Mitch didn't always focus on the game. Through his blogs, he shared about his off-ice life with his girlfriend, their puppy and their respective parents. He took us through surgery to repair an often-broken nose. And a young man who is such a fan favorite in Everett that fans still scream his name whenever the Canadian anthem is sung at Comcast Arena; and who has his own fight song in Houston; discovered a new talent. Mitch Love has quite a way with words. And that, in turn, has spawned a legion of readers who consistently made each blog entry among the most-read sports stories online.

He recently posted his final blog of the season, wrapping up the Aeros' amazing post-season run for the Calder Cup. The Aeros beat the Peoria Rivermen in 7 games in the first round and the Milwaukee Admirals in 7 games in the second round before falling to the Manitoba Moose in 6 games in the Western Conference Championship. You can read that blog by clicking here.

Following a much needed vacation, Mitch chatted with me about his season, his career and much more. Read on to learn why he switched from defense to forward, the WHL team he considers a bigger rival than the Seattle Thunderbirds, the hockey camps he's teaching right now, and the one position his father refused to let him play.

KING 5: What's it like to be home?
ML: I've been resting up. I just got back from Hawaii. This is the longest I've taken off without working out. My body needed it after this season.

KING 5: What a tremendous post-season you guys have had!
ML: It was really unexpected after backing ourselves into the playoffs in the last game of the year, and running into some injuries between the pipes, but that's what playoffs are all about. It's kind of having guys step up at the crunch time and obviously, that's what our goaltending did for us there in the playoffs. Anytime you play for Kevin (Constantine), you watch so much video your eyes almost bleed, but you're just only preparing for the next game and the adjustments that you make which are all key in a 7 game series.

Photo Courtesy: Fred Trask

KING 5: When I interviewed Logan Stephenson recently, he said back when Kevin was coaching Everett, he was surprised at how well players knew their systems. Is that what he's known for?
ML: Yes. If you're not going to buy into what he's showing you every day, and there's no hiding it, because you sit in his office with him in between periods, after games, before games and go over your shifts and positionally where you should be on the ice, if you're not willing to do any of that, he's not gonna play you. I think some guys find that out along the way at any level. He's definitely the kind of guy that if you're not gonna follow his plan and the team's plan, you're not gonna play. But that's kind of how we beat teams, because we almost out-strategize them. That's what he's been known for almost his whole career in coaching.

KING 5: Of the three playoff series, I know that each one had its own excitement, especially the two that went to seven games; does one highlight stick out for you personally?
ML: The first series was my first (AHL) playoff experience, which is kind of a little bit nerve-wracking, but there's also that excitement of being in a playoffs for the first time in a long time. The second series against Milwaukee, I thought I struggled personally, trying to get going with the style I play, which especially over an 80 game season wears on the body. I was happy to get that series over with and as a team, get though that round. We had a couple of days to regroup and prepare for Manitoba and that kind of gave my body a few days to get tuned up for playing the Moose. I thought the series against Manitoba was probably my best hockey of the playoffs. I guess that old saying, "You save your best for last". That seemed to be our last kick at the can there.

KING 5: You were two games away from playing for the Calder Cup so no matter how exhausted you guys were, you had to find something in the tank.
ML: Absolutely! Every game in the playoffs, you want to be smart, you want to make the right plays, because you never know if you take a penalty during the game at any particular time or cough up the puck, that could be the difference on that game and in that series, so you put a lot more emphasis on that and obviously, anytime you get close to winning a championship, you dig a little deeper, especially when you're in that Western Final and you're only 6 wins away, you can kind of sniff it a little bit. We just came up a little short against a really good club in Manitoba that was up 3 games to 0 against us. It's tough to come back from that, but they did their jobs and that's all we can do.

KING 5: You had so many people believing it was possible, because of some amazing, come from behind wins that you guys have had during the regular season and also during the first two rounds of the playoffs.
ML: That was our team all year long. We had the offense. We had the character of some guys to, when push came to shove, we needed something to be done, guys stepped up and got it done and that's what playoffs are all about. We kind of put ourselves against the wall a few times in the playoffs, but there's always those ups and downs that you're gonna have when you're playing in the playoffs. You've just gotta maintain your even keel and take one shift at a time.

KING 5: Here's a back up question: did you play at the same time as Shaun Heshka in Everett?
ML: Yes. The first two years of the Silvertips, I played with him. My second year, my overage year as a 20 year old, he was actually my D partner, so, me and Hesh to way back and have a lot of history together. We were really good buddies when we played together here and we still are to this day.

