Donald Brashear

[Eye of Ra]

What are you guys memories of this player when he played for the Canucks?

Did he have some skill or was he just a goon?

Just asking out of curiosity.

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[Kickassguy]

He was essentially a 20-30 point heavyweight in the prime of the dead puck era, which is nothing to scoff at.

 

[PavelBure10]

Brashear didn't lose many in a Canuck uniform. He wasn't well liked by opponents because he would grab ahold, pull you into his chest, and rabbit punch the s*it out of you. Pretty decent player who "like said above" could put up 30 points.

I was really pissed when he was traded to Philly for Jan Hlavac.

 

[Vector]

My dad once road the elevator with him at GM Place and told me he was absolutely massive; terrifyingly large man.

I really liked him as a kid but I liked having a minority player on the team that was more than a pure goon. Apparently had attitude issues and was difficult to deal with in every team.

 

[VancouverFanInNYC]

This was an interesting time were good enforcers (who weren't a complete liability on the ice, both ability-wise and discipline-wise) were at a huge premium. For example, big / strong fighters were drafted in the first round fairly consistently (Scott Parker, Mike Wilson, Alex Stojanov et al) so Brashear was very valuable. Even when he was traded for Jan Hlavac (who recently came off of a 64 point season and was a key piece in the Lindros trade), we got a third rounder as well (though we gave up a sixth round pick).

During that time, there were a bunch of goons / enforcers (i.e. George Laraque, Peter Worrell et al) in the slower / more physical league but Brashear was clearly the best of the bunch. He was also relatively disciplined and goaded a lot of competing teams into bad penalties (with the ultimate example being Marty McSorley).

 

[Grub]

Well he was that big goon you needed during that generation of hockey.

 

[Hit the post]

He tended to really pick his spots later on. Rightly or wrongly, he thought he was more than just a 'goon' so that likely was a result of that. Don't recall him losing any fights though. Though unlike Ron Delorme, Gino Odjick, or even Garth Butcher; those three (I'm failing to include others) never failed to answer the call when required.

 

[IComeInPeace]

He was arguably the top HW in the league for years (along with Georges Laraque); compared to most fighters he was a much better player than most of them.

He always had a bit of a 'screw loose'.

Before he was traded there was a reported issue where he wasn't thrilled with his contract, and perhaps was 'holding back' on the ice.

I believe that came to a head when Scott Parker of the Av's couldn't get Brashear to fight, and becuse of that Parker ended up trying to take it out of Jovo. Jovo was way out of his league against Parker, so Bertuzzi had to jump out of the ice to save his buddy (resulting in a 10 game suspension).

Because of that, there were rumors of issues within the dressing room (Matt Cooke was rumored to have called Brashear out for it in the dressing room).

Around that same time, Brashear was in legal trouble for having assaulted a man that has asked his wife and child to leave the fitness area at their shared Yaletown condo.


Shortly thereafter there was yet another incident where Brashear beat someone badly outside of a nightclub in NJ (or Philly). I'm not sure if that was in the off-season while he was still a Canuck, or after he'd already been traded.

Brashear, when he was a Flyer (during the lockout) chose to play in the LNAH in Quebec. That league is full of crazies, and fighting is how it makes money. Brashear beat the tar out of a player trying to make a name for himself against the best. But, for some odd reason, that wasn't enough. Brashear then started slamming the kids head on the ice repeatedly ( i believe there were also some legal issues with that situation.

A lot of people hated the way he fought. He was incredibly strong. He'd bearhug his opponents and then use his strength to keep pulling them off balance and throw short little punches to their head.

Brashear also had a professional MMA fight during the lockout (i believe he TKO'ed his opponent quickly).

Donald Brashear's fight is now against addiction and pain

Once one of the most feared men in the NHL, Donald Brashear is trying to find peace after losing almost everything to drugs and alcohol.

theathletic.com

 

[Hit the post]

I *vaguely* remember Cuba Gooding Jr. visiting the Canucks locker room after/before a practice (he was in town doing a movie I think) and him being pleasantly surprised as seeing Brashear there. It was in one of those Canucks media clips (I can't find it currently though).

