Rem Pitlick

Rem Pitlick
Born (1997-04-02) April 2, 1997 (age 26)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 196 lb (89 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Chicago Blackhawks
Rockford IceHogs (AHL)
Nashville Predators
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 76th overall, 2016
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2019–present

Rem Pitlick (born April 2, 1997) is a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey center for the Rockford IceHogs in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pitlick has previously played for the Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Montreal Canadiens.

Prior to turning professional, Pitlick played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Waterloo Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League (USHL). In 2016, he set a franchise record with the Lumberjacks for most points in a season and was awarded the USHL Player of the Year, USHL Forward of the Year, and Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award. Following his successful junior career, Pitlick joined the University of Minnesota where he was selected for the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and First Team. His father, Lance Pitlick, played in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers.

Playing career

Amateur

In August 2013, Pitlick committed to play Division I college ice hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.[1]

Pitlick played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Waterloo Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for two years. After spending the 2014–15 season with the Black Hawks, he was traded to the Lumberjacks in exchange for a first and tenth round pick in the USHL Draft.[2] During the 2015–16 season, while with the Lumberjacks, Pitlick set a new franchise record for most points in a season and was awarded USHL Player of the Year and USHL Forward of the Year.[3] He was also named to the First Team All-USHL[4] and given the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award.[5] At the end of the season, Pitlick announced he was leaving the USHL to join the Golden Gophers for the 2016–17 season.[6]

Collegiate

In his freshman season with the Golden Gophers, Pitlick played in 36 games and recorded 32 points. He scored his first collegiate goal on October 7, 2016, in a 6–0 win over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.[7] At the conclusion of the season, Pitlick was selected for the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.[8]

In his sophomore season, Pitlick played in 38 games and recorded 31 points. He also recorded an eight-game point streak between October 27 and November 18.[9] At the conclusion of the season, Pitlick was selected for the Academic All-Big Ten team.[10]

In his junior season, Pitlick played in 38 games and set a new career high in points with 45 points.[9] He was named the Big Ten First Star of The Week after he recorded five points in a weekend series against the Michigan Wolverines.[11] He ended the season as a Hobey Baker Award nominee and selected for the All-Big Ten First Team.[12] On March 12, Pitlick was named to the AHCA First-Team All-American, becoming the 65th person to earn All-American honors in Minnesota history.[13]

Professional

Nashville Predators (2019–2021)

Pitlick signed a two-year entry level contract with the Nashville Predators on March 22, 2019, thus concluding his collegiate career.[14] He made his NHL debut on March 25, against the Minnesota Wild.[15]

Minnesota Wild (2021–2022)

After attending the Predators 2021 training camp, prior to being reassigned to the AHL to begin the 2021–22 season, Pitlick was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild on October 6, 2021.[16] In his fifth game with the Wild on November 13, 2021, Pitlick scored his first three NHL goals with a natural hat trick, securing a win over the Seattle Kraken.[17]

Montreal Canadiens (2022–2023)

On January 11, 2022, Pitlick was placed on waivers by the Wild, before being claimed the next day by the Montreal Canadiens.[18] He made an immediate impact on arrival in Montreal, in the midst of what was a historically poor season for the team, registering six points in his first seven games and almost double the average ice time he had with the Wild.[19] At the end of the season, Pitlick registered 9 goals and 17 assists for 27 points with the Canadiens.

After initially testing free agency, Pitlick was re-signed to a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension with the Canadiens on July 16, 2022.[20] However, he struggled early in the next season, amidst a logjam of forwards in the Canadiens roster. He dressed for seven of the team's first twelve games, registering no points. On November 7, with fellow forward Evgeni Dadonov scheduled to return to the roster from injured reserve, it was announced that Pitlick was being put on waivers.[21] After injuries to several starting players, Pitlick returned to the line up. In a memorable game against Toronto on January 21, 2023 Pitlick scored in overtime in three-on-three play to win the match for Montreal.[22]

Pittsburgh Penguins (2023–2024)

On August 6, 2023, Pitlick was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of a three-team trade also involving the San Jose Sharks.[23] He did not make the Penguins' team out of training camp and was placed on waivers. After going unclaimed he was assigned to Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on October 5, 2023.[24] He played in 32 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, registering eight goals and 24 points in 32 games.[25]

Chicago Blackhawks

Pitlick was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on January 6, 2024 for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.[25]

International play

Pitlick has represented Team USA at the 2015 World Junior A Challenge.[26]

Personal life

Pitlick was born in Ottawa, Ontario when his father, Lance was a member of the Ottawa Senators and is a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States.

