Alumni in the Pros - November 2009

Byron Bitz will be playing on Boston's top line tonight against St. Louis, joining Marco Sturm in flanking the just-back-from-injury Marc Savard according to the Bruins gameday blog,

Savard had this to say:

Marc Savard
"I like it," he told the Bruins' official Web site. "I've been watching Bitzy this last little while and he looks great out there. So, I am excited and … hopefully it works out

sah67
Byron Bitz will be playing on Boston's top line tonight against St. Louis, joining Marco Sturm in flanking the just-back-from-injury Marc Savard according to the Bruins gameday blog,

Savard had this to say:

Marc Savard
"I like it," he told the Bruins' official Web site. "I've been watching Bitzy this last little while and he looks great out there. So, I am excited and … hopefully it works out

Wow! The Isles play in Toronto tonight. When was the last time two alums were skating on the top lines of NHL teams on the same night?

Swampy

sah67
Byron Bitz will be playing on Boston's top line tonight against St. Louis, joining Marco Sturm in flanking the just-back-from-injury Marc Savard according to the Bruins gameday blog,

Savard had this to say:

Marc Savard
"I like it," he told the Bruins' official Web site. "I've been watching Bitzy this last little while and he looks great out there. So, I am excited and … hopefully it works out

Wow! The Isles play in Toronto tonight. When was the last time two alums were skating on the top lines of NHL teams on the same night?

At first when I read this I said "Who is on Toronto?". Rereading it helped.

Swampy

sah67
Byron Bitz will be playing on Boston's top line tonight against St. Louis, joining Marco Sturm in flanking the just-back-from-injury Marc Savard according to the Bruins gameday blog,

Savard had this to say:

Marc Savard
"I like it," he told the Bruins' official Web site. "I've been watching Bitzy this last little while and he looks great out there. So, I am excited and … hopefully it works out

Wow! The Isles play in Toronto tonight. When was the last time two alums were skating on the top lines of NHL teams on the same night?

Manderville and Nieuwendyk probably would have been the only other possibility, right? I wasn't paying that much attention to hockey back in Manderville's day, but I don't think he ever made it up to the top line.

EDIT: Vesce was also playing on the Sharks first line in his stint earlier this year, so they probably played on the same night as the Isles at some point. (didn't they even face each other during that stint? too lazy to look it up)

Jacob '06
Manderville and Nieuwendyk probably would have been the only other possibility, right? I wasn't paying that much attention to hockey back in Manderville's day, but I don't think he ever made it up to the top line.

EDIT: Vesce was also playing on the Sharks first line in his stint earlier this year, so they probably played on the same night as the Isles at some point. (didn't they even face each other during that stint? too lazy to look it up)

Yup, Vesce scored the first goal of his NHL career against the Islanders.

Matt Moulson scores his 11th of the year as the Isles are up 3-1 on Toronto.

sah67
Matt Moulson scores his 11th of the year as the Isles are up 3-1 on Toronto.

Do goals against Vesa Toskala still count as NHL goals?

Jim Hyla
At first when I read this I said "Who is on Toronto?". Rereading it helped.

Same here.

Boston.com article about Bitz promotion. He gives a nice nod to Schafer.
Boston.com

2
Boston.com article about Bitz promotion. He gives a nice nod to Schafer.
Boston.com

A very nice nod. One wonders if it has gotten around the various pro leagues that Cornell is a "safe" place to leave your prospects; i.e., Schafer et al. will teach them to play the game right, especially with regard to defensive responsibility.

2
Boston.com article about Bitz promotion. He gives a nice nod to Schafer.
Boston.com

I especially liked:

“He really preached not turning the puck over and being good defensively,’’ Bitz said. “If you didn’t do that kind of stuff, you just wouldn’t play. It was important that you be good defensively and really take care of the puck. I think that was where my puck-possession game evolved. That stuff was ingrained in me for four years. You had to do that stuff. Thankfully, it’s kind of carried over and I’ve made that a strong point of my game.’’

and

“What he’s done - and there are other players who could take notice - is that he’s kept his game very simple,’’ Neely said. “He doesn’t try to do more than he should. He’s been very smart with protecting the puck, getting the puck out, and getting it in. Obviously his confidence has risen over time. He’s just a smart player.’’

Maye there is something to staying 4 whole years and getting it banged into your head?

Scersk '97
A very nice nod.

Seriously. I want Bitz on recruiting trips.

They also wrote a bit on Bitz moving up yesterday: [www.boston.com]. Unfortunately, they chose a picture that makes him look... special.

ftyuv
They also wrote a bit on Bitz moving up yesterday: [www.boston.com]. Unfortunately, they chose a picture that makes him look... special.

300h.jpg

Well, he'll fit right in on the Bruins, then.

Byron Bitz scores his third goal of the year tonight in Minnesota.

sah67
Byron Bitz scores his third goal of the year tonight in Minnesota.

I'd hate to be a D-man for Minnesota defending that line consisting of a #16, #61, and #91 on the ice.

sah67
Byron Bitz scores his third goal of the year tonight in Minnesota.

The game highlights on nhl.com have the goal and a big check delivered by Bitz.

Highlights

Bitz had the primary assist on Blake Wheeler's goal in Boston's 2-1 shootout loss to New Jersey this afternoon.

adamw

Jordan 04

adamw

Trotsky

Jordan 04
Point of order: They took Okposo off that line. Richard Park took his place.

Shows you how good an Isles fan I am these days.

I believe that's temporary, because Okposo was out a couple games with H1N1

It's been that way since he's returned.

Right - but I heard Isles broadcasters say the other day that eventually Okposo will go back. May not happen, who knows, but I think they said that.

Kyle Okposo was put back on the Moulson-Tavares line during today's game. The line was on the ice for John Tavares's game-winning goal.

sah67
Bitz had the primary assist on Blake Wheeler's goal in Boston's 2-1 shootout loss to New Jersey this afternoon.

That was a nice pass. And he played a strong game.

sah67
Bitz had the primary assist on Blake Wheeler's goal in Boston's 2-1 shootout loss to New Jersey this afternoon.

Was Bitz not playing on the Savard-Sturm line?

Al DeFlorio

sah67
Bitz had the primary assist on Blake Wheeler's goal in Boston's 2-1 shootout loss to New Jersey this afternoon.

Was Bitz not playing on the Savard-Sturm line?

It looked to be Bitz, Savard and Wheeler as far as I could tell.