 

[StickShift]

Short story time.

A colleague of mine who I worked with in LA was friends with Marty McSorely and a few other Kings players from the early 90s. I mentioned that I knew of McSorely because of his incident with a player on the team I cheered for—Donald Brashear. This acquantance was very familiar with it and said that it was one of McSorely's biggest regrets. He had been trying to get him to fight the entire game and Brashear would simply not square off—which led to the unfortunate stick swinging incident. He said it really ate him up.

 

[Hit the post]

Short story time.

A colleague of mine who I worked with in LA was friends with Marty McSorely and a few other Kings players from the early 90s. I mentioned that I knew of McSorely because of his incident with a player on the team I cheered for—Donald Brashear. This acquantance was very familiar with it and said that it was one of McSorely's biggest regrets. He had been trying to get him to fight the entire game and Brashear would simply not square off—which led to the unfortunate stick swinging incident. He said it really ate him up.

I'm just going by memory but wasn't it a pointless time in the game? If so, I can see why Brashear chose not to fight him. Or am I remembering it wrong?

 

[Vector]

I'm just going by memory but wasn't it a pointless time in the game? If so, I can see why Brashear chose not to fight him. Or am I remembering it wrong?

McSorely had been trying to get Brashear to fight all game but he wouldn’t go. In the final minutes, McSorely skated up behind, went to slash him in the shoulder for one last attempt, completely missed and knocked him out cold. At least that’s what McSorely says.

 

[Just A Bit Outside]

McSorely had been trying to get Brashear to fight all game but he wouldn’t go. In the final minutes, McSorely skated up behind, went to slash him in the shoulder for one last attempt, completely missed and knocked him out cold. At least that’s what McSorely says.

Watching that game live, and seeing Brashear on the ice, honestly thought he might have been dead.

f***ing scary.

Always loved Brashear and had a good amount of skill.

 

[Timmer44]

McSorely had been trying to get Brashear to fight all game but he wouldn’t go. In the final minutes, McSorely skated up behind, went to slash him in the shoulder for one last attempt, completely missed and knocked him out cold. At least that’s what McSorely says.

He had already fought him earlier in the game.

Boston Bruins - Vancouver Canucks - Feb 21, 2000 | NHL.com

NHL Gamecenter - Boston Bruins vs. Vancouver Canucks, Feb 21, 2000 - summary, stats, boxscore, play by play, recap and more.

www.nhl.com

Brashear fell on one of the Bruins goaltenders and hurt him. After that, McSorely was chasing him all over the ice and Brashear wouldn't oblige.

So many similarities to the Bertuzzi incident.

 

[MS]

In his prime he was one of the top enforcers in the NHL. Absolutely dominant fighter against the right type of opponent, mean as hell, and was a legitimate NHL player with a useful bottom-6 skill level. Clunky-looking skater but fast in a straight line and he worked really hard to improve his skill level and be an offensive contributor.

He's also one of my most hated Canucks of all time, behind only Messier amongst non-Benning Canucks. He was a selfish player. He was a cancer. He was out there playing his own game for Donald Brashear, not the Vancouver Canucks. Fought who he wanted to for his own sake, never considering the bigger picture, rarely standing up for teammates. Became obsessed with trying to go end-to-end to score highlight reel goals, failing every time. Once refused to fight unless the team ridiculously put him on the PP. Was a spot-picker who loved fighting guys he knew he could beat but ducked guys he struggled with. Unpopular with his teammates.

Massive cheapshot artist. I can remember him injuring Chris Drury with a cheapshot and Colorado spending the rest of the game taking runs at Markus Naslund. Most vivid memory is of a game against Calgary (the home game immediately before the McSorley thing) where he blasted tiny Corey Millen from behind into the boards leaving him injured on the ice and then Robyn Regehr in like his 5th NHL game steps in to fight Brashear and gets demolished. And after cheapshotting a tiny opposition player, beating up a teenager, and putting his team shorthanded in a 1-goal game, Brashear is showboating to the crowd as he's escorted off the ice. Just a total clown show.

