The father of the Flint Firebirds top scorer this season said his son will not return next season if the Ontario League does not do something about Firebirds owner Rolf Nilsen. Michael Bitten, the father of Firebirds leading scorer Will Bitten, said his son would have probably left the team immediately, but has been advised by his agent to remain with the team for the rest of this season.
But Michael Bitten said there is “no way†his son will return to the Firebirds next season if Nilsen still owns the team. “If there are not changes there, my son will not go back, and I don’t think many others would as well,†Michael Bitten said. “It’s probably out of (OHL commissioner) David Branch’s control to a certain extent, but he must have the power to rectify it and I don’t know what that is. But surely they have to take this team away from that man. How can you go on long-term?â€
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Michael Bitten also said that his son was “devastated†when the Firebirds traded defenseman Josh Wesley and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, Will’s mentors and two best friends on the team. Will Bitten is in his draft year and said the turmoil surrounding the team and the trades that were prompted by it definitely affected his play, and likely his status heading into the draft. He also said his son has been through the wringer in his two OHL years. Bitten was drafted by the Plymouth Whalers prior to last season and his father said that team would not have been his first choice, but decided to respect the draft process and report to the team that took him. The Whalers moved after last season, then landed in the turmoil in Flint this season.
“My son went through a kind of a depression when Nedeljkovic and Wesley were traded,†Michael Bitten said. “The stats speak for themselves. I saw on a forum said that William only scored two goals the last 15 games and was minus-19 and that speaks volumes because that’s exactly what happened. It was the turmoil that was really getting to him. It was very, very difficult.â€