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
Former teams		 Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft 41st overall, 2004
Chicago Blackhawks
Playing career 2006–present
Website Official website

Bryan Bickell (born March 9, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently under contract for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015, and played in four early playoff games during the team's 2010 Stanley Cup championship. Bickell spent nearly 10 years with the Blackhawks organization before being traded to the Hurricanes in 2016.

Early life

Bryan Bickell was born to Bill and Anne Bickell.[1] He was raised in Orono, Ontario with an older sister, Ashley.[1] In addition to hockey, Bickell was also interested in playing baseball during his youth.[1] He was an outfielder and pitcher for the Kendal Royals, where he was scouted by the New York Yankees.[1][2] Bickell ultimately choose to focus his career on hockey, and traveled to Ottawa to play for the Ottawa 67's. Bickell had several jobs prior to becoming a full-time hockey player. He worked as a construction worker and as a clubhouse assistant to the Ottawa Senators, where he cleaned laundry and performed custodian duties.[1]

Playing career

Amateur 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.[3]

Professional career

The Blackhawks drafted Bickell in the second round of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft with the 41st overall pick. After signing a three-year entry-level contract in 2006, Bickell left the Ontario Hockey League to play for the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2006–07 season. Bickell later made his NHL debut on April 5, 2007, where he scored his goal against the Detroit Red Wings.[4]

Bickell spent the majority of the next three seasons playing in the AHL.[5] The Blackhawks recalled him for the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Bickell appeared in four post-season games with one assist and a plus-3 rating. Bickell and the Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. Bickell received a ring from the Blackhawks, but his name was not inscribed on the Cup.[6]

Bickell became a mainstay on the Blackhawks during the 2010–11 season. In his first full year in the NHL, Bickell recorded a career-high 17 goals and 20 assists in 78 appearances.[7] His offensive production dropped during the 2011–12 campaign, where he only tallied nine goals and 15 assists.[8]

Bickell was highly productive during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored nine goals and eight assists during the post-season. He recorded the game-tying goal during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.[9] The Blackhawks later scored the go-ahead goal 17 seconds later to win the Stanley Cup. The Blackhawks awarded Bickell's strong post-season performance with a four-year, $16 million contract.[10]

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.[11] Bickell was scratched from the team’s lineup for two games of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals due to health-related issues.[12] The Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games, giving Bickell his third Stanley Cup.

The Blackhawks unsuccessfully attempted to trade Bickell prior to the 2015–16 NHL season.[13][14] The team initially waived Bickell but reinserted him into their roster as the season started.[15] Bickell was unable to consistently perform due to health-related issues and spent much of the season with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.[16] Bickell skated in 25 games for the Blackhawks and recorded two assists. He played in 47 contests for the IceHogs where he scored 15 goals and 16 assists.[17]

During the following off-season, Bickell's $4-million salary cap-hit poised a serious problem to the Blackhawks, who were struggling to stay below the NHL's salary cap.[18][19] The Blackhawks traded Bickell, Teuvo Teräväinen, and their own 2017 third-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick (Artur Kayumov).[20] The Hurricanes also agreed to accept Bickell's cap-hit and remaining contract.[21] Bickell scored one goal in seven games for the Hurricane, before experiencing health issues again. The Hurricanes announced that Bickell had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.[22]

Health issues

Bickell began experiencing symptoms of vertigo that forced him to miss two games during the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.[23] He initially believed the ailment was caused by an infected tooth.[24] Bickell's agent later commented that Bickell was suffering from vestibular issues, which hindered his performance during the 2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks season.[25] In November 2016, Bickell began experiencing an unexplained pain in his shoulder and leg that caused him to miss multiple games.[26] Doctors later diagnosed Bickell with multiple sclerosis.[26] Bickell commented on his health by stating, "Since the 2015 playoffs, I've been struggling to understand what was going on with my body. Again during the past few weeks, it felt like something wasn't right."[27] Ron Francis, the Hurricanes' general manager, stated that Bickell would take an indefinite amount of time off from hockey to receive treatment for his condition.[28]

