Sheldon Brookbank
Sheldon Brookbank | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 3, 1980 Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Ice hockey defenseman, coach |
| Years active | 2001–2016 (player), 2017–present (coach) |
| Known for | NHL player, assistant coach for Chicago Blackhawks |
Sheldon W. Brookbank (born October 3, 1980) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman who competed in the National Hockey League (NHL). He has also held the position of assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks under the leadership of Jeremy Colliton.
Playing career
Before turning professional, Brookbank spent three seasons with the Humboldt Broncos in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. He then played one year with the Mississippi Sea Wolves in the ECHL, followed by two seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL.
Initially signed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, he spent two seasons playing for their AHL team, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. After not receiving a contract renewal, he joined the Nashville Predators organization in 2005.
During the 2005–06 season with Nashville’s affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, Brookbank tallied 9 goals and 35 points while accumulating 232 penalty minutes. The following season, he was appointed captain of the Admirals and made his NHL debut with Nashville, appearing in three games. That same year, he earned the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top defenseman and was selected for the AHL First Team All-Star, finishing as the leading defenseman scorer with 53 points.
On July 2, 2007, Brookbank signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets but was waived and subsequently claimed by the New Jersey Devils on October 2, 2007. He participated in 44 games for New Jersey during the 2007–08 season, registering eight assists.
Brookbank was traded to the Anaheim Ducks on February 3, 2009, concluding that season with one goal and three assists. In the 2009–10 campaign, he appeared in 66 NHL contests, including playing in Anaheim’s last 56 straight games and leading all Ducks defensemen with a plus/minus rating of +10. On June 2, 2010, he secured a two-year contract extension with Anaheim.
The 2011–12 season marked a career-high for Brookbank as he played in 80 games and recorded three goals along with eleven assists. On July 1, 2012, he inked a two-year free agent deal worth $2.5 million with the Chicago Blackhawks and went on to win the Stanley Cup with them in 2013.
Following the expiration of his contract, Brookbank entered free agency and accepted an invitation to Calgary Flames’ training camp but was released on October 1, 2014. Subsequently, on October 31, 2014, he signed a one-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League.
The next season saw Brookbank move to Finland’s Liiga by joining Lukko Rauma on November 6, 2015. Over 38 games there, he contributed four points.
In October 2016, Brookbank returned to North America as a free agent and signed a professional tryout agreement with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. He appeared in six games and registered one assist before being released in December of that year.
Coaching career
On June 14, 2017, Brookbank was appointed assistant coach for the Rockford IceHogs, Chicago Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate. He advanced to join Chicago’s NHL coaching staff as an assistant on January 4, 2019. Brookbank was relieved of his duties on November 6, 2021, along with head coach Jeremy Colliton and assistant Tomas Mitell. Currently, he serves as an assistant coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Personal
Brookbank is younger brother to Wade Brookbank, who formerly played for Rockford IceHogs, and is cousin to former NHL player Geoff Sanderson.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Saskatoon Contacts AAA | SMHL | 42 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL | 61 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 205 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 31 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL | 59 | 13 | 29 | 42 | 240 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 49 | ||
| 2000–01 | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL | 59 | 14 | 35 | 49 | 281 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2001–02 | Mississippi Sea Wolves | ECHL | 62 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 137 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 27 | ||
| 2001–02 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 69 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 136 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 28 | ||
| 2003–04 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 74 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 216 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | ||
| 2004–05 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 60 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 181 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | ||
| 2005–06 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 73 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 232 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 49 | ||
| 2006–07 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 78 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 176 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2006–07 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 2007–08 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 44 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 63 | |||||||
| 2007–08 | Lowell Devils | AHL | "0"|"0"|"0"|"5" | |||||||||||
| New Jersey Devils |NHL |15 |0 |0 |0 |25 | ||||||||||||||
| Anaheim Ducks |NHL |29 |1 |3 |4 |51 | ||||||||||||||
| Anaheim Ducks |NHL |66 |0 |9 |9 |114 | ||||||||||||||
| Anaheim Ducks |NHL |40 |0 |0 |0 |63 | ||||||||||||||
| Anaheim Ducks |NHL |80 |3 |11 |14 |72 | ||||||||||||||
| Chicago Blackhawks |NHL |26 |1 |0 |1 |21 | ||||||||||||||
| Chicago Blackhawks |NHL |48 |2 |5 |7 |52 | ||||||||||||||
| Ak Bars Kazan |Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) | "3"|"4"|"7"|"37" | |||||||||||||
| Lukko |Liiga | "1"|"3"|"4"|"65" | |||||||||||||
| Cleveland Monsters | "0"|"1"|"1"|"2" | |||||||||||||
| AHL totals !367 !29 !97 !126 !972 !60 !2 !13 !15 !143 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | NHL totals !351 !7 !37 !44 !473 !25 !0 !2 !2 !32 | |||||||||||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| SJHL | ||
| Top Defenseman | 2001 | |
| AHL | ||
| All-Star Game selection | 2007 | |
| First Team All-Star | 2007 | |
| Eddie Shore Award | 2007 | |
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup winner | 2013 | |