Bryan Bickell

Bryan Bickell
Born (1986-03-09) March 9, 1986
Orono, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 233 lb (106 kg; 16 st 9 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft 41st overall, 2004
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2006–present

Bryan Bickell (born March 9, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently under contract for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

Playing career

Bickell grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of Orono, Ontario for the Leafs rep program before playing AAA for the Central Ontario Wolves organization.

For his Bantam season, Bickell was moved to the Toronto Red Wings of the GTHL for one season before being drafted in the 2nd round (36th overall) in the 2002 OHL Priority Selection by the Ottawa 67's. Bickell was a member of the Bantam All-Ontario champions Toronto Red Wings with future Chicago Blackhawk teammate Dave Bolland.

Bickell was drafted 41st overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks from the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After his junior career, Bickell was signed to a 3-year entry level contract with the Blackhawks on June 5, 2006. He made his professional debut with the Norfolk Admirals at the beginning of the 2006–07 season.

Bickell was recalled to the Blackhawks at the end of the 2006–07 season and scored his first NHL goal in his NHL debut on April 5, 2007, against the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-2 win.[1] Bickell spent the majority of the 2007–08 season with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL. He was recalled by the Blackhawks on March 2, 2008, and played in four games with the Blackhawks.[2]

On June 9, 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. Bickell dressed in 4 playoff games and was a plus-3 rating over this time with one assist. Bickell received a ring from the team, but his name does not appear on the Stanley Cup for that particular year.

In the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bickell finished with 17 points, scoring 9 goals including the game-tying goal in the Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. His strong play is credited as one of the major factors behind the Blackhawks winning the Stanley Cup that year.

On June 30, 2013, Bickell re-signed with Chicago for four years, $16 million.[3]

Bickell tallied 14 goals and 14 assists during the regular season while appearing in 80 regular season games in the 2014-15 NHL season. His production declined in the postseason, where he recorded only five assists.[4] Bickell was scratched from the team’s lineup for two games of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.[5] The Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning six games, making Bickell a Stanley Cup champion for the second time in his career.

After the post season, Bickell initially attributed his health issues to vertigo. His agent later clarified that he was suffering from vestibular issues.[6] The Blackhawks initially waived Bickell at the beginning of the 2015-16 NHL season, but reinserted him into their starting line-up after he went unclaimed. After going score-less in the first eight games on the season, the Blackhawks demoted Bickell to their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs.[7] The Blackhawks recalled Bickell from Rockford on December 6.[8] The Blackhawks placed Bickell on waivers again on January 6, 2016. Bickell cleared waivers and was demoted to back to the AHL.[9]

Personal

On August 3, 2013, Bickell married his longtime girlfriend, Amanda. They have a baby girl, Makayla.[10]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Toronto Red Wings GTHL 65 78 62 140 20 — — — — —
2001–02 Toronto Red Wings GTHL 65 31 41 72 76 — — — — —
2002–03 Ottawa 67's OHL 50 7 10 17 4 20 5 3 8 12
2003–04 Ottawa 67's OHL 59 20 16 36 76 7 3 0 3 11
2004–05 Ottawa 67's OHL 66 22 32 54 95 21 5 12 17 32
2005–06 Ottawa 67's OHL 41 28 22 50 41 — — — — —
2005–06 Windsor Spitfires OHL 26 17 16 33 19 7 5 5 10 10
2006–07 Norfolk Admirals AHL 48 10 15 25 66 2 0 0 0 0
2006–07 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 3 2 0 2 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Rockford IceHogs AHL 73 19 20 39 52 12 2 3 5 11
2007–08 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 4 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2008–09 Rockford IceHogs AHL 42 6 8 14 60 4 0 2 2 4
2009–10 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 16 3 1 4 5 4 0 1 1 2
2009–10 Rockford IceHogs AHL 65 16 15 31 58 — — — — —
2010–11 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 78 17 20 37 40 5 2 2 4 0
2011–12 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 71 9 15 24 48 6 2 0 2 4
2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 48 9 14 23 25 23 9 8 17 14
2013–14 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 11 4 15 28 19 7 3 10 8
2014–15 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 80 14 14 28 38 18 0 5 5 14
2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 25 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2015–16 Rockford IceHogs AHL 47 15 16 31 23 3 0 1 1 2
NHL totals 384 65 70 135 188 75 20 19 39 42

Awards and honors

References

  1. ↑ "Blackhawks end struggles against Red Wings in shoot-out". areyouwatchingthis.com. 2007-04-06. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  2. ↑ "Bickell and Dowell recalled to Chicago". icehogs.com. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  3. ↑ "Bryan Bickell re-signs with Blackhawks." CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2013-Jun-30.
  4. ↑ Powers, Scott (2016-06-22). "Blackhawks season review: Bryan Bickell". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  5. ↑ Hine, Chris (2016-06-18). "Bryan Bickell on his absence: I had vertigo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  6. ↑ Hedger, Brian (2015-11-10). "Bickell trying to work his way back to Chicago Blackhawks". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  7. ↑ Leahy, Sean (2015-11-02). "Blackhawks demote struggling Bryan Bickell to AHL". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  8. ↑ Meyer, Tracey (2015-12-06). "Blackhawks recall Bryan Bickell from Rockford". ComCast SportsNet Chicago. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  9. ↑ Myers, Tracey (2016-01-16). "Blackhawks: Bryan Bickell reportedly on waivers again". CSN Chicago. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
  10. ↑ "Bryan Bickell marries fiancee Amanda". CSN Chicago. 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-08-05.

External links

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