with our 15th round pick,
Punk's Puckers select,
At C
Rod Brind'Amour
Born in
Ottawa but raised in
Prince Rupert and
Campbell River,
British Columbia, Brind'Amour was drafted by the
St. Louis Blues in the first round (ninth overall) of the
1988 NHL Entry Draft. Brind'Amour played the next season at
Michigan State University. Brind'Amour became well-known for working out constantly, earning the nickname "Rod the Bod". During his time at Michigan State, Brind'Amour would go from a game directly into the weight room where he would undertake a strenuous workout. His coach at the time said that Brind'Amour's workouts became so intense that they would turn the lights out on him, and when that failed to work, they would padlock the room.
[1]
At the conclusion of the collegiate hockey season, Brind'Amour joined the Blues during the 1989 NHL playoffs. He made his debut in game 5 of the Blues' division semifinals against the
Minnesota North Stars and scored a goal on his first shot. In his first full NHL season, Brind'Amour scored 27 points in the Blues' first 24 games and finished third on the Blues with 26 goals. Brind'Amour was selected to the 1989-90 All-Rookie Team.
Brind'Amour was traded to the
Philadelphia Flyers with
Dan Quinn for
Murray Baron and
Ron Sutter following the 1990-91 season. Following his return from an ankle injury during the 1999-2000 season, he was dealt to the
Carolina Hurricanes along with
Jean-Marc Pelletier in exchange for
Keith Primeau.
Brind'Amour was one of Philadelphia's most popular players. He spent his years in Philadelphia as an alternate captain to
Kevin Dineen and then
Eric Lindros, filling in as captain and wearing the "C" when Lindros was out of the lineup. It was there that he started his reputation of being one of the best shutdown centres of the NHL. This has culminated into a
Selke Trophy awarded to him as a member of the
Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and again in 2007.
[2]
During his stint with Philadelphia he was considered one of the league's 'ironmen', with a consecutive games streak of 484 played, a Flyers franchise record. Additionally, he was one-third of the "BBC Line" featuring
Bates Battaglia and
Erik Cole during the
Carolina Hurricanes’
Stanley Cup run in
2002. Brind'Amour was named Captain of the Hurricanes before the 2005-06 season.
He won his first Stanley Cup on June 19, 2006 with the Hurricanes, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7, 3-1.
In December 2006, he scored his 1000th career point and in February 2007, he recorded his 400th career goal.
On February 14, 2008 against Pittsburgh, Brind'Amour tore his
ACL in the first period ending his 2007-2008 season. He had surgery at
Rex Hospital the next morning.
[3]
Awards & Achievements