Brian Rafalski
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Position | Defenseman |
| Shoots | Right |
| Height Weight |
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 195 lb (89 kg) |
| NHL Team F. Teams |
New Jersey Devils Brynäs IF, HPK, HIFK |
| Nationality |  United States |
| Born | September 28, 1973, Dearborn, USA |
| Pro Career | 1995 – present |
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Ice hockey | |||
| Silver | 2002 Salt Lake City | Ice hockey | |
Brian Rafalski (born September 28, 1973, in Dearborn, Michigan) is an American professional ice hockey player who plays defenseman for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League. After enduring a long struggle to enter the NHL, Rafalski has won 2 Stanley Cups and become a star in the league.
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[edit] Playing career
[edit] College & European play
Rafalski played for four years at the University of Wisconsin and played very well, scoring 45 points in 43 games in his senior year, in which he led the Badgers to the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship. He won several awards that season; he was named to the WCHA First All-Star Team, the NCAA West All-Star Team, and the WCHA Defenseman of the Year. With no immediate NHL prospects, Rafalski headed overseas. He spent the 1995-1996 season with Brynäs IF of the Swedish elite league. After scoring only 9 points in 22 games in Sweden, he then moved to Finland. He played a season for HPK of the SM-liiga, and scored 35 points. He went to HIFK in 1997, and spent two years there, and played very well in both. In his final year in Finland, he scored 19 goals and 53 points in 53 games, and won the Kultainen kypärä, which is the SM-liiga trophy for best player as voted by his fellow players. Notably, he also became the first non-Finnish player to win the award.
[edit] NHL career
On May 7, 1999, Rafalski was signed by the New Jersey Devils as a free agent. He would be 26 at the start of the 1999-2000 NHL season, much older than most rookies, but he had played in some of the finest leagues in Europe. He showed that he was ready in the NHL in his rookie season. He finished the season with 32 points. He led all rookie defensemen in plus-minus with a +21 rating, second among Devils defensemen and tied for first for all rookies. The Devils also won the Stanley Cup that year, and Rafalski was a big part of their win. He provided a crucial insurance goal in the Devils' Game 4 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals. Along with teammate Scott Gomez, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.
Rafalski improved his production in his sophomore season, as he scored an impressive 52 points. His point total led the team, and became the first Devils defenseman other than Scott Niedermayer or Scott Stevens to lead the Devils in scoring since Bruce Driver led the team back in 1990-91. His 18 points during the playoffs set a team record for defensemen, although the Devils lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the 2001-02 NHL season, Rafalski continued his scoring ways, notching 47 points. He was selected to participate in the NHL All-Star Game, but was forced to sit out due to injury. He did go on to represent Team USA at the 2002 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal as the US lost to Canada in the finals. The next season, he once again led all Devils defensemen in scoring with 40 points. He was a vital part of the Devils defense that helped the team win its third Stanley Cup in eight seasons, with a seven-game win over the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He has continued to represent America in international play, playing in both the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the 2006 Winter Olympics.
Brian Rafalski is considered very small for an NHL defenseman, standing only 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), and weighing only 200 pounds (91 kg). However, he is an intelligent playmaker and works effectively without the benefit of the sort of impressive physical stature had by Zdeno Chara or even Eric Lindros. Many teams put such an emphasis on size, though, that even a player as obviously qualified to play in the NHL as Rafalski went totally undrafted, and had to go to Europe to find a place to play hockey. A similar issue confronted Martin St. Louis, although he made it to the NHL much more quickly. It is also true, though, that Rafalski is not an elite defender, and is strictly an offensive-defenseman. He was usually paired with Scott Stevens, who was more of a stay-at-home defenseman, and allowed Rafalski to roam the ice more often. Now that Niedermayer has left the team for the Mighty Ducks, Rafalski has assumed the mantle of the offensive-minded defenseman, and is typically one of the starting defenseman on the squad. As he was with Stevens, he is now usually paired with a defensive defenseman; teammate Colin White often plays on the same line with Rafalski.
