Paul Bittner (born November 4, 1996) is an American professional ice hockey Winger who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Düsseldorfer EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Bittner has played major junior hockey with the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Bittner was rated as a top prospect who was widely projected to be a first round selection in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.[1] He was, however, selected 38th overall, in the second round by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
| Paul Bittner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
November 4, 1996 Crookston, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| team Former teams |
Free agent Cleveland Monsters Väsby IK Mora IK Düsseldorfer EG Stavanger Oilers | ||
| NHL draft |
38th overall, 2015 Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||
Playing career
editIn 2012, Bittner joined the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.[2] and in his first year he helped the Winterhawks capture the Ed Chynoweth Cup as the 2012–13 WHL Champions.[3] During the 2014–15 season he was rewarded for his outstanding play when he was selected to skate in the 2015 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.[4]
On August 20, 2015, Bittner was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.[5] After attending the Blue Jackets training camp, Bittner was returned to his junior club, the Winterhawks for the 2015–16 season. Hampered by injury, Bittner was limited to just 25 games with Portland, recording 21 points. Upon the completion of the Winterhawks season and a return to health, Bittner was reassigned to AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, on April 13, 2016, to make his professional debut to end the regular season.[6]
Following his fourth season within the Blue Jackets organization, Bittner as a restricted free agent was not tendered a qualifying offer, releasing him to free agency.[7]
Bittner played two seasons in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan with Väsby IK and Mora IK, until he left during the 2021–22 season and opted to sign for the remainder of the season with German top flight club, Düsseldorfer EG of the DEL, on November 26, 2021.[8]
International play
editBittner competed with Team USA at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[9]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2011–12 | Crookston High | USHS | 25 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 45 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 12 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 63 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 11 | ||
| 2014–15 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 66 | 34 | 37 | 71 | 52 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 2015–16 | Portland Winterhawks | WHL | 25 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Lake Erie Monsters | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 31 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 52 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 50 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 55 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Väsby IK | Allsv | 14 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Mora IK | Allsv | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021–22 | Düsseldorfer EG | DEL | 29 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Stavanger Oilers | NOR | 21 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Düsseldorfer EG | DEL | 26 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 190 | 25 | 43 | 68 | 89 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | United States | IH18 | 
|
5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||||
Awards and honors
edit| Honors | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament | 2013 | [10] |
| CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game | 2015 | [11] |
References
edit- ^ "Paul Bittner: the next ones profile". thehockeywriters.com. June 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
- ^ "The Winterhawks agree terms with Paul Bittner". Oregon Live. April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2013.
- ^ "Ed Chynoweth Cup Champions". Western Hockey League. June 25, 2015. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
- ^ "Bittner named to top prospects game". Portland Winterhawks. January 29, 2015. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
- ^ "Blue Jackets sign forward Paul Bittner to entry-level contract". Columbus Blue Jackets. August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
- ^ "Blue Jackets assign Bittner to Monsters". Lake Erie Monsters. April 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "What were hearing with the Blue Jackets". The Athletic. October 6, 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
- ^ "DEG sign forward Paul Bittner until end of season" (in German). Düsseldorfer EG. November 26, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
- ^ "Paul Bittner prospect profile". hockeysfuture.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
- ^ "Ivan Hlinka Tournament commences". National Hockey League. September 23, 2013. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- ^ "Team Orr dominates Team Cherry". CBC Sports. March 3, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database