Byron Bitz

Bitz finished the season with 27 points (13 goals and 14 assists) over 61 games, tying for 39th among league rookies.

Byron John Bitz (born July 21, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger.

He last played with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL).

A third- or fourth-line forward, he was known for his size and physicality.

A native of Saskatchewan, Bitz played minor hockey in his hometown of Saskatoon.

After playing minor hockey in Saskatchewan with the Saskatoon AAA Contacts of his hometown, Bitz joined the Junior A ranks with the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) in 2002–03.

As a rookie, he recorded 27 goals and 73 points over 58 games in his lone season with the Clippers.

His performance earned him the Bruce Allison Memorial Trophy as the Coastal Conference's rookie of the year.

After earning rookie of the year honours in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the Nanaimo Clippers, he was selected 107th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

During the off-season, Bitz was selected in the fourth round, 107th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

Upon being drafted, he joined the Cornell Big Red of the NCAA's ECAC Hockey conference.

In his freshman year (2003–04), he recorded 5 goals and 21 points over 31 games.

Before turning professional with the Bruins organization, he spent four years playing college hockey with the Cornell Big Red, helping the team to an ECAC Hockey championship in 2005 and serving as captain in 2006–07 as a senior.

The following season, he registered 5 goals and 15 points over 29 games, helping the Big Red to the Whitelaw Cup as ECAC Hockey's 2005 playoff champion.

They defeated the Harvard Crimson 3–1 in the final.

Qualifying for the 2005 NCAA Tournament, the Big Red lost their regional final to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 2–1 in overtime.

In 2005–06, he notched a college career-high 10 goals and 28 points over 35 games.

His efforts earned him an honourable mention on the All-Ivy Team.

During Bitz's senior year, he served as team captain and tallied 8 goals and 24 points over 29 games.

He earned First Team All-Ivy and Third Team All-ECAC Hockey honours, in addition to being distinguished with numerous team and university awards.

He received the Mark Weiss Award for determination and passion and the Ironman Award for overcoming injury; Bitz was additionally selected for membership in the Quill and Dagger Senior Honor Society.

After signing with the Bruins in August 2007, Bitz played one season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins, Boston's minor league affiliate.

The following season, he earned a spot on Boston's roster.

After signing an entry-level contract with Boston on August 6, 2007, Bitz began his professional career in 2007–08 with the Providence Bruins, Boston's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate.

After debuting with the team on October 17, in a game against the Lowell Devils, he scored his first AHL goal against goaltender Frank Doyle in a 5–1 win against the Lowell 10 days later.

In the 2008 playoffs, he added a goal and an assist over 10 games as the Bruins advanced to the second round, where they were eliminated by the Portland Pirates.

After beginning the 2008–09 season in the AHL, Bitz was called up and played his first career NHL game with the Bruins on January 10, 2009, against the Carolina Hurricanes.

He registered an assist on a Mark Stuart goal as the Bruins won the game 5–1.

Boston entered the 2009 playoffs first seed in the Eastern Conference, coinciding with Bitz's NHL post-season debut.

After the Bruins eliminated Montreal Canadiens in the opening round, Bitz scored his first NHL playoff goal on May 14, during Game 7 of the second round versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

His goal opened the scoring in the contest, which the Bruins lost 3–2 in overtime, eliminating them from the playoffs.

In March 2010, he was traded to the Florida Panthers.

His tenure with Florida was beset with injuries, however, and he missed the entire 2010–11 season with a sports hernia.

Becoming an unrestricted free agent in July 2011, he signed with the Vancouver Canucks.

Nearly a month later, during his 13th NHL game on February 7, he recorded his first NHL goal in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Bitz scored after a shot from Mark Stuart rebounded off goaltender Martin Biron towards him.

Later that month, on February 24, Bitz had his first multi-goal game, scoring the third and fourth Bruins goals in a 6–1 home victory over the Florida Panthers.

Needing one more goal for a hat trick, Bruins fans at the stadium began chanting "We Want Bitz" late in the game.

Remaining with Boston for the remainder of the season, he totalled four goals and seven points over 35 games.

Prior to his call-up, he had registered 3 goals and 10 points over 37 AHL games.