The cancelation of the American Hockey League (AHL) this week meant the end of the season for Crookston’s Paul Bittner, who plays for the Cleveland Monsters, an affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
KROX’s Chris Fee caught up with Paul and he said it wasn’t a surprise that the season was canceled, but it is still tough. “It is tough to hear,” said Bittner. “Personally, I would love to go back and finish the season, but it is what it is. The times we live in right now are tough and we have to take every precaution we can and one of them is canceling professional hockey in the AHL this year.”
THE START OF THE PANDEMIC-
Bittner said he was in North Carolina with the team at the start of the pandemic and they weren’t sure what was going on. “We were on a road trip in Charlotte, North Carolina. I had just joined up with the team on Monday and Tuesday morning we were at the rink for morning skate and all this is just coming out for the first time. The coronavirus was shutting things down, California was shut down, basketball games were being canceled,” said Bittner. “We were sitting in Charlotte thinking oh my God, wondering how we were going to get back, are the airports going to get shut down, are our games going to be canceled. We were wondering what the heck is going on. It was a pretty crazy time to get focused on the two games we had in Charlotte while staying focused on the reality of life. It was a wild time for us.”
UPDATES AND WORKOUTS
The players are getting updates every day from the NHL Players Association, and Professional Hockey Players Association. The biggest challenge has been the closure of arenas and gyms. “As a professional athlete and not doing anything for a couple of weeks my body started itching and I hadn’t sweat for a while, I thought I have to go do something,” said Bittner. “Then you realize the rinks are closed, the gyms are closed and I went in the back yard and figure out a workout. I have been running miles and working out in the back yard. I bought a body vest and have been doing body weights and that is about it. It is very weird…..It sucks.”
WORK OUT TIPS FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS
Bittner gave some workout tips for the younger hockey players looking to get better and stronger during the pandemic. “I would say definitely work on the legs. Do a lot of squatting, holds, wall sits, things like that,” said Bittner. “Any chance you get, I suggest you shoot a puck. I try to shoot at least 200 to 300 pucks a day and if I miss a day I do 600 to 800 the next day.”
FREE AGENCY-
This season was the final season of Paul’s entry-level contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets/Cleveland Monsters and he is awaiting contract negotiations, but with the pandemic, there is a lot of uncertainty about when they will start. “Since I am fresh off my entry-level contract I don’t have many rights. My rights are with Columbus and I am a restricted free agent now and they can sign me beginning July 1,” said Bittner. “They can start to negotiate a contract now, but they don’t have to until July 1. I am kind of sitting around waiting. We will know more in July and know what the team is thinking. They have so many other things on their mind, other than contracts right now. The contract looming is the most disconcerting thing for me right now. I worry about it, lose sleep over it for sure, it is one of those things that I can’t not worry about. It is my livelihood, it is what I do, chose to do. It is looming over my head, but I am getting better with it every day. The more I work out the more confidence I get and I start to think they should resign me, why aren’t they resigning me? It is one of those things you have to wait it out for the time being.”
STILL HOPING TO PLAY THIS YEAR
Bittner is hoping the NHL will finish out the season with some regular-season games and the playoffs. What the Columbus Blue Jacket roster will look like isn’t certain, but Paul is hoping he gets a chance if they play, so he can continue to prove to the organization that he deserves a shot at the “big show.”
The full interview audio with Paul is below.
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