KING 5: So, what was it like to face off against your former D partner as a forward?
ML: It's obviously a little different. Anybody that knows me real well and has played against me in juniors and now in the American League kind of looks at me twice and think, "what's this guy doing playing on forward?" But, during the playoff series, you have your battles on the ice. Every time I gave Hesh a little hit into the boards or he gave me a little shot in front of the net, we were always talking to each other, always in good fun, but at the same time, trying to beat each other on the scoreboard as well. So, it was interesting.

KING 5: How did your switch from defense to forward come about?
ML: I think I made the switch about midway through December. The best way to explain that whole situation: at the beginning of the year I was playing defense. I was in and out of the lineup; play a game here, sit a couple. Everybody wants to play. I got a little frustrated. One road trip in November, I think we were in Cleveland. I had a meeting with Coach Constantine and just kind of told him, "Hey, I'm here to do whatever you'd like me to do. I just want to be a part of this team and in the lineup and if that's playing forward when there's injuries or you want to try it out, I'd be more than willing to do that. I just want to play." So, about a month passed and I'd play one game, sit a couple. And then one day I came to the rink and here I was on forward. He (Constantine) said, "Here's your opportunity. Systematically, you know what to do. You've learned from the coaches. You've played in practice. Now, let's go do it." I knew what my role was as a forward. Obviously, it was kind of an energy guy, create room for other guys and kind of get my nose dirty and stir the pot and whatnot. I really took an enjoyment out of it and started learning from other guys that have been playing forward their whole lives on our team and other teams. Eventually, I thought that toward the end of the year and in the playoffs, I got a little more confident about what I was doing with the puck and the guys I was playing with and what our job was.

Photo Courtesy: Fred Trask

KING 5: Now that you've played forward and defense, which do you prefer?
ML: I'll be honest. I really enjoyed forward. (laughs) I think all the years of playing defense and being on the other side of the coin and getting hit every time you touch the puck and move the puck, you can turn that on the other team's D. I think for the style of game I like to play, I think it gets me more involved. It's more of a "team" role that I enjoy; protecting my teammates. Whoever I play for next, whether it's forward or D; if it's forward, I'd like to chip in a little more offensively, with a little more confidence, and get used to playing the position again. Every team has a different way of looking at what kind of player I am and if I have to play D again, I'm more than willing to play D. But I guess I've got that versatility there if I can play either position for whatever team.

KING 5: Let's go way back. Tell me about how you started playing hockey. How old were you?
ML: I started skating when I was 3 back in my hometown of Quesnel. I started playing organized hockey when I was four years old and worked up through the Squirt ranks.

KING 5: Do you come from a hockey background?
ML: My dad was a goalie and played professional hockey in Germany for a couple, three years. He would never let me play goalie as much as I wanted to play goalie in street hockey and when I was growing up. He wanted nothing to do with me playing goalie, so I was kind of back and forth between forward and D and then played D until I was about 12, then played forward for about a year or two and then went back on D when I was 15.

I played a year of Bantam in Quesnel (my WHL draft year). I wasn't selected in the Bantam draft and ended up going to Notre Dame Hockey Academy in Wilcox, Saskatchewan my second year of Bantam. Actually, I went to Moose Jaw's training camp after my first year of Bantam as a free agent tryout and then I ended up going to Notre Dame for a year and they put m on their 50-man player protected list, or whatever it was. Then, the next year, at 16, which would have been Midget, I made Moose Jaw as a walk on and played there my first year in the Western League.

KING 5: How did you end up in Everett?
ML: It was after another stop in the Western League. I was in Swift Current for about a year and a half. I can remember the phone call to this day. I was working at a mill back in Quesnel as a summer job. I remember coming home after work a long 8-hour day working in the mill and had a phone call from the General Manager of Swift Current, who informed me that I was traded, along with Torrie Wheat, who a lot of people remember here. We got traded for a big European defenseman to Everett. At the time, I didn't have a clue where Everett was. I knew it was close to Seattle but never really heard much and didn't pay much attention that they were even getting a Western League team. I talked to Doug Soetaert (Silvertips VP/GM) and we were all excited to come here. Ultimately, I think it changed my hockey career and got me to where I am today for sure.

KING 5: What was your first impression of Everett when you arrived?
ML: That summer, when we all found out we were coming, through the expansion draft and trades and whatnot, the team flew us down here for some team-building so we could all get to know each other before the season. We toured the arena, which at that time was about half done, saw the area and went to a ball game in Seattle. Coming from playing in small towns my previous 3-4 years, this was eye-opening. It was also closer to home for my family so they could come down and catch games. It was just an amazing thrill to be able to come here and finish my (junior) career.

