Newly Acquired Bruins Defenseman Has Connection To Jim Montgomery

The Boston Bruins made their first big move of the offseason Monday by trading Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks for two young defensemen.

Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula are still trying to establish themselves as NHL players as they join the Bruins, but Boston head coach Jim Montgomery is plenty familiar with one of the two players after coaching him in college.

Montgomery and Mitchell spent a season together at the University of Denver with Montgomery in his fifth and final season at the helm of the Pioneers and Mitchell a freshman. The 5-foot-11, 193-pound defenseman turned in a standout campaign under Montgomery, notching two goals and 28 assists — the most he had in his three-year college career — while also being an integral part on the power play.

“His instincts are really, really good and what he’s done already has surpassed where we expected him to be at right now,” Montgomery told the Denver Post in November of 2017.

Montgomery will look to tap into Mitchell’s skill set with him reuniting with his college coach. Mitchell, who was selected by the Blackhawks in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft, has played just one full season worth of games across three years with Chicago. For his career, the 24-year-old has tallied four goals and 12 assists and posted a minus-21.

Those numbers obviously lead to plenty of room for improvement for Mitchell and perhaps having a previous connection to Montgomery will aid in his development.