Brian Pothier
| Brian Pothier | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
April 15, 1977 New Bedford, MA, USA | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Atlanta Thrashers Ottawa Senators Washington Capitals Carolina Hurricanes Genève-Servette HC | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2000–2014 | ||
Brian Pothier (born April 15, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Pothier played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2000 until 2010.
Playing career
Undrafted to the NHL, Pothier played collegiate hockey with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After his senior year he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers on March 27, 2000. After two seasons with the Thrashers he was moved to the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2002–03 season in a trade for Shawn McEachern, and was later signed by the Washington Capitals as a free agent in the summer of 2006.
On January 3, 2008, Pothier was injured suffering a concussion, possibly when Boston Bruins right winger Milan Lucic hit him hard into the boards, resulting in the fourth reported concussion of his career which sidelined Brian for the next fourteen months.[1] Pothier later attributed his post-concussion symptoms and long recovery period to an undiagnosed astigmatism resulting from his latest concussion. He stated that he had recovered from the concussion two to three months after the injury, but his astigmatism led to the symptoms previously thought to be post-concussion syndrome until it was properly diagnosed in December 2008.[2]
On December 17, 2008, he practiced in full gear for the first time since the injury. On March 4, 2009, Pothier was assigned to the Capitals American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for conditioning and to see if he experienced any post-concussion symptoms. After successfully completing his conditioning stint, Pothier was recalled back to the Capitals and made his return to the ice on March 16, 2009, fourteen months after the initial injury.[3] He then scored his first goal since his injury on March 31, 2009 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[4]
In the 2009–10 season after scoring 11 points in 41 games with the Capitals, Brian was traded along with prospect Oskar Osala to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defensemen Joe Corvo on March 3, 2010.[5]
On July 27, 2010, Pothier ended his North American career and signed a two-year contract with European team Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A (NLA).[6] After two seasons in Switzerland, Pothier signed a two-year contract extension to remain with Genève-Servette. However he was unable to take the ice, due to lingering concussion symptoms that ultimately ended his professional career.
While in his recovery and still of the intention to furfil his contract obligation to Genève-Servette HC, Pothier served as a voluntary assistant coach with the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.[7]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1996–97 | R.P.I. | ECAC | 34 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | R.P.I. | ECAC | 35 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | R.P.I. | ECAC | 37 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | R.P.I. | ECAC | 36 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Orlando Solar Bears | IHL | 76 | 12 | 29 | 41 | 69 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 11 | ||
| 2000–01 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 33 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 39 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 68 | 7 | 40 | 47 | 58 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 52 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Binghamton Senators | AHL | 77 | 12 | 36 | 48 | 64 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 77 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 59 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 72 | 3 | 25 | 28 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 38 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 41 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Genève-Servette HC | NLA | 44 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | ||
| 2011–12 | Genève-Servette HC | NLA | 50 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 362 | 26 | 92 | 118 | 202 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | United States | WC | 5th | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-ECAC Hockey Second Team | 1999–00 | |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 1999–00 | |
| ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team | 2000 | |
Transactions
- March 27, 2000 – Signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers
- June 29, 2002 – Traded to the Ottawa Senators for Shawn McEachern and a sixth round selection in 2004.
- July 1, 2006 – Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals
- March 3, 2010 – Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, along with Oskar Osala and second round selection in 2011 for Joe Corvo.
References
- ↑ "Pothier, Varlamov Rejoin Caps for Trip". Washington Post. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ↑ "Q&A with Brian Pothier". Washington Post. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ↑ "Pothier Returns After 14-Month Absence". Yahoo Sports. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ↑ "Pothier Scores First Since Concussion". Yahoo Sports. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
- ↑ "Caps add Carolina's Joe Corvo, deal Brian Pothier and Oskar Osala". The Washington Post. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
- ↑ "U.S. NHL defender to Genève". Genève-Servette HC. 2010-07-27. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ↑ "Brian Pothier lends UMASS Dartmouth an assist while working on come back". South Coast Today. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-11-12.