Category — byron bitz

Bitz

A former Boston Bruins fourth-round pick who registered just 27 points in his first pro season in 2007-08, Byron Bitz might’ve been a bit of a forgotten man last season. But after getting recalled in January, the forward was a vital part of the Bruins’ success.

Now comes the hard part for the former Cornell star, as Bitz will try to take the next step — establishing himself as an NHL regular. [Read more →]

Bitz

Updated with Bitz’s comments.

The Boston Bruins have announced they have signed winger Byron Bitz, a restricted free agent, to a two-year deal.

With his wedding just two weeks away, the timing of the new contract couldn’t have come at a better time for Bitz.

“Well, it’s exciting for me. It’s a good feeling to have it done relatively early,” said Bitz, 24, when reached this afternoon by TheBruinsBlog.net. “And now I’ll be able to go back and focus on training and be able to get ready for camp in September.” [Read more →]

Bitz

The Boston Bruins’ attempts to fill in for the injured Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron with Martin St. Pierre and Vladimir Sobotka wasn’t working, so Jan. 10 they called up Byron Bitz and Martins Karsums from Providence (AHL). While Karsums became trade bait at the March 4 deadline, Bitz became a fixture on the NHL roster and stuck for the remainder of the season.

Not as highly touted a prospect as some of his former P-Bruins teammates, Bitz brought an element of size, grit and toughness the Bruins needed to finish first in the Eastern Conference and then go two rounds deep in the playoffs. [Read more →]

Bitz

The Providence Journal today reported that forward Byron Bitz, a key contributor for the Boston Bruins in their run to the Game 7 of the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs, will not be joining the Providence (AHL) farm team for its Eastern Conference finals series with Hershey.

The ProJo quotes P-Bruins head coach Rob Murray as saying that a rib injury Bitz suffered against Carolina in the Eastern Conference semifinals turned out to be more serious that first thought and that Boston decided it would be best for Bitz to not play.

Bitz skated in 35 regular-season games and tallied two points (one goal) in five playoff games for Boston. The P-Bruins are tied 1-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Bears and get back into action with Game 3 Friday night.

Bitz

Everyone asked today about Steve Montador’s Game 6 goal, the one that put the Bruins ahead, 2-0, Tuesday night, concluded his answer with one point: Byron Bitz did an unheralded great job in front of the net.

And a better truth hasn’t been spoken in this Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. In fact, you can make an argument that without the rookie forward’s insertion into the lineup, the Bruins wouldn’t still be alive to face the Hurricanes in tomorrow night’s Game 7 at TD Banknorth Garden.

“It’s all about body position. It’s putting yourself between him and the puck,” Bitz said today about his knack for screening a goaltender like he did on Montador’s goal. “So using a big frame like mine, it’s tough for guys to get in there when I get between them and the puck. And after that it’s just making a move to try to make a play or getting to the net.” [Read more →]

Bitz

RALEIGH — One of the rocks of the Boston Bruins’ remarkable 2008-09 regular season, winger Shawn Thornton was never a healthy scratch and only missed three games due to injury.

But with the Bruins down two games to one entering tonight’s Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Carolina at RBC Center, head coach Claude Julien decided it was time for rookie Byron Bitz to get a crack at the Hurricanes for the first time in the series.

The move worked on an individual basis, as Bitz was solid for 9:41 of ice time spent mostly on the fourth line alongside P.J. Axelsson and Stephane Yelle. Bitz fired one shot on net, threw two hits and won two draws. But it wasn’t enough to help the Bruins avoid a 4-1 loss in the game and a 1-3 deficit in the series. [Read more →]

MONTREAL — Boston Bruins rookie winger Byron Bitz did the smart thing when he walked to tonight’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre with veteran winger Shawn Thornton.

And he also heeded Thornton’s advice and limited his coffee intake before making his NHL playoff debut in place of the suspended Milan Lucic.

“He limited me to one. So it was probably good because my heart was racing pretty fast as it was,” said Bitz after the Bruins built a 3-0 lead in the series with a 4-2 win.

