Rhodes Mitchell-King: No reason to not return to Telford Tigers

The 20-year-old who made 52 appearances for the Tigers last season will return for a second year at the club after joining last summer.

Mitchell-King from Warwick was awarded the club’s defenseman of the year award at the Tigers’ recent presentation evening and reflected on the year as he’s pleased to be back.

He said: “I had a great first season with Telford Tigers and didn’t have any reason to look to change things up.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully another great season in Telford and improving as a player and seeing the team improve as well.

“There were some ups and downs throughout the season but overall I think it was more on a positive side for me, especially being my first in the league.

“I enjoyed playing at National League level and although our league position wasn’t anywhere near where we wanted to be, it was still a good season for me in terms of my development.

“It took a bit of getting used to but I enjoyed the new standard of hockey I was facing. I felt that it was more competitive which made for a long, hard fought season.”

Mitchell-King earnt a GB U20 call-up last season and captained the side to a silver trophy in the Division 2A World Championship tournament in Lithuania.

The defenseman looks back on his time with the GB squad fondly and is proud to represent his nation.

“I think being selected to play for your country is one of the greatest honours a player can experience.

“Although the tournament didn’t end up exactly how we would’ve liked, we still walked out with a silver medal which is a great achievement.

“It was a positive experience and was great to be involved in such a good squad of players.”

Mitchell-King also spent time in the USA and may still be there if it wasn’t for the Tigers as he urges the fans to continue their great support next season.

He said: “It was a great experience playing junior hockey in the States. I was originally planning on spending two or three more years there playing junior level before attempting to play at a collegiate level.

“I would most likely still be there playing in America if I wasn’t presented with the opportunity to play here at Telford.

“The noise from the crowd in the games at the end of the season at Coventry in the playoffs was fantastic and it really helps the team in games when we have that sort of support so I would say to our fans, keep the barn loud next season ans give us that same sort of support, and we will do our absolute best to do our part on the ice.”

Tigers head coach Tom Watkins is also pleased with the defenseman’s return saying: “Rhodes was a figurehead for our defensive core last season.

“At times he probably played too much but he never shirked any of the responsibility even when we as a team weren’t in a good place.

“I think that says a lot about his character and the person/player he is and I only expect to see him improve further again next season.”