Mitchell is a versatile forward who offers a little of everything: scoring, checking, shot-blocking, penalty-killing and an ability to play multiple positions.

A fifth-round draft pick (No. 158) of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2003 NHL Draft, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Mitchell spent three seasons honing his game in the American Hockey League before joining the Maple Leafs for the 2008-09 season. He had two hits and a blocked shot and won his only faceoff in his NHL debut on Oct. 9, 2008 in Detroit against the Red Wings. Mitchell's first NHL goal came in another Original Six matchup when he scored two goals and three points in a 5-2 win against the New York Rangers on Nov. 1, 2008.

After being sent to the AHL, Mitchell was traded to the Rangers for a seventh-round draft pick on Feb. 28, 2011. When New York summoned Mitchell back to the NHL on Nov. 24, 2011, he began his Rangers tenure with a three-game point streak that coincided with the start of a five-game winning streak.

New York won 17 of its first 22 games with Mitchell in the lineup, including his two-assist game that helped the Rangers beat the Flyers 3-2 in the NHL Winter Classic at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Jan. 2, 2012. 

Mitchell's first taste of the Stanley Cup Playoffs came that spring as he appeared in 18 of New York's 20 postseason games. He assisted on Marc Staal's overtime goal in Game 5 of the Rangers' second-round series against the Washington Capitals for his first playoff point.

Colorado signed Mitchell as a free agent on July 1, 2012 and, following the NHL lockout, he scored a goal on his first shift with the Avalanche in their season-opening loss to the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 19, 2013. Mitchell ranked second on the Avalanche that season with a plus-five rating. He was third with 99 hits, fourth with 10 goals and tied for fifth with 20 points in 47 games.

He had 32 points in 75 games in 2013-14 to help the Avalanche reach the playoffs for the first time since 2010, but missed the postseason because of a head injury.

Mitchell's production in the NHL was no surprise to those who watched him play junior hockey with Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League, where he finished tied for ninth in scoring in 2003-04 with 82 points.