Brad Isbister
Brad Isbister | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 7, 1977 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Professional ice hockey player (retired), coach |
| Years active | 1997–2009 (player) |
| Known for | Playing as a left winger in the NHL for teams including Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators; assistant coach for Calgary Dinos |
Brad Isbister (born May 7, 1977) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a left winger in 541 NHL regular season games.
Playing career
Raised in Calgary, Alberta, Isbister began his junior hockey career with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where he tallied 49 points across 35 games during the 1992–93 season. He then advanced to the Western Hockey League, joining the Portland Winter Hawks. Following a campaign in 1994–95 that saw him score 16 goals and accumulate 36 points, he was selected 67th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Returning to Portland, Isbister led his team with 45 goals and amassed a total of 89 points. In his concluding season with the Winter Hawks, he notched 33 points in just 24 games and earned a spot on the WHL West Second All-Star Team. That same year, he represented Team Canada at the 1997 World Junior Championships and made his professional debut by playing seven games for the Springfield Falcons in the AHL.
Isbister made his NHL debut on October 1, 1997, for the Phoenix Coyotes facing the Chicago Blackhawks. He recorded his first NHL point with an assist on October 11 and netted his inaugural goal ten days afterward. He completed his rookie year with a total of 17 points over 66 games. After two seasons with Phoenix, Isbister was traded to the New York Islanders on March 20, 1999.
During his initial season with the Islanders (1999–2000), he achieved personal bests of 22 goals, 20 assists, and 42 points in 64 contests. He continued to perform steadily until March 11, 2003, when he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers alongside Raffi Torres in exchange for Janne Niinimaa and a second-round draft pick.
In the 2003–04 season with Edmonton, Isbister’s output declined to 18 points. He spent the NHL lockout year (2004–05) competing for HC TWK Innsbruck in Austria. On August 1, 2005, Edmonton traded him to the Boston Bruins for a fourth-round draft selection.
Isbister contributed 23 points during Boston’s return to NHL play in the 2005–06 season. In August 2006, as a free agent, he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes but was traded to the New York Rangers one month later. The majority of that season saw him playing for Hartford Wolf Pack, New York’s AHL affiliate.
Subsequently, Isbister inked a one-year deal worth $525,000 with the Vancouver Canucks but participated in only 55 games due to injuries and coaching choices. In 2008, he agreed to a two-way contract with the Ottawa Senators but was assigned to their AHL affiliate before choosing to join EV Zug in Switzerland’s Nationalliga A. On September 27, 2009, Isbister retired from professional hockey and moved into coaching.
International play
Isbister’s first international appearance came at the 1997 World Junior Championships with Team Canada, where he contributed seven points in seven matches and scored the decisive goal in Canada’s 2–0 victory over the United States to secure gold. He debuted at senior level during the 2000 World Championships, recording seven points over nine games as Canada finished in fourth place. At the 2001 World Championships, Isbister scored five goals in seven games; however, Canada was eliminated during the quarterfinal round.
Coaching career
On September 27, 2009, Mark Howell, head coach of the University of Calgary, revealed that Isbister would join the coaching staff as an assistant coach alongside ex-NHL player Cory Cross. He held this assistant coaching position for one season with the Calgary Dinos.
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||||||||||
| 1992–93 | Calgary Canucks | AJHL | 35 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1993–94 | Portland Winter Hawks | WHL | 64 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 45 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 1994–95 | Portland Winter Hawks | WHL | 67 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
| 1995–96 | Portland Winter Hawks | WHL | 71 | 45 | 44 | 89 | 184 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 1996–97 | Portland Winter Hawks | WHL | 24 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 45 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
| 1996–97 AHL season | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |||||||||||||
| 1997–98 AHL season | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 9 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 36 | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||
| 1997–98 NHL season | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 66 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 102 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||
|
NHL totals |
541 |
106 |
116 |
222 |
615 |
18 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
33 | |||||||||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Canada | WJC | Template:Gold1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | |
| 2000 | Canada | WC | 4th place | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 18 | |
| 2001 | Canada | WC | Finished 5th | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 16 | |
| Junior career totals | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| Senior career totals | 16 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 34 | ||||
Awards and achievements
- Gold medalist at the World Junior Championships representing Team Canada in 1997
- Named to the Western Hockey League West Second All-Star Team in 1997