Mitchell Named Team Captain For January

DEFENSEMAN BECOMES FOURTH WILD PLAYER TO SERVE AS CAPTAIN IN CONSECUTIVE MONTHS

    DETROIT – Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough and Head Coach Jacques Lemaire have announced that D Willie Mitchell will serve as team captain for the month of January, while C Brian Rolston and C Wes Walz will continue to serve as alternate captains.

    The Wild will continue to rotate the captaincy on a monthly basis this season, based on the player who has shown the greatest leadership qualities.  Rolston and Walz are also eligible to be named a monthly captain, in which case a new alternate captain would be named for the month. 

    Mitchell, 28 (4/23/77), is third on the team in average ice time (20:58) and has played in each of the Wild’s 39 games this season. His +9 rating is tied for the team lead and is best among Wild defensemen. The native of Port McNeill, B.C. is a veteran of 281 NHL games, 263 of which have been in a Wild sweater. Mitchell also served as team captain in December and skated to a +5 rating for the month. He becomes the fourth Wild player in franchise history to serve as captain in consecutive months.

 -- WILD --