Michael Bitzer

Michael Bitzer (born October 23, 1993) is a German-American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was an All-American for Bemidji State.^[1]

Michael Bitzer
Bitzer with the Schwenninger Wild Wings in 2024
Born	(1993-10-23) October 23, 1993 (age 31) Moorhead, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
DEL team Former teams	Schwenninger Wild Wings Idaho Steelheads Rapid City Rush Atlanta Gladiators Bietigheim Steelers
NHL draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2018–present

Playing career

After graduating from Moorhead High School(where he played a game in which he let in four goals on five shots), Bitzer played two seasons of junior hockey for the Lincoln Stars. He put up respectable if unspectacular numbers but was able to earn a scholarship to Bemidji State University. As soon as he debuted for the Beavers, Bitzer began to rewrite their record book. He finished 4th in the nation for goals against average as a freshman and was named as the WCHA Rookie of the Year, the only Beaver so honored.^[2] Both he and Bemidji State regressed slightly during his sophomore year but Bitzer rebounded in spectacular fashion as a junior. He posted some of the best goaltending numbers for the season and was named as a first team All-American. He led Bemidji State to a first-place finish in the WCHA and was named the league Player of the Year. Unfortunately, BSU lost in the conference semifinals and was left out of the NCAA Tournament.^[3]

After wrapping up his college career with a solid senior season, Bitzer signed with the Idaho Steelheads for the remainder of the 2018 season.^[4] That offseason, he signed with the Rapid City Rush but his tenure there proved to be short-lived. Bitzer did not perform well in his first full season as a pro and found himself relegated to being the team's third goaltender. On New Years Day, he was traded to the Atlanta Gladiators as a fulfilment of a previous trade.^[5] He improved a bit with his new surroundings but he was limited to just 9 games over the final three months of the season.

After the disappointing year, Bitzer travelled to Germany and spent two years with ETC Crimmitschau in the second German league. In October 2021, Bitzer signed a contract with the Wichita Thunder and was expecting to return to the ECHL.^[6] The arrangement ended up falling through, however, and Bitzer remained in Germany. He ended up signing with Selber Wölfe, who had just received a promotion to DEL2 from the Oberliga.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season										Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
2007–08	Moorhead High School	MN-HS		8	4	2	1	–	–	2	2.27	.902		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Moorhead High School	MN-HS		8	7	0	0	–	–	2	1.98	.910		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Moorhead High School	MN-HS		10	5	2	0	–	–	3	1.87	.920		2	1	1	—	2	1	1.00	.955
2010–11	Moorhead High School	MN-HS		24	15	7	2	–	–	3	2.06	.930		5	3	2	—	—	1	1.41	.931
2011–12	Moorhead High School	MN-HS		24	18	6	0	–	–	5	2.02	.927		6	4	2	—	5	2	0.88	.963
2011–12	Alexandria Blizzard	NAHL		4	3	0	1	241	8	1	2.00	.915		2	1	1	—	3	1	1.50	.958
2012–13	Lincoln Stars	USHL		38	22	11	1	2023	91	1	2.70	.905		4	2	2	—	4	1	1.01	.972
2013–14	Lincoln Stars	USHL		51	19	19	6	2801	148	0	3.17	.903		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Bemidji State	WCHA		28	14	11	3	1730	52	4	1.80	.929		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Bemidji State	WCHA		34	13	16	5	1946	70	6	2.16	.915		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Bemidji State	WCHA		39	22	14	3	2355	67	6	1.71	.932		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Bemidji State	WCHA		37	16	13	8	2196	82	5	2.24	.909		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Idaho Steelheads	ECHL		3	2	1	0	183	7	0	2.30	.887		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Rapid City Rush	ECHL		12	3	6	1	594	36	0	3.64	.882		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Atlanta Gladiators	ECHL		9	3	3	1	440	24	1	3.27	.887		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	ETC Crimmitschau	DEL2		43	19	24	0	2587	147	0	3.41	.889		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2020–21	ETC Crimmitschau	DEL2		29	16	11	0	1684	88	1	3.14	.897		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Selber Wölfe	DEL2		22	3	18	0	1259	65	1	3.10	.914		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021–22	Bietigheim Steelers	DEL		1	0	1	0	59	4	0	4.08	.878		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022–23	Selber Wölfe	DEL2		36	16	19	0	2029	105	2	3.10	.916		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Selber Wölfe	DEL2		37	13	20	0	2142	105	2	2.94	.921		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2024–25	Schwenninger Wild Wings	DEL		14	5	7	0	774	42	1	3.26	.880		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ECHL totals				24	8	10	2	1,217	67	1	3.30	.884		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
DEL totals				15	5	8	0	833	46	1	3.31	.880		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and honors

Award	Year
WCHA All-Rookie Team	2014–15	[7]
All-WCHA First Team	2016–17	[8]
AHCA West First Team All-American	2016–17	[1]
All-WCHA Second Team	2017–18	[9]