J.B. Bittner feels at home on the Ohio State bench — whether he’s in front of it, or behind it. After all, the man referred to as “Bittsy” isn’t just back as an assistant coach for the men’s hockey team, he’s also a two-time Buckeyes captain who, over the course of four years, played 160 games (37-39-76) and became one of just 11 forwards in Buckeyes history to win the Joseph W. Smith Best Defensive Player award.

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But don’t think Bittner is where he is simply because he’s an alumnus. From the time he was a teenager, the Pittsburgh native knew that when his playing days were done, he wanted to pursue coaching. Ever since, he’s put in the work to make that a reality.

Fellow Buckeyes alum R.J. Umberger has known Bittner since they were kids playing travel hockey together. They stayed in touch and would find themselves at Ohio State for their college years. The two remain close friends today.

“As a young kid and seeing him at every level, he’s always been a leadership guy, responsible, a detail guy,” Umberger said. “He’s been a captain even at young ages. He’s always had that maturity. All of that fits the coaching mentality.”

Bittner had the raw talent and passion for coaching, so while he played the game he loved at college, he also jumped on the opportunity to study how to teach it. He chose to major in coaching and sports management.

Bittner graduated in 2005, having captained the Buckeyes to the 2004 CCHA Championship and played in three NCAA tournaments. But as quick as on-ice memories come, so too do memories from the classroom. Bittner will talk passionately about his sports ethics class, or an internship that had him coaching visually impaired children in which he was challenged to learn how to communicate differently to players.

“Every step I took in college I thought, ‘this is really cool,’ ” Bittner said. “I knew I was on the right path.”

But, first, while Bittner could play, he would play. After graduation, over the course of three seasons, the forward played 161 ECHL games and six AHL games. He’d file away lessons and examples from the coaches for whom he played.

Then it was time to put all that learning to the test.

“He put a lot of time in going back and forth,” Umberger said. “(He coached) some different junior programs, went to college (programs) and back to juniors. It wasn’t something that came ‘just like that’ to him. After he got done playing, he spent a lot of years grinding it out to be a coach in the position he’s in right now.”

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Bittner first returned to Ohio State for three years as part of the coaching staff and then advanced to jobs coaching with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL), the Tri-City Storm (USHL), the University of Wisconsin and the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL). Under Bittner’s guidance as assistant head coach, Dubuque made it to the Eastern Conference finals. Bittner also worked with Team USA, where he was an assistant coach for the 2016 World Junior A Challenge. That team won gold.

Along the way, Bittner and Buckeyes head coach Steve Rohlik stayed in touch, and, when the opportunity opened up last fall, it was time for the former Buckeye to come “home.”

“(Bittner’s) as knowledgeable as it comes,” Rohlik said. “He did everything he needed to do to put himself in a position to come back to a place he loves. He sees things in a different way than other people. He loves to teach. He loves to work with video. He can communicate with the guys. I think the respect factor is there … those guys understand he sat in that stall and I think that’s really important.”

Rohlik wasn’t the only one excited for Bittner to be back at Ohio State. Junior defenseman Gordi Myer played his first year of junior hockey in Tri-City. One of his coaches there? J.B. Bittner.

“I definitely said something to the guys when I found out about it,” Myer said. “I let the guys know I was excited for us because I knew he’s not just a great coach, I knew what a great guy J.B. is and that we were going to get someone we’d enjoy.”

By all accounts, Myer has been proved right. He raves about Bittner’s approachability and ability to understand the specific demands of playing hockey and going to school at Ohio State. And Bittner’s not too bad at helping the players be better in their games, either.

“I think the thing I’ve always noticed is he’s always focused in on little details,” Myer said. “Just little things that some guys might not pick up. It’s literally if you’re standing in one spot that you just need to move 3 feet to another spot. Or maybe you’re making a 3-foot pass somewhere and you should be passing it to someone else. Just the tiniest detail — he really helps guys understand why, too, why you would want to do that.”

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The thread that runs through it all — the thing everyone mentions — is Bittner’s passion, not just for the game but also for Ohio State. It’s made him a driving force outside the locker room as well where he’s helping the program’s alumni get even more involved and connected with one another. Ask a former Buckeye what they did last March when they found out the program was returning to the Frozen Four for the first time in 20 years and you’ll hear “I called Bittsy!” “I texted Bittsy!”

For his part, Bittner is enjoying this part of his journey. Asked to reflect on a moment that stands out for him over these past 14 months, and his mind only looks forward. He remains focused on helping steer the program toward its goals: a Big Ten Championship, another Frozen Four, a National Championship.

“If you go in our locker room, he’s pretty much in every picture on our wall of a team that has done something,” Myer said. “That’s one thing we’ve always noticed, he just knows how to win. And he knows how to do it in an Ohio State uniform.”

Notes

• Both the Buckeyes men’s and the women’s teams split their weekend series this week. After losing to third-overall Minnesota on Friday, the fourth-ranked women earned a 3-2 win Saturday. The men rebounded from a Friday loss to Massachusetts to win 3-1 Saturday.

• With one goal Saturday, men’s co-captain Mason Jobst now has 132 career points. That ties him with Paul Caponigri (2001-04) for the most by a Buckeye since 1999. He also leads all active NCAA players in career points.

• After backstopping Saturday’s win, men’s goaltender Tommy Nappier is now 2-0 on the year.

• Women’s goaltender Andrea Braendli, who won WCHA rookie of the week honors last week, made 84 saves over the course of this weekend’s series. Now with five games played, she has faced 180 shots and allowed only nine goals, earning a .950 save percentage.

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• The women’s team wore their new third jerseys this weekend that were black with red numbering. They were considered in violation of NCAA Rule 9.1 requiring dark jerseys to have light lettering. As a result, the women started Saturday’s game on the penalty kill due to a uniform violation. On the ensuing penalty kill, Ohio State allowed only two shots and no goals.

• This coming weekend will see the women on the road as they face off against St. Lawrence. The men’s team will play a home and home series against Bowling Green.

(Photo of J.B. Bittner: Ohio State Athletics)