• Pitlick completed his freshman year at Minnesota State playing predominantly as a winger -- his 19 points (11-8--19) in 38 games led all freshman scorers on the Mavericks. MSU has had 11 players selected in the NHL Entry Draft – the New York Islanders’ Tim Jackman (38th overall in 2001) is the highest-ever player drafted from MSU.

• Serving as team captain at Centennial High School in 2008-09, Pitlick was a finalist for the 2009 Mr. Hockey Award, given annually to the most outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota.

• He led Centennial and the Northwest Suburban Conference in scoring last season, scoring 64 points (31-33--64) in 25 games.

• Pitlick, who patterns his game after Peter Mueller of the Colorado Avalanche, is the nephew of former NHLer Lance Pitlick -- Lance played 393 NHL games between 1994 and 2002 for the Ottawa Senators and the Florida Panthers.

• His first hockey team was the Champlin Mini-Mites and he got his start in hockey at the age of three because a Pitlick family tradition is to play hockey every winter across the street from his grandmother’s house.

FAVORITES

NHL Team: Washington Capitals
NHL Player: Alex Ovechkin
Shootout move: “Sam Gagner’s fake shot, backhand, forehand”
Goal celebration: “One knee down, swipe the ice”
Video Game: NHL ‘10
Movie: The Hangover
TV Show: Entourage
Book: Until They Bring the Streetcars Back
Activity away from the rink: Golf
Breakfast food: Ham and Cheese Omelette
Superhero: Superman