It wasn't a coincidence that the team's fortunes turned and the WCE era started at basically the exact point where they unloaded the cancerous Brashear and brought back Trevor Linden.

 

[Pastor Of Muppetz]

He was probably one of the toughest fighters in Canuck history....an enforcer...and used to goad the crap out of Tie Domi ..

All in all though..I have to agree with MS, Brashear was dislikable.( and I rarely dislike anybody)...Having said that, I have a sense that he may have had a troubled upbringing, which could account for all of his issues...On and off the ice.

 

[MS]

He was probably one of the toughest fighters in Canuck history....an enforcer...and used to goad the crap out of Tie Domi ..

All in all though..I have to agree with MS, Brashear was dislikable.( and I rarely dislike anybody)...Having said that, I have a sense that he may have had a troubled upbringing, which could account for all of his issues...On and off the ice.

For sure. He definitely had a rough upbringing and that mitigates some things to an extent.

But guys have rough upbringings and aren't cancers the way Brashear was. His first couple years were OK when he knew his place as an enforcer, but his last couple years when he decided he was going to be a scorer now and got full of himself were an absolute sideshow.

 

[Timmer44]

It wasn't a coincidence that the team's fortunes turned and the WCE era started at basically the exact point where they unloaded the cancerous Brashear and brought back Trevor Linden.

I remember reading an article where they basically pointed to the fact that Bertuzzi went from being close to Brashear off the ice, to becoming a close friend of Naslund's, basically jumpstarted his career.

 

[krutovsdonut]

like gino, brashear was a respectable bottom 6 player for the time which set him apart from many pure enforcers. he probably does not make an nhl roster without the fighting but he had ability, if not quite the hockey iq.

like gino, you often knew when he was on the ice at games before you saw him because the crowd would buzz, and in tense situations you had to swivel back and forth between him and the play to catch all the action.

sidebar but some of my favourite hockey games i attended were early gino era games where i scalped end zone red seats. you missed lots of the play, but you saw a lot of gino trailing the play.

 

[Hit the post]

 

[bandwagonesque]

McSorely had been trying to get Brashear to fight all game but he wouldn’t go. In the final minutes, McSorely skated up behind, went to slash him in the shoulder for one last attempt, completely missed and knocked him out cold. At least that’s what McSorely says.

"Boy I tell ya, the ugly part of this is what's being thrown on the ice."

Do they deprive Bruins' play-by-play guys of oxygen for 5 minutes as part of their orientation when they get hired?

 

[MikeK]

Probably the best fighter we ever had and one of the best to ever play in the NHL. He had very little other skills though, In my opinion. He wouldn't make it in today's game. I don't really think to much of his hockey abilities.

 

[Hit the post]

Probably the best fighter we ever had and one of the best to ever play in the NHL. He had very little other skills though, In my opinion. He wouldn't make it in today's game. I don't really think to much of his hockey abilities.

Didn't Uncle Junior tell you that you didn't have the makings of a varsity athlete yourself?

 

[MS]

He was a great fighter against guys who were similarly-built to him or smaller, where he could get them in close and rabbit-punch the hell out of them. Guys like Jim Cummins he just gleefully pummeled repeatedly.

He struggled against tall, long-armed guys like Stu Grimson and Eric Cairns who could really use their reach advantage.

________________

Brashear was probably a better fighter than Gino but Gino was the ultimate team guy. He was willing to go to war for the guys in his dressing room and was beloved by them. He'd do some dumb shit sometimes but his heart was always in the right place. Brashear was a mercenary and a lone wolf. The sort of guy who would be happier scoring a nice goal in a loss than playing his role in a win.

 

[LaVal]

He was a decent skater in an era where most enforcers could barely make it to the correct end of the rink before the play was over. His skating made him more useful as a player than most enforcers, but this got into his head and he seemed to think his job was to score goals rather than protect his teammates.

He was definitely a skilled fighter (although his rabbit punch technique was boring), but he was cocky, a showboat, and a huge spot picker. In his time with the Canucks he only fought divisional rival Laraque once, despite being challenged basically every game. People would say he had restraint, but it looked more like he had no interest in fighting battles he wasn't guaranteed to win. I was glad when he was moved.