Mitch Love | |||
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![]() Love in 2023 | |||
Born |
Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada | June 15, 1984||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
Position | Defence/left wing | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | |||
NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
Playing career | 2005–2011 | ||
Coaching career | 2011–present |
Mitchell Ryan Love (born June 15, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently serving as an assistant coach with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).
As a player, Love played the role of both a pest and an enforcer, as well as being an experienced fighter. During his time on the ice, he averaged 3.4 penalty minutes a game over his entire career.[1] Love ranks 31st in all-time penalty minutes among Western Hockey League (WHL) players with 901, and no player in the league since has surpassed his total.[1]
In his major junior career, Love played for three different WHL teams across six seasons: the Moose Jaw Warriors, Swift Current Broncos, and the Everett Silvertips. Love played a very physical game, once leading the league with 327 penalty minutes[2] and 40 fights[3] during the 2002–03 WHL season, capturing a long-standing team record for single-season penalty minutes with the Broncos in the process.[4] Love is regarded as one of the greatest Silvertips players of all time,[5][6] and is the only person to have their jersey retired by the team.[7]
Undrafted at the NHL level, Love nonetheless managed to spend several years as a professional hockey player. During his professional career, Love played for seven different teams over six seasons, primarily in the American Hockey League (AHL). He spent time under an NHL contract with the Colorado Avalanche, but never played in the NHL. A hard-hitting defenceman and later left winger, Love found a place in the league due to his physical play, including posting 34 fights during the 2008–09 AHL season,[8] more than any other professional hockey player in the world that year.[9][10]
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