Bryan Bickell (born March 9, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Chicago Blackhawks and 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 run to the 2010 Stanley Cup championship. Bickell spent nearly 10 years with the Blackhawks organization before being traded to the Hurricanes before the season. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis later that year and retired from playing hockey at the end of the season.
Early life
Bickell was born to Bill and Anne Bickell. He was raised in Orono, Ontario with an older sister, Ashley. In addition to hockey, Bickell was also interested in playing baseball during his youth. He was an outfielder and pitcher for the Kendal Royals, where he was scouted by the New York Yankees. 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 was a construction worker and worked as a clubhouse assistant to the Ottawa Senators, where he cleaned laundry, performed custodian duties and met future Chicago Blackhawk teammates Antoine Vermette and Marián Hossa, who were both playing on the Senators.
Playing career
Amateur career
Bickell grew up playing minor ice hockey with the Orono Leafs program, before playing AAA for the Central Ontario Wolves. He played in the 2000 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Red Wings.
For his Bantam season, Bickell was moved to the Toronto Red Wings of the GTHL for one season before being drafted in the second 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.
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 first goal against the Detroit Red Wings.
Bickell spent the majority of the next three seasons playing in the AHL with the Rockford IceHogs. On December 27, 2009, Bickell Recorded his first NHL assist on a goal scored by John Madden against the Nashville Predators.
The Blackhawks recalled him for the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs after he had played 16 regular season games and recorded 3 goals and 1 assist followed with 65 games with the IceHogs where he recorded 16 goals, 15 assists and became a mainstay for the Blackhawks onwards with no Calder Cup playoff games played for the IceHogs. Bickell appeared in four postseason games with one assist, making his playoff debut on April 22, 2010, against the Nashville Predators with an assist on a goal scored by Jonathan Toews. Bickell and the Blackhawks eventually defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. He received a ring from the Blackhawks, but his name was not inscribed on the Cup.
In the 2010-11 NHL season, his first full year in the NHL, Bickell recorded a career-high 17 goals and 20 assists in 78 appearances. On April 8, 2011, Bickell played his 100th career game in a 4–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings. On April 19, 2011, Bickell recorded his first Stanley Cup playoff goal against Roberto Luongo. His offensive production dropped during the 2011–12 campaign, where he only tallied nine goals and 15 assists in 71 games.
After playing all 48 regular season games in the 2012-13 shortened season and recording 9 goals and 14 assists, Bickell was highly productive during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He scored nine goals and eight assists in all 23 games during the post-season. He recorded the game-tying goal against Tuukka Rask during Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. 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.