Wednesday morning, New York Islanders announced they had loaned a rookie defender Travis Mitchell return to Bridgeport.
Mitchell, 26, made his NHL debut on Black Friday, playing in nine of the final 10 games.
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Helping fill the Alexander Romanov hole, Mitchell provided stability for the most part, keeping things simple, but only averaged 11:32 minutes per game. This gave more minutes to Adam Pelech and first overall pick Matthew Schaefer.
Another caveat to the dismissal is that Mitchell is one NHL game away from losing his waiver waiver:
Something for Islanders to consider when it comes to Travis Mitchell
It’s possible the Islanders trade Mitchell for another left defenseman who can eat up some more minutes. Isaiah Georgewho returned last weekend after missing a month with an upper-body injury, played an average of 15:39 during his 33-game stint with the big team last season.
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Could we see rookie Marshall Warren, who played his first two NHL games after Alexander Romanov’s first loss, return?
He averaged 12:08 minutes per game during his short stint.
While the Islanders won’t play until Friday night when they host the Vancouver Canucks, Bridgeport will be in action Wednesday night against the Syracuse Crunch. So don’t expect a corresponding decision until at least Thursday morning, maybe not until Friday morning.
Mitchell recorded one goal, four shots on 13 shot attempts, adding six blocks and 13 hits in 103:50 total.
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The Islanders are off Wednesday following their 3-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Mitchell played a career-high 15:04 minutes, but did not play the final in 6:37.