Personal life

On August 3, 2013, Bickell married his longtime girlfriend, Amanda Caskenette. They have two baby girls: Kinslee and Makayla.[29] Bickell and his wife established the "Bryan & Amanda Bickell Foundation", which helps rescue abused pit bulls.[30]

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

Awards Year
NHL
Stanley Cup (Chicago Blackhawks) 2013, 2015

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Skrbina, Paul (2016-05-06). "Bryan Bickell's parents: 'You're the one who made it'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  2. ↑ Stevenson, Chris (2013-06-21). "Blackhawks' Bryan Bickell once scouted by Yankees". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  3. ↑ Neveau, James (2013-06-21). "Bryan Bickell Opens Up About His Life on NHL Blog". NBC Chicago. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  4. ↑ "Blackhawks end struggles against Red Wings in shoot-out". areyouwatchingthis.com. 2007-04-06. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  5. ↑ "Bickell and Dowell recalled to Chicago". icehogs.com. 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  6. ↑ "Bryan Bickell takes omission in stride". ESPN. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  7. ↑ Sassone, Tim (2013-06-26). "Keeping Bickell should be Bowman's No. 1 priority". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  8. ↑ Powers, Scott (2013-06-13). "Bickell would like to re-sign with Hawks". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  9. ↑ Leahy, Sean (2013-06-30). "Blackhawks sign Bryan Bickell to 4-year, $16 million extension". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  10. ↑ Stubits, Brian (2013-06-30). "Bryan Bickell re-signs with Blackhawks for four seasons". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  11. ↑ Powers, Scott (2016-06-22). "Blackhawks season review: Bryan Bickell". ESPN. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  12. ↑ Hine, Chris (2016-06-18). "Bryan Bickell on his absence: I had vertigo". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  13. ↑ Fox, Luke (2015-10-02). "Bickell on waivers after Oilers trade talks fall apart". Sportsnet. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  14. ↑ Nelson, Dustin (2015-06-24). "Chicago "50-50" on Trading Bryan Bickell". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  15. ↑ Leahy, Sean (2015-11-02). "Blackhawks demote struggling Bryan Bickell to AHL". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  16. ↑ Myers, Tracey (2016-01-16). "Blackhawks: Bryan Bickell reportedly on waivers again". CSN Chicago. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
  17. ↑ Myers, Tracey (2016-04-16). "HE'S BACK: BLACKHAWKS RECALL BRYAN BICKELLICAGO". CSN Chicago. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  18. ↑ Muir, Allan (2016-06-15). "Blackhawks pay heavy price to move Bryan Bickell's contract". sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  19. ↑ Lambert, Ryan (2016-01-18). "What We Learned: NHL's best player? It's Anze Kopitar". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  20. ↑ "Blackhawks trade Teravainen, Bickell to Hurricanes for draft picks". The State Journal-Register via the Associated Press. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ Hine, Chris (2016-06-16). "Blackhawks give up Teuvo Teravainen in dumping Bryan Bickell salary". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  22. ↑ Hine, Chris (2016-11-11). "Former Blackhawk Bryan Bickell diagnosed with multiple sclerosis". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-11-11.
  23. ↑ Lazerus, Mark (2016-06-03). "Bryan Bickell out for Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  24. ↑ Kuc, Chris (2015-09-15). "Blackhawks' Bryan Bickell still battling vertigo symptoms as camp opens". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  25. ↑ Hedger, Brian (2015-11-10). "Bickell trying to work his way back to Chicago Blackhawks". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
  26. 1 2 Hine, Chris (2016-11-12). "Former Blackhawk Bryan Bickell on MS diagnosis: 'I'm just uncertain'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-11-13.
  27. ↑ Williams, Terrell (2016-11-11). "Bickell Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis". Carolina Hurricanes News Release. NHL.com. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  28. ↑ Elgas, Rob (2016-11-11). "EX-BLACKHAWK BRYAN BICKELL DIAGNOSED WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS". WLS-TV. Retrieved 2016-11-12.
  29. ↑ "Bryan Bickell marries fiancee Amanda". CSN Chicago. 2013-08-05. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  30. ↑ Bucksten, Denys (2015-10-11). "Bickell Foundation returns to Waukegan to help more pit bills". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2016-11-12.

External links

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