Brandon Prust

Brandon Prust

Prust with the Montreal Canadiens in January 2015
Born (1984-03-16) March 16, 1984
London, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
DEL team
Former teams		 Nürnberg Ice Tigers
Calgary Flames
Phoenix Coyotes
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Vancouver Canucks
NHL Draft 70th overall, 2004
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2005–present

Brandon Raymond James Prust (born March 16, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who is currently playing with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in Germany. He most recently played full time for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prust was drafted in the third round, 70th overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, and has also played in the NHL for the Flames, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

Amateur

Prust played three seasons of major junior hockey with his home town London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). During his junior career, he won an OHL and Memorial Cup Championship. A Thorndale, Ontario, native, Prust was a walk-on during the Knights' open tryouts, having been bypassed in the OHL Priority Draft.[1]

Professional

Prust was drafted by the Calgary Flames in third round, 70th overall, at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, where he was sent back down to London to play his final OHL season. After spending the following season with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, Prust made his NHL debut on November 1, 2006, against the Detroit Red Wings.

Prust suffered an injury during the 2008–09 season when he broke his jaw after being elbowed by Cam Janssen of the St. Louis Blues. On March 4, 2009, Prust was traded, along with Matthew Lombardi and a 2009 first-round draft pick, to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Olli Jokinen, and was then traded back to Calgary in exchange for Jim Vandermeer on June 27.

Prust in January 2013.

On February 1, 2010, Prust, along with Olli Jokinen, were traded to the New York Rangers in exchange for Aleš Kotalík and Chris Higgins. The Rangers re-signed Prust to a two-year, $1.6 million contract after the end of that season, 2009–10, on July 3.

In the 2010–11 season, Prust, a fourth-line utility player and occasional enforcer, was one of only seven NHL players to score at least ten goals as well as engage in at least ten fights.[2] He was awarded the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award at the end of the season, given to the Rangers player who "goes above and beyond the call of duty" as voted on by the fans.[3]

Prust also played as the Rangers faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, which took place at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, on January 2, 2012. Prust posted two assists in a 3–2 Rangers win. Prust proved to be a valuable member of the Rangers' penalty kill during his tenure there.

Prust became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a four-year, $10 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1, 2012, lasting until 2016.

After the start of the lock-out-shortened 2012–13 season, Prust scored his first goal as a Canadien against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils on January 27, 2013. Prust was awarded the Jacques-Beauchamp Trophy at the end of the regular season, an award voted on by the members of the media in Montreal to honour the team's unsung hero.[4][5]

During the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals against his former team, the New York Rangers, Prust was suspended for two games following a hit on Rangers forward Derek Stepan during the first period of Game 3. Stepan suffered a broken jaw on the play and subsequently missed Game 4.[6]

On July 1, 2015, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Zack Kassian and Vancouver's 5th round draft pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.[7] Prust struggled with the Canucks, putting up the fewest points since his rookie 2008–09 season. On Feb 2, 2016 he was sent down to the Canucks' AHL affiliate the Utica Comets after clearing waivers. On March 10, he returned to his home in London, ON, and was taken off the roster due to an ankle injury. He became an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2016.[8]

Due to his ankle injury, teams were unwilling to give Prust a contract, with concerns raised over his foot speed and ankle itself.[9] Going unsigned for the duration of the summer, he agreed to ink a Professional Try Out contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on August 22, 2016.[10] Prust's main reason for signing the try out was to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for the Maple Leafs, the team he grew up cheering for.[9] He was released by the Maple Leafs on October 11, 2016,[11] and embarked on his first overseas stint in late November 2016 after signing with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the German top-flight Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).[12]

Personal life

Prust grew up in London, Ontario, where he attended Regina Mundi Catholic College. While there, he excelled in multiple sports, and was recognized as the outstanding student athlete in 2000–01 school year. The number 8 he wore with the Canadiens is the same number he wore as a football player in high school. His favourite team growing up was the Toronto Maple Leafs, and his favourite player was Wendel Clark, whom he tries to model his game after.[9][1]

Prust has an uncle who was a Broadway actor. His interests other than hockey include golf and watching baseball.[13]

Prust began dating Montrealer TV host Maripier Morin in 2010.[14][15] On June 22, 2015, the couple got engaged.[16]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 London Knights OHL 65 12 17 29 94 14 2 1 3 21
2003–04 London Knights OHL 64 19 33 52 269 15 7 13 20 33
2004–05 London Knights OHL 48 10 20 30 174 15 3 5 8 71
2005–06 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights AHL 79 12 14 26 249 — — — — —
2006–07 Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights AHL 63 17 10 27 211 6 0 3 3 20
2006–07 Calgary Flames NHL 10 0 0 0 25 — — — — —
2007–08 Quad City Flames AHL 79 10 27 37 248 — — — — —
2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 25 1 1 2 79 — — — — —
2008–09 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 11 0 1 1 29 — — — — —
2009–10 Calgary Flames NHL 43 1 4 5 98 — — — — —
2009–10 New York Rangers NHL 26 4 5 9 65 — — — — —
2010–11 New York Rangers NHL 82 13 16 29 160 5 0 1 1 4
2011–12 New York Rangers NHL 82 5 12 17 156 19 1 1 2 31
2012–13 Montreal Canadiens NHL 38 5 9 14 110 4 0 1 1 14
2013–14 Montreal Canadiens NHL 52 6 7 13 121 13 0 2 2 32
2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 4 14 18 134 12 1 3 4 35
2015–16 Vancouver Canucks NHL 35 1 6 7 59 — — — — —
2015–16 Utica Comets AHL 9 1 6 7 5 — — — — —
NHL totals 486 40 75 115 1036 53 2 8 10 116

References

  1. 1 2 "Brandon Prust aims to impress in Maple Leafs tryout". National Hockey League. August 23, 2016. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ "The fighter-scorer is as rare as the 40-goal scorer, and almost as valuable". Yahoo Sports. 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2012-04-03.
  3. ↑ "New York Rangers – Rangers Records – New York Rangers – All Time Roster". Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Praise for Prust". Montreal Canadiens. 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
  5. ↑ "Prust Honoured, Therrien approves". RDS.ca. 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2013-04-20.
  6. ↑ "Canadiens' Prust suspended two games for late hit on Stepan". The Sports Network. 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  7. ↑ "Canadiens acquire Kassian from Canucks for Prust". NHL.com. NHL. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  8. ↑ http://thehockeywriters.com/canucks-shut-down-brandon-prust/
  9. 1 2 3 "Prust: 'I've always wanted to play for the Leafs'". theScore. August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Maple Leafs' Brandon Prust: Joins Toronto with PTO agreement". CBS Sports. August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Leafs release Prust, finalize opening night roster". theScore.com. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  12. ↑ "Ice Tigers verpflichten NHL-Stürmer Brandon Prust | Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers Nürnberg". www.icetigers.de. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  13. ↑ "Brandon Prust player bio". New York Rangers. 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  14. ↑ http://25stanley.com/marie-pier-morin-le-banquier-nouvellement-amoureuse-de-brandon-prust-new-york-rangers/
  15. ↑ Fox, Luke. "Q&A: 'Hockey Wives' Maripier Morin opens up". Sportsnet. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  16. ↑ Stokes, Cassie (June 22, 2015). "Brandon Prust And Maripier Morin Engaged". ET Canada. ET Canada. Retrieved June 29, 2015.

External links

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