That fourth-ranked Denver has a top-10 offense should surprise no one. That the Pioneers have allowed the third fewest goals per game in Division I hockey is more of an eye opener.

Yes, DU has reigning Mike Richter Award winner Tanner Jaillet in net, and the senior has been nothing short of superlative in the second half of the season.

But this is a Pioneers blue line corps that not only lost Hobey Baker Award winner Will Butcher and Matt VanVoorhis to graduation but has had to overcome extended absences of seniors Tariq Hammond and Adam Plant as well as freshman Griffin Mendel because of injuries.

In the midst of all that the pairing of junior Blake Hillman and Ian Mitchell have emerged as the cornerstones of what now could be an imposing group given its collective return to health.

Mitchell has wasted little time making his mark on NCAA hockey. The 2017 second-round draft choice of the Chicago Blackhawks enters this weekend’s series at No. 1 St. Cloud State with 22 points, second among freshmen defensemen.

One of the reasons his launch into college hockey has gone so smoothly takes a regular shift to his left.

“From the first day I got here in Denver he was the guy who took me under his wing and showed me around and really tried to be a mentor for me,” Mitchell said of Hillman. “That chemistry just built from the start, and it transferred to the ice. We’ve played together the whole year and we’ve gotten a lot better.”

The duo – the only Pioneers defensemen to have played in all 30 games so far – first connected at Chicago’s summer prospect camp. Hillman was a sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks in the 2016 Entry Draft. That helped build the foundation for what has become a strong friendship on and off the ice.

“We went to camp together and we roomed together. It was just a good bonding experience for us, and a good opportunity for me to take him under my wing and show him how we do it around here,” Hillman said. “He’s also taught me some things too, it’s been a give-and-take relationship.

“He’s a super good guy off the ice, someone I really like hanging out with. It’s been easy to play with him and be good friends off the ice as well.”

That chemistry is paying dividends for the Pioneers, who rely on the pair to play big minutes and in every situation. In fact, so strong is the pair’s chemistry that it’s almost as if they have a sixth sense at times.

“They certainly complement each other,” said DU assistant David Carle, who coaches the Pioneers’ defense. “The different ways we play has helped Ian’s game. And you’ve seen a lot of growth in Ian’s game probably because of Blake’s influence on him.

“Conversely, Blake’s possessed the puck more this season because Ian makes such good decisions with it. There’s no doubt they have a good sense of where each are with and without the puck that allows them to have the puck a lot.”

And while the pairs offense generates the thrills, their defensive efforts are helping DU play the bills.

“When they don’t have it they’re usually coming together in tandem, taking away time and space really well,” Carle added. “And when they do have it they’re supporting each other really well and talking.”

Mitchell’s draft position and his regular appearances on the scoresheet, including a four-point night against Omaha last month, have drawn a lion’s share of the attention but it would be a grave oversight to dismiss Hillman’s prowess. After all, this is a player who was selected the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA West Regional during his freshman season and who typically heats up as the importance of games increases.

“I’ve been impressed with his overall hockey intelligence,” Mitchell said. “He thinks the game so well and he makes a lot of plays that so many players wouldn’t be able to make because of his vision. When he skates with the puck he has confidence.”

It’s not unusual for Hillman to play nearly half of the game for the Pioneers, something he did regularly when Hammond missed the first 10 games of the season while finishing is recuperation from a devastating lower leg injury sustained in last April’s NCAA title game, and again while Plant missed nine games in the middle of the season because of an upper body injury. Factor in the loss of Butcher, and it’s no secret DU has had to count more heavily on Hillman.

“We’ve needed him to (step up),” Carle said. “He’s stepped into this role this year, playing 22-26 minutes a night. He’s really flourished. He’s really good when he’s keeping it simple and getting pucks through.

“What’s the biggest growth in his game is his play without the puck and how aggressive he is and how on his toes he is taking away time and space on the rush and in our D zone, that allows us to get the puck back and drive our possession time.”

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, and the Pioneers favor a pressure game in every zone under Jim Montgomery. Mitchell has been a natural fit for that. While his skill level is obvious, some of the nuances to his game have been just as important, Carle said.

“The things that stand out are his puck control and his puck decisions,” he said. “Areas of Ian’s game that I think have improved this year are his play without the puck. And I think Blake has probably helped with that a lot.

“And his ability to see open ice out in front him. I think you’re starting to see that more and more. He has those instincts and they’re starting to come out more. When there’s open ice he’s attacking and drawing people to him, and without the puck he’s seeing open ice and he’s jumping to that offensive space. As a freshman, that’s really exciting to see him in the second half of the year.”

Mitchell immediately found a spot on the Pioneers’ top power-play unit, a high-rent district that includes fellow draft picks Henrik Borgström, Dylan Gambrell and Troy Terry as well as shooting machine Jarid Lukosevicius. The freshman has not looked out of place alongside a quartet that has combined for 53 of their combined 131 points on the power play.

Sixteen of Mitchell’s points (all assists) have come on the power play, and he’s been a big reason DU’s man advantage has taken up residence in the top 10 nearly all season.

“He has (a great) ability to get pucks through, his head’s always up, his ability to draw people to him, to give our flankers – Borgstrom, Terry and Gambrell – all kinds of time to make decisions on the half wall,” Carle said.

Like any successful tag team, Hillman and Mitchell don’t shy away from a challenge and they aren’t afraid to take risks. The reason is simple.

“He’s really good on the offensive blue line. He’s good at getting defenders to bite and go around them and make things happen,” Hillman said. “When I know he’s gonna take a risk I know I’ve got to have his back, and he knows the same thing. We joke about that.”

But there is no joking about the impact the pair has had for the Pioneers, and for each other this season.

“He has helped me so much in the defensive zone. Just talking to me. If I make a mistake, he’s there to back me up,” Mitchell said. “He’s been huge for me, I don’t know where I’d be without him.”

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