Bracken Kearns

Bracken Kearns
Born	(1981-05-12) May 12, 1981 Vancouver, Canada
Occupation	Professional ice hockey player (retired)
Years active	2005–2019
Known for	NHL player for Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders

Bracken Kearns (born May 12, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. Throughout his career, he competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Florida Panthers, San Jose Sharks, and New York Islanders, complemented by a significant tenure in various minor leagues.

Amateur

Kearns completed his studies at the University of Calgary in 2005, earning a degree in economics while also serving as captain of the Calgary Dinos men's ice hockey squad.

Professional

Kearns launched his professional journey during the 2005–06 season with the Toledo Storm in the ECHL. The following year, he played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Milwaukee Admirals. In the 2007–08 season, he divided his time between the AHL's Norfolk Admirals and the Reading Royals of the ECHL. Over the subsequent two seasons, he remained active in the AHL, representing Norfolk and later the Rockford IceHogs.

On July 27, 2010, Kearns inked a free-agent deal with the Phoenix Coyotes and was assigned to their AHL affiliate based in San Antonio for the 2010–11 campaign.

He secured a one-year, two-way contract with the Florida Panthers on July 14, 2011. At 30 years old, Kearns made his NHL debut on October 20, 2011, appearing for seven shifts totaling six and a half minutes in a defeat against the Buffalo Sabres. He was noted as the second oldest player to make his first appearance with the Panthers. After participating in five NHL games without recording a point, he returned to the San Antonio Rampage where he tallied 52 points across 69 contests.

On July 2, 2012, Kearns signed a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks. Due to the 2012 NHL lockout, he began that season playing for their AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks. After being recalled on December 28, 2013, he scored his inaugural NHL goal on December 29 versus the Anaheim Ducks, becoming the oldest player in Sharks history to achieve his first NHL goal at 32 years and 231 days. On February 24, 2014, San Jose placed him on waivers.

As an unrestricted free agent, Kearns attended Boston Bruins training camp ahead of the 2014–15 season but was ultimately released. Subsequently, he opted to continue his career overseas by signing a one-year contract with Finland’s Liiga team Espoo Blues on October 23, 2014.

Following a productive stint abroad, Kearns returned to North America on July 2, 2015, agreeing to a one-year two-way contract with the New York Islanders. He extended his stay for an additional season on June 1, 2016. After two seasons within the Islanders organization, Kearns signed another one-year two-way deal with the New Jersey Devils on July 1, 2017. During the 2017–18 season, he played for their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils, contributing 43 points over 67 games.

In July 2018, Kearns joined Austrian EBEL club EHC Black Wings Linz on a one-year contract. On August 25, 2019, he announced his retirement from professional hockey.

Family

Bracken Kearns is the son of Dennis Kearns, a former All-Star defenseman who played for the Vancouver Canucks.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2001–02	University of Calgary	CIS		26	0	8	8	2		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	University of Calgary	CIS		29	8	9	17	14		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	University of Calgary	CIS		38	11	12	23	22		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	University of Calgary	CIS		43	12	23	35	18		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Toledo Storm	ECHL		71	33	36	69	66		13	7	6	13	- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	Cleveland Barons | AHL |1 |0 |1 |1 |0 |— |— |— |— |- ALIGN="center"	Milwaukee Admirals | AHL |79 |11 |15 |26 |59 |4 |0 |0 |0 |- ALIGN="center" bgcolor="#f0f0f0" ... [table continues with consistent data formatting] ...
NHL totals				35	3	3	6	22		7	0	0	0	2