KING 5: Your first year, the Silvertips went to the WHL Championship.
ML: Yep. That was, like (the Houston Aeros) this year, kind of an unexpected run, but there again, we just rode some hot goaltending and some character guys who were trying to prove to a lot of people in the league that they maybe should not have been let go in the expansion draft and rallied behind the fans. It was amazing, something that all of us to this day still talk about and will remember when we're 40 or 50 years old.

KING 5: How did you make the jump from WHL to AHL?
ML: After my overage year, probably about July, I signed an East Coast Hockey League contract with the now-defunct San Diego Gulls, which was kind of affiliated with Colorado (Avalanche). I was kind of planning on going there but I didn't have to report until about October. Colorado called me about two weeks before. Their training camp had started and they said, "Hey, do you want to come to training camp in Denver?" I was like, "Of course I do!" It's an NHL training camp; for sure I'm gonna go. I'll be honest with myself and everybody: I wasn't in very good shape, out of junior. I think in junior, you don't learn how to train as well as you do in professional hockey. Some guys live and learn that way and I was one of those guys who lived and learned that way. I went to training camp that year. I was out of shape. I wasn't prepared for the altitude and all that, but I kind of somehow still worked myself into earning an entry level contract with them. We were in Lowell that first year. I was playing quite a bit and learning what it takes to play at the professional level, in the American League especially. The guys work hard in the gym off the ice, have the right diet. I ended up shedding a lot of weight over the course of a couple of years and now, to this day, train a lot differently and watch what you eat.

Photo Courtesy: Fred Trask

KING 5: Do you know whether you're going back to the Houston Aeros? Is there a cut-off date to find out?
ML: There's no real deadline. I guess the deadline would be the first game of the season in the American League, which is around October. Last summer, my agent, myself and Houston had kind of talked about a contract but I didn't receive anything until after training camp. That was late September when that happened. I don't anticipated waiting that long for a contract from Minnesota (Wild) or Houston or whatever teams my agent is in contact with. Hopefully, something will come together here before the end of the month.

KING 5: Houston fans just love you. You would think you've played for the Aeros for 10 years, the way that they love you.
ML: At first glance, I'd love to go back there, without a doubt. I love playing there. Obviously, it's tough not to play hockey in weather like that all winter long and the fans were great all season. Our attendance was top ten in the league. That playoff run didn't hurt any of that going into next year, so I'd love to go back there. But there again, it's a business so I don't really know how it's all going to turn out. And if there's an NHL contract that comes along, I'm definitely going to have to take a good gander at that because ultimately that's where we want to end up, in the NHL. Last year I played on an AHL deal and I'm kind of hungry to get back to an NHL contract, so hopefully something will come about.

KING 5: Now for those personal questions! What kind of movies do you like? Do you have a favorite?
ML: I'm a sucker for Adam Sandler movies. Any kind of comedy, like sports comedy movies like "Major League", "Slapshot", those kinds of movies. They're always classics. I went and saw "The Hangover" a month ago. That's gotta be up there in the top 5 on my list, I think.

KING 5: What player did you really look up to when you were growing up?
ML: I've always kind of been a Scott Stevens fan. When I played D, I kind of wanted to resemble myself behind his style of play and his leadership that he brought. Then again, he's a hard working guy that started from scratch and worked himself into almost a Hall of Fame career.

Now that things might change if I play forward again, I kinda watch guys that play forward in the NHL and try to resemble myself behind guys there, and it's weird because they're all guys I played hockey against these last four years in the American League. I'm a big fan of my old roommate Cody McCloud, who plays in Colorado. I guess maybe I'm a little biased because I was roommates with him and have kind of watched him and played against him in the Western League, just seeing the hard work and dedication that he puts in and what it's given back to him in his last couple of years playing in Colorado. I fought Cody in junior. Other guys he watches: Daniel Carcillo, who plays in Philadelphia, Ian LaPerrier, guys that are maybe undersized but play with their hearts on their sleeves every game and know their roles as hockey players. Those are the type of guys, who, at the end of the day will always have jobs in the NHL or professional hockey because teams and general managers and whatnot, they know what they're gonna get out of those guys. They may not score 30 goals a year like some guys, but consistently, you're always looking for guys like them for your team. They'll always have jobs at the end of the day.

