Brent Sopel
| Brent Sopel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 7, 1977 Calgary, AB, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Right |
| KHL team Former teams |
Salavat Yulaev Ufa Vancouver Canucks New York Islanders Los Angeles Kings Chicago Blackhawks Atlanta Thrashers Montreal Canadiens Metallurg Novokuznetsk |
| NHL Draft | 144th overall, 1995 Vancouver Canucks |
| Playing career | 1997–present |
Brent Bernard Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and previously the National Hockey League (NHL).
Playing career
Vancouver Canucks
On April 3, 1996, just under a year after being drafted, Sopel signed his first professional contract with his draft team, the Vancouver Canucks.[1] Sopel scored his first NHL goal on April 10, 1999 against the Edmonton Oilers' Tommy Salo.[2]
Sopel was traded back to the Canucks during their 2006–07 season, on February 1, 2007, the NHL trade deadline. He missed the first game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Dallas Stars after he injured his back while picking up a cracker that was dropped by former teammate Andrew Greven.[3] The Canucks beat the Stars in quadruple overtime, in the sixth longest game in NHL history.[4]
New York Islanders
On August 3, 2005, the Canucks traded Sopel to the New York Islanders for a conditional draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.[5] On August 16, just under a week after being traded, Sopel signed a two-year, $4.8-million dollar with the Islanders.[6]
Chicago Blackhawks
Heading into the 2007–08 season with no contract, Sopel was invited to the Detroit Red Wings' training camp.[7] However, on September 28, 2007, Sopel left Red Wings camp, signing a one-year, $1.5-million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks after the Red Wings had only offered a one-year, $500,000 contract.[8][9] On January 10, 2008, Sopel signed a 3-year, $7-million contract extension with the Blackhawks, keeping him in Chicago through to the 2010-11 NHL season.[10] On June 9, 2010, Brent Sopel won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks.
In June 2010, Sopel brought the team's recently won Stanley Cup to the 2010 Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Sopel brought the Cup to the parade in honor of the late Brendan Burke, son of his former boss in Vancouver, Brian, to display it in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade,[11] stating to the press that honoring Burke's legacy and his father's example of familial support and tolerance was one of his reasons for marching in the parade.[12] Although he was the team's representative, contrary to popular belief, Sopel did not use his personal day with it in the parade.
Atlanta Thrashers
On June 23, 2010, Sopel was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Akim Aliu, for the 24th (Kevin Hayes) and 54th overall picks (Justin Holl) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, and Jeremy Morin.[13]
Montreal Canadiens
After playing 59 games for Atlanta, registering 2 goals and 7 points, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens along with Nigel Dawes for Ben Maxwell and a 4th-round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on February 24, 2011.[14]
Kontinental Hockey League
On July 29, 2011, Sopel announced that he had signed a two-year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[15] During the 2012–13 season, his second with Novokuznetsk, Sopel was traded to join Salavat Yulaev Ufa for their playoff campaign on January 31, 2013.[16]
Personal life
Although born in Calgary, Sopel grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the city's Silverwood Heights neighborhood, where he attended Sister O'Brien School and Marion M. Graham Collegiate.[17] Brent Is currently getting divorced from his wife of over 12 years, Kelly. They have 2 sons; Paul & Jake and 2 daughters; Lyla & Jayla.[18] Lyla has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia, like Brent.[19] Paul was adopted in 2007, when he was 17 years old. His parents, who were family friends of the Sopels, both died in a short period of time. Brent and Kelly thought it would be best if they took care of him. Sopel's children and ex reside in Hinsdale.[20]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 22 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 41 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1995–96 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 71 | 13 | 48 | 61 | 87 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1995–96 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Swift Current Broncos | WHL | 62 | 15 | 41 | 56 | 109 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 32 | ||
| 1996–97 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1997–98 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 76 | 10 | 33 | 43 | 70 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 1998–99 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 53 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 50 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 67 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1999–00 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 18 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Kansas City Blades | IHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 52 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 66 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 81 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 23 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 80 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 36 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | New York Islanders | NHL | 57 | 2 | 25 | 27 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 44 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 20 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 58 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 73 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 2010–11 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 59 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Metallurg Novokuznetsk | KHL | 47 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Metallurg Novokuznetsk | KHL | 47 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | KHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 659 | 44 | 174 | 218 | 309 | 71 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 20 | ||||
Awards
Transactions
- July 8, 1995 – Drafted in the sixth round, 144th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft
- August 3, 2005 – Traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Islanders for the Islanders' second round selection (Bryce Swan — later acquired by Anaheim) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft
- March 8, 2006 – Traded by the New York Islanders with Mark Parrish to the Los Angeles Kings for Denis Grebeshkov and Jeff Tambellini
- February 26, 2007 – Traded by the Los Angeles Kings to the Vancouver Canucks for the Canucks' second round selection (Wayne Simmonds — originally acquired from Anaheim) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and the Canucks' fourth round selection (Justin Jokinen — later acquired by Buffalo) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft
- September 28, 2007 – Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks
- June 23, 2010- Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Akim Aliu for the 24th (Kevin Hayes) and 54th overall picks (Justin Holl) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, and Jeremy Morin.
- February 24, 2011 - Traded to the Montreal Canadiens along with Nigel Dawes for Ben Maxwell and a 4th-round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
References
- ↑ Jamieson, Jim (1996-04-04). "Sports". The Province.
- ↑ Jamieson, Jim (1999-04-11). "Canucks wear ugly tie". The Province.
- ↑ Ziemer, Brad (2007-04-13). "Sopel's heard enough cracker jokes". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ↑ Heika, Mike (2007-04-12). "Stars lose to Canucks in fourth OT". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ↑ Pap, Elliott (2005-08-04). "Brent Sopel moves on to New York Islanders". The Vancouver Sun.
- ↑ "Sopel signs on". The Province. 2005-08-17.
- ↑ Hunter, Paul (2007-09-16). "A Leaf training camp hopeful". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ↑ "Sopel leaves Wings, signs with Chicago". TSN. 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-09-29.
- ↑ Sassone, Tim (2007-10-17). "Sopel's poise big part of Hawks' early success". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
- ↑ "Sopel inks three-year deal with Hawks". TSN. 2008-01-10. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ↑ "Sports' most macho trophy shows new kind of pride". ChicagoTribune.com. June 25, 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ↑ "Hawks bringing Cup to Pride Parade". SunTimes.com. June 22, 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ↑ "Blackhawks send Byfuglien to Thrashers". NHL.com. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ↑ "Habs Acquire Sopel, Dawes from Thrashers for Maxwell, Pick". TSN. 2011-02-24. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ↑ "Kovalev, Sopel to play in KHL: report". CBC Sports. 2011-07-29. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
- ↑ "Brent Sopel: Novokuznetsk will always be in my heart". Metallurg Novokuznetsk. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
- ↑ Wolfe, Cory (2010-06-11). "Childhood dream come true for Sopel". Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
- ↑ http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8462176&view=bio
- ↑ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=542743
- ↑ http://thrashers.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=539694
External links
- Brent Sopel's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Brent Sopel's player profile at NHL.com