Stuart Richard Bickel (born October 2, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers and Minnesota Wild.

Playing career

On July 2, 2008, the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

signed Bickel, an undrafted free agent, to a three-year contract. In the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, on November 23, 2010, Bickel was traded by the Ducks to the New York Rangers in exchange for fellow defenseman, Nigel Williams. After starting the 2011–12 season with the AHL Connecticut Whale, Bickel was called up to the Rangers on December 18, 2011. He made his NHL debut on December 20, 2011, in a game against the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

at the Prudential Center, recording an assist in the game for his first NHL point. The Rangers re-signed Bickel to a two-year contract on July 1, 2012. He started the delayed

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season with the Rangers after the

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

, but after 16 games he was placed on waivers and assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Whale and Wolf Pack for the remainder of his two-year contract. On July 1, 2014, Bickel signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild. Bickel was assigned initially to AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild to begin the 2014–15 season, however, he made his return to the NHL for the first time since 2012, appearing in nine games with Minnesota with one assist. As an unsigned free agent over the off-season, Bickel accepted an invitation to the St. Louis Blues training camp on a professional try-out. After he was unable to earn a contract with the Blues, and their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, Bickel signed a professional try-out with the San Diego Gulls on October 9, 2015. Bickel, in his tenth and final professional season, made four appearances with the San Diego Gulls in the

2017–18 AHL season The 2017–18 AHL season was the 82nd season of the American Hockey League. The regular season ran from October 6, 2017, to April 15, 2018. The 2018 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season. The Toronto Marlies won their ...

Coaching career

Having ended his professional career, for the 2018–19 season, Bickel accepted an assistant coaching role for the University of Minnesota hockey team. In 2020, Bickel left the U of M and became the head coach of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

Minnesota Magicians The Wisconsin Windigo are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. Based in Eagle River, Wisconsin, the Windigo play their home games at Eagle River Stadium, affectitionately referred to as the "D ...

, based out of Richfield, Minnesota, for the 2020–21 season. After one season with the Magicians, he initially joined the

St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey The St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies men's ice hockey team represents the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) in NCAA Division I ice hockey. History St. Thomas is one of the oldest ice hockey programs in the nation, predating even Minnesota, havin ...

team as an assistant coach before joining the 2021–22 staff of the American Hockey League's

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League that began play for the 2016–17 season. They are the affiliate of the National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; fren ...

as an assistant coach.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1986 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Bakersfield Condors (1998–2015) players Connecticut Whale (AHL) players Elmira Jackals (ECHL) players Green Bay Gamblers players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Iowa Stars players Iowa Wild players Living people Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Minnesota Wild players New York Rangers players People from Chanhassen, Minnesota San Antonio Rampage players San Diego Gulls (AHL) players Sioux Falls Stampede players Syracuse Crunch players Undrafted National Hockey League players {{US-icehockey-defenceman-stub