Bryan Bickell Prepares For Ring Of Honor Ceremony

Rockford, IL. - This Saturday, the Rockford IceHogs will honor Bryan Bickell as he becomes the fourth member of the IceHogs Ring of Honor. Bickell played in over 200 games with the IceHogs and won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks selected Bickell in the second-round (41st overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The Bowmanville, Ont. native played one season in Norfolk before the IceHogs transitioned to the AHL and became the affiliate of the Blackhawks.

“It was good to have the team a lot closer. Get more eyes on me, get more opportunities, a two-hour drive is a lot easier" Bickell said. "We had good teams there, we made the playoffs and we had a bunch of good young talent Crawford, Byfuglien, Bolland, Brouwer, Versteeg. Made us better, made us better as players as well.”

Bickell found success in his first season with Rockford, putting up 39 points in 73 games during the 2007-08 season. Bryan attributes some of his success as a young player to the amenities the IceHogs provided the team in their first few seasons.

"It all started when we moved to Rockford, the culture, how we wanted to feel. I think we were one of the first teams that had a nutritionist and had breakfast for us in the morning so instead of players rolling out of bed and having a granola bar in the morning - you aren’t going to get you’re A-game out of that," Bickell said.

Bickell would spend time in Chicago and Rockford throughout the 2009-10 season and was called up and reassigned a number of times.

“I’ve been up and down that highway I think 20 times being called up and sent down with the salary cap and the players we brought in to make the team better. It was definitely a learning experience for me."

The NHL lockout in 2013 forced Bickell to look elsewhere to stay in game shape and found himself going overseas to play in Austria while the NHL and NHLPA were in negotiations.

"Thanks to my agent I started playing in the Austrian league, and it whipped me into shape, we had a couple of practices a day or a couple of workouts a day and I was thinking 'geez louise I'm dying over here' but in the grand scheme of things it definitely got me ready for the year," Bickell said.

Bickell was a key contributor to the Blackhawks' 2013 Stanley Cup run with 23 points in the regular season and 17 points in the postseason. His most memorable goal during that season came late in Game Six against the Boston Bruins where he tied the game at 18:44 of the 3rd period. Seconds later Dave Bolland, another former IceHog would score the cup-clinching goal.

Outside of the rink, Bryan and his wife Amanda spent time rescuing and working with pit-bulls in Ontario and Chicago. For the couple of 22 years, it is a passion that began at a young age.

"We rescued our first pet when we were around 18-years-old, me and my girlfriend, now we're husband and wife. We loved the dog and grew so passionate about them and how loyal they are so we started our foundation in Chicago." Bickell said.

The foundation expanded over the years to helping children who have been victims of abuse by connecting them with service dogs.

"Then we worked with the Hephzibah House on the south side for abused kids that can't open up to people because they had been abused. We gave them dogs to relate. They do obedience training and walks with the dogs, it brings a smile to their face," Bickell said.

The latest project has been establishing a retreat in northern Ontario for people diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and their families to enjoy time outdoors.

"I got diagnosed with MS in 2017... I have relapsing MS which I can whirl through the days and months with and there are hiccups here and there," Bickell said. "Through ourselves and our foundation we bought property that we want to give retreats to families, because it isn't only the patient that is suffering. We want to give them an opportunity to do something that they enjoy, to be outside on the lake or bring them fishing... to do a bunch of different things to give them happiness and enjoy their time together." Bickell said.

Bryan is excited to come back to Rockford and remembers the passion of the community that was so supportive in the early stages of his professional hockey career.

"A majority of hockey fans there were Blackhawks fans, it was important that people enjoyed watching kids coming in and developing and rooting for them when they moved up. That kind of stuff went a long way," Bickell said. "They embraced it, the fans came out and we had a great product on the ice. They supported us and we supported them," Bickell said.

The Ring of Honor ceremony will take place during the 2nd period of Saturday's game against the Springfield Thunderbirds.