In August 2013, Pitlick committed to play Division I college ice hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.[1] Pitlick began playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Waterloo Black Hawks. After spending the 2014–15 season with the Black Hawks, he was traded to the Muskegon Lumberjacks in exchange for a first and tenth round pick in the USHL draft.[2] 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.[3] He was also named to the First Team All-USHL[4] and given the Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year Award.[5] At the end of the season, Pitlick announced he was leaving the USHL to join the Golden Gophers for the 2016–17 season.[6]
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.[7] At the conclusion of the season, Pitlick was selected for the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.[8] 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.[9] At the conclusion of the season, Pitlick was selected for the Academic All-Big Ten team.[10]
In his junior season, Pitlick played in 38 games and set a new career high in points with 45 points.[9] He was named the Big Ten First Star of The Week after he recorded five points in a weekend series against the Michigan Wolverines.[11] He ended the season as a Hobey Baker Award nominee and selected for the All-Big Ten First Team.[12] 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.[13]
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the Admirals opted out of the 2020–21 season[19] and Pitlick was instead assigned to the AHL's Chicago Wolves to start the season. He scored eight goals and ten points in eight games and was named the AHL Player of the Month for February 2020. He was recalled by Nashville along with defenseman Jérémy Davies on March 4, 2021[20] and made his NHL season debut on March 7 in a 4–3 victory over the Dallas Stars.[21] He mainly played among the bottom six forwards, competing for a spot with Tanner Jeannot, Yakov Trenin, and Mathieu Olivier for the final spots in the lineup.[22] He registered his first two NHL points, assisting on goals by Colton Sissons and Mikael Granlund in a 7–2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 13.[23] He played in ten games with Nashville, recording just the two points.[17]
Minnesota Wild (2021–2022)
After attending the Predators 2021 training camp, prior to being reassigned to the AHL to begin the 2021–22 season, Pitlick was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Wild on October 6.[24] He made his Wild debut on October 26, assisting on Matt Dumba's game winning goal in the third period of a 3–2 win over the Vancouver Canucks.[25] In his fifth game with the Wild on November 13, Pitlick scored his first three NHL goals with a natural hat trick against goaltenderPhilipp Grubauer, securing a 4–2 win over the Seattle Kraken.[26] He played in 20 games with Minnesota, scoring six goals and 11 points.[27]
Montreal Canadiens (2022–2023)
On January 11, 2022, Pitlick was placed on waivers by the Wild, and was claimed by the Montreal Canadiens.[27] He made his debut in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on January 13.[28] He scored his first goal for the team in the next game on January 17, taking a pass from Jonathan Drouin to beat Karel Vejmelka of the Arizona Coyotes in a 7–2 loss.[29] 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.[30] At the end of the season, Pitlick registered nine goals and 17 assists for 27 points with the Canadiens.[17]
After initially testing free agency, Pitlick was re-signed to a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension with the Canadiens on July 16.[31] 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 Evgenii Dadonov scheduled to return to the roster from injured reserve, it was announced that Pitlick was being put on waivers.[32] After going unclaimed on waivers, he was assigned to Montreal's AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.[33] After injuries to several starting players, Pitlick was recalled on November 16, recording three points in three games with Laval.[34] He spent the rest of the season going between the Canadiens and the Rocket.[33][35] In a memorable game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 21, 2023, Pitlick scored in overtime in three-on-three play to win the match for Montreal.[36] He played in 18 games with Laval, scoring five goals and 22 points and 46 games with Montreal, adding six goals and 15 points.[17]
Pittsburgh Penguins (2023–2024)
On August 6, Pitlick was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of a three-team trade also involving the San Jose Sharks.[37] He did not make the Penguins' team out of training camp and was placed on waivers. After going unclaimed he was assigned to Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on October 5.[38] He played in 32 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, registering eight goals and 24 points in 32 games.[39]
Chicago Blackhawks (2024)
Pitlick was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on January 6, 2024 for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL entry draft.[39] He made his debut on January 9 in a 2–1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, playing on the first line with Philipp Kurashev and Taylor Raddysh.[40] He appeared in nine games with Chicago, going scoreless. He was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks on February 14 and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Chicago's AHL affliate, the Rockford IceHogs.[41][42] He appeared in 27 games with Rockford, scoring 14 goals and 33 points.[17] At the end of the season, Pitlick was left unsigned and departed the team as unrestricted free agent on July 1.[43]
Pitlick was born in Ottawa, Ontario when his father, Lance was a member of the Ottawa Senators and is a dual citizen of both Canada and the United States. His mother Lisa is also a former athlete. She attended the University of Minnesota and competed on Team USA's gymnastics team.[9] His younger brother, Rhett, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft.[45] Rhett played collegiate hockey for the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Mavericks and played high school hockey for Chaska High School.[45][46] His cousin Tyler Pitlick is also an NHL player; he last played for the New York Rangers.[47]
^"Ranked Gophers shut out Seawolves, 6-0". Alaska Anchorage Seawolves. October 7, 2016. Retrieved March 26, 2019. Bischoff made it 4-0 with his second at 1:24 of the third, while Rem Pitlick (14:46) and Gates (15:59) added the final tallies.
