Rhett Pitlick

Photo by: Jim Harding

Photo by: Clint Austin / Duluth News Tribune

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn

Photo by: Jonathan Knight

Photo by: Brad Rempel

Photo by: Bjorn Franke

Position:
Forward
Ht./Wt.:
5-10 / 170
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Plymouth, Minn.
High School:
Chaska HS
Previous Team:
Tri-City (USHL)
NHL Rights:
Montreal (2019)
Major:
Business and Marketing Education

PRONUNCIATION

2023-24 | JUNIOR
All-Big Ten Second Team
Big Ten Conference Second Star of the Week (Nov. 7, Dec. 5, Jan. 23)
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Big Ten Distinguished Scholar
Academic All-Big Ten
• Was one of nine Gophers to appear in all 39 games in year three with the Maroon and Gold
• Set career highs in both goals (19) and assists (17) to tie for the team's scoring lead with 36 points
• Tallied the longest point streak of his career at seven games from Nov. 17 to Dec. 8, totaling 13 points in that span, and scored a goal in all seven outings
• Finished the year as one of two NCAA players with a goal-scoring streak of seven games
• Continued that scoring trend with 14 goals during a 14-game span through mid-January
• Produced a team-best 11 multi-point efforts, including five outings of multiple goals
• Recorded the first four-point performance of his career during a home win over Ohio State (Jan. 19) thanks to his first collegiate hat trick
• Scored the first shorthanded goal of his career at Penn State (Dec. 2), the lone shorthanded goal for the Gophers this season
• Picked up the first game-winning goal of his career in a home win over the Nittany Lions (Feb. 9)
• Tied for third on the team with nine power-play points coming via four goals and five assists
• Ended the year ranked fourth in Big Ten Conference scoring with 24 points in 24 league games
• Closed the campaign with a plus-8 rating after posting a season high of plus-2 on four separate occasions
• Gophers held a record of 14-5-2 when he picked up a point and went 10-2-1 in games that he scored a goal
• Earned third letter

2022-23 | SOPHMORE
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
Academic All-Big Ten
• One of nine Gophers to appear in all the team's 40 games
• Set career bests for goals (11), assists (14) and points (25) in his second NCAA campaign
• Ranked fifth on the team with 11 goals, one of which was on the power play, and was one of seven Minnesota players to reach double-digit goals
• Registered three multi-point efforts, including the second two-goal game of his career at Michigan (Nov. 17)
• Posted a pair of assists in the NCAA Fargo Regional win over Canisius (Mar. 23) and had three points in four NCAA Tournament appearances
• Excelled late in the year and tallied points in 11 of the final 14 games played, totaling 12 points and a plus-15 rating in that stretch
• Had a career-long, seven-game point streak between Feb. 17 and Mar. 23
• Scored seven goals in an eight-game stretch from Nov. 17 to Dec. 10
• Finished the season with a plus-17 rating behind a career-best, plus-4 versus Michigan State (Jan. 27) and had a positive plus-minus in 17 outings
• Gophers held an 18-4-0 record when he registered a point and a 7-3-0 mark when he scored a goal
• Key piece of Minnesota's NCAA-leading offense that averaged 4.2 goals per game
• Part of the Gophers runner-up finish at the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four and a Big Ten Conference regular season championship
• Earned second letter

2021-22 | FRESHMAN
Hockey Commissioners Association National Rookie of the Month (February)
Big Ten Second Star of the Week (Feb. 15)
• Skated in 30 games as a freshman for the Gophers during the 2021-22 season
• Tallied 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in his first campaign with the Maroon and Gold
• Helped the Gophers win the 2021-22 Big Ten Regular-Season Championship and advance to the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time since 2014
• Team was 10-3-0 when he tallied a point and 4-0-0 when he scored a goal
• Made his collegiate debut against Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 22)
• Recorded his first career point with an assist in a 3-2 win over Notre Dame (Oct. 30)
• Registered his first of five multi-point games on the season with two assists against Ohio State (Nov. 12)
• Scored his first collegiate goal in a 4-2 win over Michigan State (Feb. 4), while also adding an assist
• The performance against the Spartans kicked off a season-long, five-game point streak (all wins) from Feb. 4 to Feb. 18
• Notched his first career multi-goal game during the stretch with two goals in a 5-1 at Ohio State (Feb. 12)
• Earned first letter

JUNIORS/HIGH SCHOOL
• Played in 95 career USHL regular-season games with 81 points (31 goals, 50 assists) for the Tri-City Storm, the Muskegon Lumberjacks and the Omaha Lancers
• Split the 2020-21 season between Muskegon and Tri-City with 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 43 games
• Spent the 2019-20 campaign between Muskegon and Omaha with 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) in 45 games
• Skated in seven USHL games with Omaha during the 2018-19 season with five points (one goal, four assists)
• Skated with fellow Gopher Matthew Knies at Tri-City
• Previously spent three seasons as a prep standout at Chaska High School and played with fellow Gopher Mike Koster
• Helped the Hawks capture their first conference championship (Metro West) in program history in 2018-19

INTERNATIONAL
• Won a bronze medal with the U.S. Junior Select Team at the 2019 World Junior A Challenge

PERSONAL
• Son of Lance and Lisa (Wittwer) Pitlick
• Father was a defenseman for the Gophers from 1986-90 (captain in 1989-90) and skated in 144 career games with 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) before an eight-year career in the NHL with Ottawa and Florida
• Mother was a two-time Big Ten champion gymnast for the Gophers (team MVP in 1988) and went on to compete with USA Gymnastics
• Brother, Rem, was a First Team All-American for the Gophers (2016-19) and currently plays for the Montreal Canadiens organization
• Cousin, Tyler Pitlick, played at Minnesota State and skates in the NHL
• Selected in the fifth round (131st overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens
• First player in Minnesota history to wear No. 77