Welcome to the 19th nervous countdown, as we continue Rolling towards number one. If you still don’t get no satisfaction, an explanation is available, here.
Yesterday, we recapped Florida’s current and former players, Jerred Smithson, Steve Bernier, Peter Andersson, and Patrick LeBeau. Today’s installment features two 6’5″ wingers who never really caught on in Sunrise, the first of two players named Kamil, and Drew Larman.
If you’d like to Start Me Up, follow the Jump.
200. Byron Bitz
Bitz was a 6’5″ right winger from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was skating with the BCHL Nanaimo Clippers when the Boston Bruins selected him in the fourth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, with the 107th overall pick. In his only season with the Clippers, he finished with 27 goals and 46 assists in 58 games.
Beginning in 2003-04, Bitz joined the Cornell Big Red for four seasons of collegiate hockey. In 124 games, he scored 28 goals and 60 assists.
2007-08 would see Bitz play 61 games, spending the entire season with the AHL Providence Bruins, scoring 13 goals and 14 assists.
Bitz started 2008-09 with Providence, scoring three goals and seven assists through 37 games. He was called up for his first NHL action with Boston on January 9th against the Carolina Hurricanes, collecting an assist in the 5-1 Boston victory. In 35 total NHL games that season with the Bruins, he scored four goals and three assists. He added a goal and an assist in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Bitz played most of the 2009-10 season in Boston, scoring four goals and five assists in 45 games. They traded him along with Craig Weller and a second round draft pick for Dennis Seidenberg and Matt Bartkowski to Florida on March 3rd. After two games with the Panthers, he sustained a lower body injury, missing two weeks. He scored his only Panther goal in his first game back, a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. After four more games in the lineup, he hurt his elbow, missing the rest of the season.
2010-11 would see Bitz miss the entire season with a groin injury/sports hernia. Florida did not tender him an offer in 2011-12, making him an unrestricted free agent. Eventually, he signed a two-way contract with the Vancouver Canucks, splitting the season with the AHL Chicago Wolves.
All-Time Statline: One season, seven games, one goal, one assist, two points, plus-1 rating, two PIM, 0.2 APS.
199. Kamil Piros
Piros was a 6′ left-handed shooting center from Most, Czechoslovakia. He was picked up by the Buffalo Sabres in the eighth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres with the 212th overall pick. He had ben skating with the Czech Republic Juniors until that point, totalling 63 goals and 53 assists in 123 matches. After the draft, he joined HC Chemopetrol Litvinov in the Czech Majors, playing most of his Czechoslovakian career with the club. In 207 career matches he finished with 32 goals and 49 assists.
Piros’ rights were traded along with a fourth round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Donald Audette. He made his North American debut with the Thrashers on opening night of the 2001-02 season. He totalled one assist in eight NHL games. Most of the season was spent with the AHL Chicago Wolves, scoring 19 goals and 30 assists in 64 games.
2002-03 would see Piros open the season with the Wolves, totalling 10 goals and nine assists in 51 games. After the AHL season was over, he was called back to the Thrashers. He collected one assist through his first two games. In the Thrashers final game of the season, he scored a hat trick, along with another assist.
Piros opened the 2003-04 season to high hopes after his offensive outburst at the close of the prior season. His hat trick, however, represented his last three goals with Atlanta. Through 14 games he collected one assist. Concurrently, he scored 10 goals and 20 assists in 50 games with the Wolves. He was traded to the Panthers for Kyle Rossiter in mid-March, scoring one goal in three games, and two goals with five assists in 14 games.
To date, he has never again played hockey in North America. He has spent the last eight seasons with Russian, Swiss, German, Swedish, and Finnish Leagues. He is currently contracted with HV 71 Jokoping of the Swedish Elite League. He scored 12 goals with 27 assists with 54 games last season.
All-Time Statline: One season, three games, one goal, zero assists, one point, minus-one rating, zero PIM, 0.2 APS.
198. Josh Olson
Olson was a 6’5″ left winger from Grand Forks, North Dakota. He was chosen in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft with the 190th overall pick by Florida.
After selection, Olson reported to the WHL Portland Winter Hawks. In 144 games over two seasons, he scored 62 goals and 86 assists. He added nine goals and seven assists in 23 postseason contests.
2002-03 would see Olson split the season between the AHL San Antonio Rampage (23 games, one assist), and the ECHL Jackson Bandits (39 games, 10 goals, 17 assists).
Olson started the 2003-04 season with the Rampage, eventually scoring 22 goals and 16 assists in 73 games. He was called up for his first NHL action on March 11th, scoring a goal in a 3-2 Florida victory over the Montreal Canadiens. It was the only point he would score in 41 shifts over five NHL games.
In 2004-05, Olsen scored nine goals and seven assists in 53 Rampage games, he was loaned player-for-player to the Hershey Bears for Andre Savage. He scored a goal and two assists in 23 games.
After two seasons with the AHL Houston Aeros (121 games, 19 goals, 17 assists), Olson joined SV Renon in Italy for the 2007-08 season. He posted 20 goals and 26 assists in only 31 games.
All-Time Statline: One season, five games, one goal, zero assists, one point, plus-1 rating, zero PIM, 0.2 APS.
197. Drew Larman
Larman was a 6’3″ center from Canton, Michigan. He was playing with the OHL London Knights when Florida signed him to a free agent contract just before the 2005-06 season. In three overall OHL seasons he played 205 games, scoring 26 goals and 42 assists.
2005-06 would see Larman spend 44 games with the Rochester Americans, scoring seven goals and eight assists. He also played six games with the ECHL Florida Everblades.
In 2006-07, Larman opened the season with the Americans, totalling 11 goals and 10 assists in 54 AHL games. He was called up to the Panthers four times during the season, totalling two goals on 15 shots over 16 games.
Drew Larman 2nd NHL Goal (via rjohnnyb)
Larman played 54 games for the Americans in 2007-08 (10 goals, 22 assists). He was recalled to Florida for six February games, collecting one assist. He played the entire 2008-09 season in Rochester (61 games, 10 goals, 13 assists).
Larman signed a free agent contract during the 2009 offseason with the Boston Bruins. He spent most of the season with the AHL Providence Bruins, scoring six goals and six assists in 55 games. He played four games in Boston in January. It was the last time he would see NHL action.
2010-11 would see Larman rejoin the Panthers organization. He played 57 ECHL contests with the Florida Everblades, scoring three goals and eight assists.
All-Time Statline: Two seasons, 22 games, two goals, one assist, three points, minus-2 rating, four PIM, 0.2 APS.
Thanks for stopping by for today’s installment. leave comments below and vote! Come back tomorrow for a Czech defenseman, and three left wingers, two from Quebec and one from the former Soviet Union.
Who did you have the highest initial hopes for when first acquired by the Panthers?
| Kamil Piros | 5 |
| Drew Larman | 7 |
| Byron Bitz | 32 |
| Josh Olson | 0 |