Torrey Mitchell - Incidents

Incidents

In March 2008, Torrey Mitchell had a run in incident on the ice with Kurtis Foster of the Minnesota Wild. Foster was racing for the puck alongside Mitchell to touch up for an icing call when both men lost their edges, Mitchell behind Foster. Foster slammed into the bottom of the boards which resulted in a broken femur. Mitchell received a 2 minute tripping call, which many Wild fans disagreed with. The NHL made no move towards suspending Mitchell due to the accidental nature of the incident. According to San Jose head coach Ron Wilson, Mitchell was "extremely shaken up" over the incident, and called Foster while he was in the hospital to apologize. On September 21, 2008, during an open team practice, Mitchell was pushed by Brett Westgarth while skating full speed towards the net. He slammed into the right goal post and suffered a complete non-displaced Tibia/Fibula fracture, commonly known as a Boot Top fracture. The original estimate for his return to the ice was a minimum of two months after the incident. He resumed skating with the Sharks in practice in January 2009. He resumed play with a planned three-game conditioning assignment to the American Hockey League Worcester Sharks on January 16, 2009, but he suffered another injury to the same leg during play on January 18. He missed the remainder of the regular season, later making his season debut in the Sharks third playoff game.