Bryan Bickell (born on March 9, 1986 in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL.
He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago 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.
He 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, he 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.
He 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.
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. He 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.
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.
He was scratched from the team’s lineup for two games of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals. 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. The Blackhawks initially waived him 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.
The Blackhawks recalled Bickell from Rockford on December 6, 2015, but he was placed on waivers again on January 6, 2016. Bickell cleared waivers and was demoted to back to the AHL.
On June 15, 2016, Bickell (along with Teuvo Teravainen) was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the New York Rangers' 2016 second-round draft pick and a 2017 third-round pick.
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 | ||||