So with one coffee in his system, advice from the likes of Thornton, Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle in his head, and his own brand of maturity, Bitz accounted himself well in the victory. He logged 13:02 of ice time, mostly lined up with Yelle and Thornton, and assisted on Thornton’s goal early in the second period. On the play he outmuscled Yannick Weber for the puck and fed it to Thornton waiting in the slot. [Read more →]

Bitz

MONTREAL — The chain reaction caused by the one-game suspension to Boston Bruins winger Milan Lucic for tonight’s Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series with the Montreal Canadiens is that Byron Bitz, a healthy scratch for the first two games, will dress, and Blake Wheeler will probably be bumped up a line.

Bitz took the morning skate today at Bell Centre and went through line drills with center Stephane Yelle and winger Shawn Thornton — two players he skated with for the bulk of his regular season. Wheeler skated on a line with center David Krejci and winger Michael Ryder.

“It’s not too bad. It’s a little different, I guess,” said Bitz when asked about his nerves on the day of his NHL playoff debut. “I’m sure around 7 o’clock tonight when I step out there it’s going to be a little different though. It’s just a matter of controlling that nervous energy and trying to use it in a good way.” [Read more →]

Wheeler

Boston Bruins rookie winger Blake Wheeler recalls the 2007 WCHA Final Five title game as the biggest game he’s played up until now. That year, the Golden Gophers battled North Dakota and prevailed with Wheeler winning tournament MVP honors.

Playing the Gophers’ hated rival in front of a rocking Xcel Energy Center crowd in St. Paul might’ve been great, but it will pale in comparison to what Wheeler is going to experience when the Bruins and Montreal Canadiens tangle in a best-of-seven series starting Thursday.

“I think the difference is that you can possibly play the same team seven times. So you could see the same guy across from you seven times in two weeks and that can get kind of old,” Wheeler recently told TheBruinsBlog.net. “You’ve got worry about yourself, worry about what you can control and just go out there and do everything to the best of your ability. You can’t look down for a minute out there because that’s when you’re going to get scored on or make a mistake.” [Read more →]

Bitz

A healthy scratch for six of the Boston Bruins’ previous 11 games, winger Byron Bitz got a chance to get back in the lineup Tuesday night when Shawn Thornton had to pull out with an undisclosed injury.

The temptation might’ve been there for the rookie to make a splash in an effort to force the coaching staff to keep his name on the big board every night. And there’s no doubt that Bitz wants to make himself indispensable to the Bruins, but he doesn’t plan on doing it by attempting anything that will sidetrack his game or put the team at risk. He doesn’t hit the ice trying to line up an opponent for a glass-shattering hit or try to make a move at the other club’s blue line that might leave a defenseman in the dust.

“Sometimes for a guy like me in my role, keeping it simple is what has gotten me noticed,” Bitz said today after the club practiced at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass. “So those kind of go hand in hand — chipping those pucks, finishing my hits, driving to the net — all that stuff is simple stuff. But that has gotten me noticed.” [Read more →]

NEW YORK — Stephane Yelle’s absence from the Boston Bruins’ lineup today forced rookie Byron Bitz to pick up the slack — not just by getting back into the club’s top 12 forwards but also filling the only somewhat familar center position.

Bitz centered wingers P.J. Axelsson and Shawn Thornton and recorded four hits in 9:49 of ice time during the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

“It was pretty good. I made some mistakes, but I think I did some good things as well,” said Bitz, who won just two of seven faceoffs. “It’s a little bit of an adjustment. But I played some center last year (in college) and a little bit this year (at Providence), so I’m kind of used to it.”

That experience skating in the middle was a major reason head coach Claude Julien decided to tab Bitz to fill Yelle’s slot. And the head coach gave kudos to the former Cornell standout.

“He played well; he had good jump,” said the coach after his team rallied from 3-1 down to tie the game before falling on a goal with 6:22 remaining.

Bitz was active on the forecheck and had their been a third assist on Zdeno Chara’s goal that started the Bruins’ third-period comeback, Bitz would’ve got it. He battled after a dump-in and moved the puck to Axelsson to start the passing clinic that led to the goal.

For Bitz centering two veterans like Axelsson and Thornton, it’s tough to screw up too bad.

