William Bitten (born July 10, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the third-round, 70th overall, of the 2016 NHL entry draft.

Personal life William Bitten was born to Michael Bitten and Doris Piché, Olympic badminton players. He grew up playing hockey and badminton, and he attended the French-language high school École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité. He has a younger brother, Sam Bitten, who is also a hockey player.

Playing career Bitten played major junior hockey with the Plymouth Whalers, Flint Firebirds, and the Hamilton Bulldogs in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 2014–2018. During his tenure in the OHL, he was selected in the third-round, 70th overall, of the 2016 NHL entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

During his final junior season with the Bulldogs, Bitten was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens on March 7, 2018.

After attending training camp with Montreal in approach to his first professional season, Bitten was traded by the Canadiens to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Gustav Olofsson on October 3, 2018. He was assigned to begin the 2018–19 season with the Wild's AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild.

Remaining in the AHL for the duration of his entry-level contract, Bitten was re-signed by the Wild to a one-year, two-way contract extension on August 9, 2021. Continuing in his fourth season within the Wild organization in 2021–22, Bitten collected 3 goals and 8 points through 23 games before he was traded by the Wild to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Nolan Stevens on December 29, 2021. Bitten immediately responded to the change of scenery, increasing his offensive totals in posting 10 goals and 25 points through 45 regular season games. In the post-season, Bitten led the Thunderbirds in scoring in propelling the club to the Calder Cup finals, collecting 8 goals and 21 points in just 18 games.

As a restricted free agent, Bitten was re-signed by the Blues to a two-year, two-way contract extension on July 13, 2022. He was returned to the Thunderbirds to begin the season, before he received his first recall to the Blues on December 3, 2022. He made his NHL debut with the Blues that night, skating on the fourth-line, in a 6-2 defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He registered his first point, an assist, in his next appearance, helping the Blues to a 7-4 victory over the New York Islanders on December 6, 2022.

As an unrestricted free agent from the Blues, in the 2024 offseason, Bitten signed his first contract abroad after agreeing to a one-year deal with Russian based Spartak Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), on August 7, 2024.

After two seasons in the KHL, finishing his tenure with HC Sochi in the 2025–26 season, Bitten opted to return to North America as a free agent, signing a one-year AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers, affiliate to the Florida Panthers, on June 12, 2026.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM2013–14Ottawa Jr. SenatorsCCHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —2014–15Plymouth WhalersOHL 63 15 16 31 16 — — — — —2015–16Flint FirebirdsOHL 67 30 35 65 32 — — — — —2016–17Hamilton BulldogsOHL 65 23 34 57 36 7 3 0 3 82017–18Hamilton BulldogsOHL 62 20 44 64 38 21 4 7 11 212018–19Iowa WildAHL 63 13 16 29 20 11 0 5 5 22019–20Iowa WildAHL 51 8 13 21 22 — — — — —2020–21Iowa WildAHL 31 7 12 19 19 — — — — —2021–22Iowa WildAHL 23 3 5 8 6 — — — — —2021–22Springfield ThunderbirdsAHL 45 10 15 25 11 18 8 13 21 222022–23Springfield ThunderbirdsAHL 65 22 23 45 36 2 1 0 1 22022–23St. Louis BluesNHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —2023–24Springfield ThunderbirdsAHL 68 17 16 33 32 — — — — —2024–25Spartak MoscowKHL 21 1 4 5 0 — — — — —2024–25HC SochiKHL 30 10 4 14 18 — — — — —2025–26HC SochiKHL 59 10 11 21 14 — — — — —NHL totals 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — —KHL totals 110 21 19 40 32 — — — — —

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2014 Canada Red U17 6th 5 2 3 5 0 2015 Canada IH18 4 1 1 2 0 2016 Canada U18 4th 7 3 5 8 2Junior totals 16 6 9 15 2

Awards and honours Award Year OHL CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game 2016

References

External links