen for those of you concerned it looks like Duncan Keith got some form of a haircut. That concludes this public service announcement & you're welcome #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/5N4IsjdWBZ

— Chris Boden (@BodenTweets) January 23, 2021

• It was a good run.

• Also developing from Blackhawks practice on Saturday was the emergence of Ian Mitchell as some kind of overtime specialist:

#Blackhawks practicing 3-on-3 overtime today. Ian Mitchell takes it all the way and scores. pic.twitter.com/A4mZbymGas

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2021

• Also, a shootout specialist now too:

Ian Mitchell with a slick shootout goal, sliding it five-hole on Kevin Lankinen. #Blackhawks pic.twitter.com/78mjAAID8D

— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 23, 2021

• Pretty impressive for the rookie who has been making strides in the first handful of games in the NHL.

Calvin de Haan on Ian Mitchell: "He's playing really well. Doesn’t seem like we’re spending much time in our zone. … He’s been a real joy to play with. Not enough good things to say about him. We’ve been a pretty solid pair and I hope that continues the rest of the season."

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) January 23, 2021

• Calvin de Haan scored his first goal of the season on Friday, with Mitchell earning an assist on the play for his first career NHL point. de Haan has a streak of three-straight seasons scoring just one goal, with his last multi-goal season coming with the New York Islanders in 2016-17, where he scored five goals. He and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Ben Pope had a light-hearted exchange over this on Twitter:

Calvin de Haan on his rare goal last night: "What do you mean, it's not my forte? Have you seen my HockeyDB?"

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 23, 2021