“Axie and Thornty, same as Yeller and Thornty when I was playing on the wing, you make a mistake they’ll cover up for you because they’re so good positionally, so they’re great to play with,” said Bitz.

Bitz

BOSTON — If I was going to pick a designated driver out of the Boston Bruins’ dressing room, it’d be Byron Bitz.

I don’t have kids, but if I did, Bitz would be my choice among black-and-gold-wearing hockey players to babysit. He’d also be the one I’d want to tab for some business advice — and not just because of his business degree from Cornell.

You see, even in the best opportunity possible to freelance a little bit and greedily try to pad his stats, Bitz is responsible. He proved it tonight during the closing seconds of the Bruins’ 6-1 rout of the Florida Panthers at TD Banknorth Garden.

One goal shy of a hat trick, Bitz jumped over the boards with less than 30 seconds to go — much to the glee of the Garden faithful, who’d been chanting his name for a couple minutes. The puck went deep into the Florida zone and some fans probably had their hats in hand at the ready. But defenseman Andrew Ference joined the attack and left the right point vacant. Bitz filled  his role, staying back at the blue line to make sure there was no chance for Florida to trim its final margin of defeat.

“You could go in but then what if they get a 2-on-1 the other way and you’re not in position? I’d have felt pretty bad about that, letting (goaltender Tim Thomas) down. I mean it would’ve been nice if it worked out, but it’s not that big a deal,” Bitz said after the game. [Read more →]

Bitz

BOSTON — Those childhood dreams of goals scored in the NHL are usually a lot prettier or dramatic than the way Byron Bitz scored his first NHL goal today. But the rookie winger, who was one of the better Bruins skaters during the club’s 4-3 overtime loss to Philadelphia at TD Banknorth Garden, wasn’t about to give it back.

“No, I imagined a breakaway type. Maybe a crossbar and in, something like that,  but I’ll take it at this point,” said Bitz after his 13th NHL game.

Bitz scored with 1:01 left in the first period to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead. Mark Stuart’s wrist shot off the crossbar landed behind Philadelphia goaltender Martin Biron, and Bitz tapped the puck in before Biron could grab it.

“I guess it was a little bit fortunate,” he said.”I’ve had a lot better chances and missed and I  kind of got a lucky bounce sitting on the goal line, just came up and tapped it, but I’ll take it.”

Bitz is making it hard for the Bruins to justify sending him back to Providence (AHL). And with Michael Ryder out indefinitely with a facial fracture, Bitz might continue to play a prominent role.

“He keeps improving every game,”  said head coach Claude Julien. “We really like the way he competes along the walls; he doesn’t turn the puck over too often, (he’s) not afraid to go to the net. Obviously he’s got the size and the strength to do that, and I think he plays in his limits and utilizes the assets he has to his advantage.”

Bitz

BOSTON — If there were any doubts about Byron Bitz’s courage — and I don’t think there were — they were quickly erased with one enormous battle in the neutral zone tonight at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Boston Bruins’ 6-foot-3, 200-pound rookie forward met the challenge from 6-foot-3, 237-pound Washington enforcer Donald Brashear in a lengthy, mostly even bout midway through the third period of the Bruins’ 3-2 overtime win.

Bitz landed a few early shots before he tired out and Brashear threw a few hay-makers to close things out. All in all, it was a great way for the Saskatoon native to get his first NHL fight under his belt.

“I think I did all right. He’s pretty strong, he got me inside and he’s tough to maneuver around. But I was pretty happy with how I did,” said Bitz. [Read more →]

Bitz

BOSTON — Boston Bruins forward Byron Bitz didn’t just survive his first NHL game,  he made it one to remember today.

During the Bruins’ 5-1 win over Carolina, Bitz registered an assist for his first NHL point and threw four hits in 9:58 of ice time skating on the fourth line alongside Shawn Thornton and Petteri Nokelainen.

“I think I was more nervous yesterday than I was today. I got out there in warm-up and I felt pretty good,” he said after the game.

“I was just trying to keep it simple – just chip the puck in, chip it out and try to finish all my checks,” he continued. “And if I get a chance to shoot, shoot it.” [Read more →]