Willie Mitchell (ice Hockey) - Early Life

Early Life

Mitchell was born on April 23, 1977, to Reid and Nadija Mitchell. He has a sister named Chantal. His father works as a heavy-duty mechanic with Western Forest Products, while his mother is a Croatian-born immigrant who works as a terminal service agent for B.C. Ferries. Mitchell's grandfather, Les Mitchell played amateur senior hockey and once earned a tryout with the New York Rangers during the Original Six-era.

Mitchell was born and raised in Port McNeill, British Columbia, a small logging town on Vancouver Island. He grew up working on the docks in his hometown unloading fish and cleaning equipment. He first began skating at the age of four and took figure skating. Growing up as a Vancouver Canucks fan, his father would take him across to the mainland to see games at the Pacific Coliseum. He played minor hockey as a winger with the North Island Eagles and won back-to-back double-A provincial titles in pee wee and bantam with the club. At the age of 15, he left home after being recruited to play for Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a high school in Wilcox, Saskatchewan. It was there that he switched from wing to defence. He played with the Notre Dame Hounds' midget team of the Saskatchewan Midget Hockey League (SMHL) and recorded 15 points over 31 games in 1993–94. From there, he earned an athletic scholarship with Clarkson University in New York.