In the end, though, Rafalski has played a very important role in two Stanley Cup victories, and is a top-pairing defenseman for one of the best teams in the league. Even though he is now 33, he has several years of quality hockey left to play.
[edit] Awards & achievements
- 1995 - Western Collegiate Hockey Association Defenseman of the Year
- 1995 - Western Collegiate Hockey Association First All-Star Team
- 1995 - NCAA West First All-Star Team
- 1997 - Pekka Rautakallio trophy for best defenseman in the SM-liiga
- 1999 - Matti Keinonen trophy for best +/- in the SM-liiga
- 1999 - Pekka Rautakallio trophy for best defenseman in the SM-liiga
- 1999 - Kultainen kypärä award for best player in the SM-liiga
- 1999-00 - NHL All-Rookie Team
- 1999-00 - NHL Rookie of the Month for February
- 1999-00 - Won Stanley Cup with New Jersey Devils
- 2002 - Won silver medal with Team USA at 2002 Winter Olympics
- 2003-04 - Starter for Eastern Conference in NHL All-Star Game
- 2003-04 - Won Stanley Cup with New Jersey Devils
- 2004 - Member of Team USA at 2004 World Cup of Hockey
- 2006 - Member of Team USA at 2006 Winter Olympics
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990-91 | Madison | USHL | 47 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 28 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | Wisconsin | WCHA | 34 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 34 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | Wisconsin | WCHA | 32 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1993-94 | Wisconsin | WCHA | 37 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 26 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | Wisconsin | WCHA | 43 | 11 | 34 | 45 | 48 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1995-96 | Brynäs IF | Swe. II | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1995-96 | Brynäs IF | Elitserien | 22 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1996-97 | HPK | SM-liiga | 49 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 26 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | ||
| 1997-98 | HIFK | SM-liiga | 40 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 1998-99 | HIFK | Sm-liiga | 53 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 4 | ||
| 1998-99 | HIFK | EuroHL | 6 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1999-00 | New Jersey | NHL | 75 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 28 | 23 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2000-01 | New Jersey | NHL | 78 | 9 | 43 | 52 | 26 | 25 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 7 | ||
| 2001-02 | New Jersey | NHL | 76 | 7 | 40 | 47 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2002 | USA | Oly. | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2002-03 | New Jersey | NHL | 79 | 3 | 37 | 40 | 14 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 18 | ||
| 2003-04 | New Jersey | NHL | 69 | 6 | 30 | 36 | 24 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2004 | USA | World Cup | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 2005-06 | New Jersey | NHL | 82 | 6 | 43 | 49 | 36 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2006 | USA | Oly. | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 377 | 30 | 177 | 207 | 110 | 82 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 27 | ||||
[edit] External links
- Rafalski's stats at tsn.ca
- Rafalski's stats at hockeydb.com
- Rafalksi's page at newjerseydevils.com
- Brian's U.S. Olympic Team bio
| Preceded by: Raimo Helminen |
Winner of the Kultainen kypärä trophy 1998-99 |
Succeeded by: Kai Nurminen |
| Preceded by: Mika Strömberg |
Winner of the Pekka Rautakallio trophy 1996-97 |
Succeeded by: Allan Measures |
| Preceded by: Allan Measures |
Winner of the Pekka Rautakallio trophy 1998-99 |
Succeeded by: Toni Lydman |
| Preceded by: Olli Jokinen |
Winner of the Matti Keinonen trophy 1998-99 |
Succeeded by: Kai Nurminen |
Categories: 1973 births | American ice hockey players | HIFK players | Hockey players at the 2002 Winter Olympics | Hockey players at the 2006 Winter Olympics | HPK players | Living people | New Jersey Devils players | Olympic competitors for the United States | Olympic silver medalists for the United States | People from Dearborn, Michigan | Stanley Cup champions | Undrafted NHL players | Winter Olympics medalists | 2000 New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Championship Team | 2003 New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup Championship Team
