Rem Pitlick (born April 2, 1997) is a Canadian-born American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

for the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

). Pitlick has previously played for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

, and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

of the NHL. Prior to turning professional, Pitlick played for the

Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...

and

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under president and general manager P.K. O'Handley. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterl ...

in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

(USHL). In 2016, he set a franchise record with the Lumberjacks for most points in a season and was awarded the USHL Player of the Year, USHL Forward of the Year, and

Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award The Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award, formerly known as USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year Award, is presented annually to the most outstanding American-born player in junior ice hockey. Chosen by panel of junior coaches and administrat ...

. Following his successful junior career, Pitlick joined the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

where he was selected for the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and

First Team First team may refer to: Sports * First team (association football), the colloquial name given to the most senior team fielded by a football club * The First Team, the first players known to have played the sport of basketball * First Team All-A ...

. His father,

Lance Pitlick Lance Eric Pitlick (born November 5, 1967) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers. Playing career Pitlick graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope ...

, played in the NHL for the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

and

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

Playing career

Amateur

In August 2013, Pitlick committed to play Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

. Pitlick played for the

and

in the

(USHL) for two years. After spending the 2014–15 season with the Black Hawks, he was traded to the Lumberjacks in exchange for a first and tenth round pick in the USHL Draft. During the 2015–16 season, while with the Lumberjacks, Pitlick set a new franchise record for most points in a season and was awarded USHL Player of the Year and USHL Forward of the Year. He was also named to the First Team All-USHL and given the

. At the end of the season, Pitlick announced he was leaving the USHL to join the Golden Gophers for the 2016–17 season.

Collegiate

In his freshman season with the Golden Gophers, Pitlick played in 36 games and recorded 32 points. He scored his first collegiate goal on October 7, 2016, in a 6–0 win over the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. At the conclusion of the season, Pitlick was selected for the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. In his sophomore season, Pitlick played in 38 games and recorded 31 points. He also recorded an eight-game point streak between October 27 and November 18. At the conclusion of the season, Pitlick was selected for the Academic All-Big Ten team. In his junior season, Pitlick played in 38 games and set a new career high in points with 45 points. He was named the Big Ten First Star of The Week after he recorded five points in a weekend series against the Michigan Wolverines. He ended the season as a

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton University ...

nominee and selected for the All-Big Ten First Team. On March 12, Pitlick was named to the AHCA First-Team All-American, becoming the 65th person to earn All-American honors in Minnesota history.

Professional

Nashville Predators (2019–2021)

Pitlick signed a two-year entry level contract with the

on March 22, 2019, thus concluding his collegiate career. He made his NHL debut on March 25, against the

Minnesota Wild (2021–2022)

After attending the Predators 2021 training camp, prior to being reassigned to the AHL to begin the season, Pitlick was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild on October 6, 2021. In his fifth game with the Wild on November 13, 2021, Pitlick scored his first three NHL goals with a natural

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

, securing a win over the

Seattle Kraken The Seattle Kraken are a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle. The Kraken compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and began play during the league's 2021–22 season. ...

Montreal Canadiens (2022–2023)

On January 11, 2022, Pitlick was placed on waivers by the Wild, before being claimed the next day by the

. He made an immediate impact on arrival in Montreal, in the midst of what was a historically poor season for the team, registering six points in his first seven games and almost double the average ice time he had with the Wild. At the end of the season, Pitlick registered 9 goals and 17 assists for 27 points with the Canadiens. After initially testing free agency, Pitlick was re-signed to a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension with the Canadiens on July 16, 2022. However, he struggled early in the next season, amidst a logjam of forwards in the Canadiens roster. He dressed for seven of the team's first twelve games, registering no points. On November 7, with fellow forward Evgeni Dadonov scheduled to return to the roster from injured reserve, it was announced that Pitlick was being put on waivers. After injuries to several starting players, Pitlick returned to the line up. In a memorable game against Toronto on January 21, 2023 Pitlick scored in overtime in three-on-three play to win the match for Montreal.

Pittsburgh Penguins (2023–present)

On August 6, 2023, Pitlick was traded to the

as part of a three-team trade also involving the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

International play

Pitlick has represented Team USA at the 2015

World Junior A Challenge The World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) is an annual under-20 international ice hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament showcases Juni ...

Personal life

Pitlick was born in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

when his father,

Lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier ( lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike si ...

was a member of the

and is a dual citizen of both

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. His cousin

Tyler Pitlick Tyler Pitlick (born November 1, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd round (31st overall) of the 201 ...

is also an NHL player; he currently plays for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. His younger brother, Rhett, was drafted by the

in the fifth round of the

2019 NHL Entry Draft The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was the 57th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first three selections were Jack Hughes going to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kakko being select ...

. Rhett plays NCAA hockey for the University of Minnesota; played high school hockey for Chaska High School. His mother Lisa is also a former athlete. She attended the University of Minnesota and competed on Team USA's gymnastics team.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitlick, Rem 1997 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey centers Chicago Wolves players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Ice hockey people from Ottawa Laval Rocket players Milwaukee Admirals players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Minnesota Wild players Montreal Canadiens players Muskegon Lumberjacks players Nashville Predators draft picks Nashville Predators players People from Plymouth, Minnesota Ice hockey people from Hennepin County, Minnesota Waterloo Black Hawks players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players