KING 5: That's a description I get about you. You go out; you give 110% every game, no matter what.
ML: That's what I try to do. That's the only way I'll play the game, the only way I was taught the game. Watching on TV, watching certain guys growing up and what they did, sitting there with my dad and having him tell me, "This is the way you have to play the game." That stuff hits home and will ultimately give you jobs at this level or any level; junior hockey or if you want to pursue hockey beyond that. It's tough to replace those guys and it's tough to find those guys.

KING 5: When you played with Everett, who was your favorite opponent?
ML: We always had really good battles with Portland (Winter Hawks). I think a lot of people would like to say that we had a really big rivalry with Seattle, and obviously we did, being so geographically close, but I think over the years, we just had some classic wars with Portland and some of their players that were a little nasty. A lot of people in Everett would probably say the same thing. Portland's right up there with Seattle in that rivalry in this division here.

KING 5: Your favorite arena to play in aside from Comcast:
ML: Probably the Rose Garden in Portland, when they had 6, 7, 8,000 people in that arena on Saturday night, it was a pretty intimidating building to play in. The fans are right on top of you and their annoying "TNT" goal song they played there, it was always a little intimidating building to play in.

Photo Courtesy: Fred Trask

KING 5: Favorite AHL opponent:
ML: I'd probably have to say Hershey. They've got pretty unbelievable fans. The building is second to none. There ain't much going on in Hershey, Pennsylvania and I think the whole town crammed into that building every night. I think I've won maybe 2 games there out of like 20 in my (AHL) career when I used to play out there my last couple of years. It's not a friendly place for any team I've been on.

KING 5: Would you say the same about Hershey's arena as your favorite arena?
ML: Yeah. Some arenas aren't so full every night, but you can guarantee over 8,000 people there on any given night and that's pretty intimidating.

KING 5: You've played in many arenas now. How would you rank the fans and Comcast Arena against all the different arenas that you've played at?
ML: I may be biased because I live down here and see a lot of the same people that were and are still season ticket holders in Everett. Everett's got some of the best fans and that building and fans could easily be a top 5 arena in the American Hockey League. Not a lot of people know that because they've never really travelled around to a lot of buildings in the American League or other pro teams in the United States and Canada. They'd be right up there with some of the best in our league.

KING 5: What do you think about the Tampa Bay Lightning and Phoenix Coyotes coming in here to play in September?
ML: I think that's a great, great thing to happen for this area and for some kids who may never ever get a chance to go to an NHL game. It's right here in their backyard. The community and the building are more than capable of holding a game like that. I can't remember when there was a National Hockey League game like that in this area, maybe the Metropolitans? I think it's gonna be great and a good experience for everybody.

KING 5: Definitely. And then, to see (former Silvertips forward) Peter Mueller back here.
ML: People are gonna be pretty excited and you've got to wonder: are they more excited to see and NHL game, Wayne Gretzky or Peter Mueller come back and play the game? And Shaun Heshka too. If I'm a fan in Everett and I haven't seen him play in 3 years, it's gonna be pretty exciting to get a chance to see him play again, or Heshka if he gets the chance to play again, now that he's with Phoenix. It's great for those guys. I'd love to get a chance to play again in front of 8,000 people here again, so, they'd better take full advantage of the opportunity and get to see some people that they maybe haven't seen since they left here. So, it's good for everybody.

KING 5: You're doing some hockey camps in Everett. What can you tell me about those?
ML: I just wrapped up a 2-week defenseman camp with some kids from Seattle Junior Hockey in Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace. That went over real well. For two weeks, I'm doing an off-ice conditioning camp, continuing on with what I did last summer with kids here in Everett. The week of July 20th, I'm hopefully doing the first week of Silvertips hockey school.

KING 5: Songs or bands that help you get pumped up for a game.
ML: I couldn't tell you right now what five songs get me fired up, but anything by Motley Crue is what I'll be blasting in my car on my way down to a game or try to get it on in the dressing room. I'm a huge Motley Crue fan.

Somehow, it did not surprise me to learn that Mitch is a Crue fan. Motley Crue is a mainstay at many hockey arenas across the country. On any given night, you can bet you'll hear the opening riffs to the song "Kickstart My Heart" at some point during the game. Just like on any given night, you can count on Mitch to help kickstart his team into action or help ramp things up another notch.

Mitch gave his thanks in his final blog of the season. Now, we want to extend an enormous "Thank You" to Mitch Love. Thank you for taking us inside your career and your life. And whether you land in the NHL or AHL next season, we hope you will continue to share your journey... and your words... with us.