Just What The Doctor Ordered

Whether skating with his new teammates or engaging in banter, Vancouver Canucks defenceman Willie Mitchell has had a wide grin plastered on his mug - think Jack Nicholson in Batman.

Of course, pocketing a four-year, $14 million US free-agent contract last month has a lot to do with it. So does being a native of Port McNeil on the north end of Vancouver Island who grew up idolizing such Canuck greats as Cam Neely, Stan Smyl, Cliff Ronning and Richard Brodeur.

And so does marrying Minnesota fiance Megan on Aug. 17 in the Napa Valley.

''I like having fun,'' the amiable Mitchell said Thursday following a skate at the Canucks' training rink in Burnaby. ''When I was in Minnesota, (coach) Jacques Lemaire always thought he couldn't understand me because I'm always having fun and he's all business.

''But I also take a lot of pride when the game starts. But around the rink, if you're not having fun why do it? It's a great occupation and it's pretty fun.''

He was the core of our defense and was definitely missed when he left. Doesn't score, but a very solid player. Excellent on the PK; he was the main reason the Wild were no. 1 in PK percentage last year. After he left, the Wild allowed many more PP goals.

Minnesota's Willie Mitchell played in his first Stanley Cup Playoffs last spring, a 25-year-old defenseman that quickly emerged as the defensive bedrock of his team. Growing up in British Columbia, Mitchell was reared on tales of playoff heroism. Despite his inexperience, he innately understood and, more importantly, respected the fine, and often blurry, line that has to be traversed during the postseason between playing hurt and playing injured.

In the end, he decided to do both.

In the first round, an epic upset of Colorado, Mitchell suffered a broken cheekbone during Minnesota's Game 7 triumph. Yet, he never missed a shift, never mind a game. In the next round, he donned an awkward shield to protect the injury and willingly laid his body on the line against the favored Vancouver Canucks.

Unfortunately, the protective shield broadcast to all involved in that series that Mitchell was vulnerable. The Canucks processed that knowledge, targeting him for an extra dose of punishment in order to exploit whatever edge was offered. As a result, Mitchell suffered a wrist injury.

Again, Mitchell did not miss any games, playing despite the fact that he was so hampered by the wrist that he had trouble dressing himself before and after each game. It wasn't so much stubbornness on Mitchell's part, as much as it was a sense of duty.

Mitchell wanted to be there for his teammates as they struggled along the playoff route. It is a sentiment shared by most, if not all, players in the postseason.

"I wanted to be in there, so (defensemen) Filip (Kuba) and Andrei (Zyuzin) and Nick (Schultz) didn't have to play 30 minutes apiece," he said at the time.

That selflessness paid off in the short-term as Minnesota sprung its second-straight upset, sending the Canucks home in a brilliant come-from-behind seven-game ouster.

I love Willie Mitchell and was very disappointed when he was traded to Dallas. It will be harder to hate the Canucks now that Willie is there.