Brian Pothier
Born (1977-04-15) April 15, 1977
New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for Atlanta Thrashers
Ottawa Senators
Washington Capitals
Carolina Hurricanes
Genève-Servette HC
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2000–2014

Brian Pothier (born April 15, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Pothier played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2000 until 2010.

Playing career

As a youth, Pothier played in the 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Beverly, Massachusetts.[1]

Undrafted to the NHL, Pothier played collegiate hockey with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After his senior year he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers on March 27, 2000. After two seasons with the Thrashers he was moved to the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2002–03 season in a trade for Shawn McEachern, and was later signed by the Washington Capitals as a free agent in the summer of 2006.

On January 3, 2008, Pothier suffered a concussion, possibly when Boston Bruins right winger Milan Lucic hit him hard into the boards, resulting in the fourth reported concussion of his career, which sidelined him for the next fourteen months.[2] Pothier later attributed his post-concussion symptoms and long recovery period to an undiagnosed astigmatism resulting from his latest concussion. He stated that he had recovered from the concussion two to three months after the injury, but his astigmatism led to the symptoms previously thought to be post-concussion syndrome until it was properly diagnosed in December 2008.[3]

On December 17, 2008, he practiced in full gear for the first time since the injury. On March 4, 2009, Pothier was assigned to the Capitals' American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for conditioning and to see if he experienced any post-concussion symptoms. Pothier was recalled to the Capitals, returning to the ice on March 16, 2009, fourteen months after the initial injury.[4] He then scored his first goal since his injury on March 31, 2009, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.[5]

On March 3, 2010, having registered 11 points in 41 games to that point in the 2009–10 season, Brian was traded along with prospect Oskar Osala to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Joe Corvo.[6]

On July 27, 2010, Pothier ended his North American career and signed a two-year contract with European team Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A (NLA).[7] After two seasons in Switzerland, Pothier signed a two-year contract extension to remain with Genève-Servette. However he was unable to take the ice, due to lingering concussion symptoms that ultimately ended his professional career.

While in his recovery and still of the intention to fulfill his contract obligation to Genève-Servette HC, Pothier served as a voluntary assistant coach with the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1995–96 Northfield Mount Hermon School HS–Prep 2711223336 —————
1996–97 RPI Engineers ECAC 341111242 —————
1997–98 RPI Engineers ECAC 35291128 —————
1998–99 RPI Engineers ECAC 375131836 —————
1999–2000 RPI Engineers ECAC 369243344 —————
2000–01 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 30002 —————
2000–01 Orlando Solar Bears IHL 7612294169 1635811
2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 3336922 —————
2001–02 Chicago Wolves AHL 396131930 —————
2002–03 Ottawa Senators NHL 142466 10002
2002–03 Binghamton Senators AHL 687404758 828104
2003–04 Ottawa Senators NHL 5526824 70006
2004–05 Binghamton Senators AHL 7712364864 60116
2005–06 Ottawa Senators NHL 775303559 82132
2006–07 Washington Capitals NHL 723252844 —————
2007–08 Washington Capitals NHL 38591420 —————
2008–09 Washington Capitals NHL 91234 130228
2008–09 Hershey Bears AHL 40002 —————
2009–10 Washington Capitals NHL 41471110 —————
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 2013411 —————
2010–11 Genève–Servette HC NLA 448253326 624610
2011–12 Genève–Servette HC NLA 506212734 —————
NHL totals 3622692118202 2923518
AHL totals 1882589114154 14291110

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 United States WC 5th 7 0 1 1 4
Senior totals 7 0 1 1 4

Awards and honors

Award Year
College
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team 1999–00
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 1999–00
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team 2000

Transactions

  • March 27, 2000 – Signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers
  • June 29, 2002 – Traded to the Ottawa Senators for Shawn McEachern and a sixth round selection in 2004.
  • July 1, 2006 – Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals
  • March 3, 2010 – Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, along with Oskar Osala and second round selection in 2011 for Joe Corvo.

References

  1. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  2. ↑ "Pothier, Varlamov Rejoin Caps for Trip". The Washington Post. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  3. ↑ "Q&A with Brian Pothier". The Washington Post. 2009-03-15. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  4. ↑ "Pothier Returns After 14-Month Absence". Yahoo Sports. 2009-03-16. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  5. ↑ "Pothier Scores First Since Concussion". Yahoo Sports. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-03.
  6. ↑ "Caps add Carolina's Joe Corvo, deal Brian Pothier and Oskar Osala". The Washington Post. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  7. ↑ "U.S. NHL defender to Genève". Genève-Servette HC. 2010-07-27. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Brian Pothier lends UMASS Dartmouth an assist while working on come back". South Coast Today. 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
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