His cousin Tyler Pitlick is also an NHL player; he currently plays for the New York Rangers. His younger brother, Rhett, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[27] Rhett plays NCAA hockey for the University of Minnesota; played high school hockey for Chaska High School.[28][29]

His mother Lisa is also a former athlete. She attended the University of Minnesota and competed on Team USA's gymnastics team.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2013–14 Shattuck-Saint Mary's USHS 53 9 25 34 32 — — — — —
2014–15 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 47 7 9 16 20 — — — — —
2015–16 Muskegon Lumberjacks USHL 56 46 43 89 74 — — — — —
2016–17 U. of Minnesota B1G 36 14 18 32 22 — — — — —
2017–18 U. of Minnesota B1G 38 12 19 31 32 — — — — —
2018–19 U. of Minnesota B1G 38 21 24 45 30 — — — — —
2018–19 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 63 20 16 36 40 — — — — —
2020–21 Nashville Predators NHL 10 0 2 2 4 — — — — —
2020–21 Chicago Wolves AHL 8 8 2 10 4 — — — — —
2021–22 Minnesota Wild NHL 20 6 5 11 12 — — — — —
2021–22 Montreal Canadiens NHL 46 9 17 26 12 — — — — —
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 46 6 9 15 22 — — — — —
2022–23 Laval Rocket AHL 18 5 17 22 20 — — — — —
2023–24 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 32 8 16 24 10 — — — — —
NHL totals 123 21 33 54 52 — — — — —

Awards and honors

Award Year Ref
USHL
Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award 2016 [9]
USHL Player of the Year 2016 [3]
USHL Forward of the Year 2016
First Team All-USHL 2016 [4]
College
All-Big Ten Freshman Team 2017 [8]
Academic All-Big Ten 2018, 2019 [10][30]
All-Big Ten First Team 2019 [12]
AHCA First-Team All-American 2019 [13]

References

  1. ^ Dilks, Chris (August 20, 2013). "Rem Pitlick Commits to Minnesota". sbncollegehockey.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  2. ^ "Lumberjacks land Rem Pitlick from Waterloo". mlive.com. June 1, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Rem Pitlick named USHL Player & Forward of the Year". ushl.com. May 9, 2015. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "All-USHL Teams Announced". USHL.com. May 11, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "Pitlick, Westby Earn USA Hockey Honors". gophersports.com. May 25, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  6. ^ "Rem Pitlick Announces Decision". USHL.com. August 11, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Ranked Gophers shut out Seawolves, 6-0". goseawolves.com. October 7, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019. Bischoff made it 4-0 with his second at 1:24 of the third, while Rem Pitlick (14:46) and Gates (15:59) added the final tallies.
  8. ^ a b "Gophers Take Home B1G Awards". gophersports.com. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d "Rem Pitlick". gophersports.com. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  10. ^ a b "Big Ten Recognizes 95 Gophers with Academic Honors". gophersports.com. March 21, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  11. ^ "Pitlick Picks Up B1G First Star of the Week". gophersports.com. February 5, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Walker Headlines Postseason Honors as B1G Freshman of the Year". gophersports.com. March 19, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Rem Pitlick Earns First Team All-America Honor". gophersports.com. April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "Predators Sign Rem Pitlick to Two-Year, Entry-Level Contract". NHL.com. March 22, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  15. ^ Gilchriest, Zach (March 25, 2019). "Pitlick Set to Make NHL Debut Tonight in Minnesota". NHL.com. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
  16. ^ "Wild claims Pitlick off waivers from Nashville". Minnesota Wild. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Field Level Media (November 14, 2021). "Rem Pitlick's hat trick powers Wild past Kraken". Reuters. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  18. ^ "Habs claim Pitlick off waivers from Wild". The Sports Network. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Cowan, Stu (January 28, 2022). "Uncertainty turns to excitement for Canadiens' Rem Pitlick". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  20. ^ "Two-year contract extension for Rem Pitlick". Montreal Canadiens. July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  21. ^ Engels, Eric (November 7, 2022). "Canadiens Notebook: Pitlick's reversal, Dach's maturation, Edmundson's challenge". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
  22. ^ "Pitlick plays hero as Canadiens rally to beat Maple Leafs in OT". TSN. The Canadian Press. January 21, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "Karlsson goes to Penguins in three-team trade with Sharks, Canadiens". NHL.com. August 6, 2023.
  24. ^ Horwat, Nick (October 5, 2023). "Penguins Re-Assign Multiple Players to AHL". The Hockey News. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Blackhawks acquire forward Rem Pitlick from Pittsburgh for draft pick". NBC Sports Chicago. January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  26. ^ Brien, David (June 28, 2016). "WJAC ALUMNI REPRESENTED IN EVERY ROUND OF 2016 NHL ENTRY DRAFT". hockeycanada.ca. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  27. ^ "Rhett Pitlick at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  28. ^ "Rhett Pitlick". eliteprospects.com. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  29. ^ Johnson, Eric D. (December 2015). "Former NHL Player and His Family Make Hockey a Priority". plymouthmag.com. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  30. ^ "Big Ten Honors 101 Gophers with Academic All-B1G Accolades". gophersports.com. March 20, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2019.

External links