| Brent Sopel | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Sopel with theMetallurg Novokuznetsk in November 2012 | |||
| Born | (1977-01-07)January 7, 1977 (age 48) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Vancouver Canucks New York Islanders Los Angeles Kings Chicago Blackhawks Atlanta Thrashers Montreal Canadiens Metallurg Novokuznetsk Salavat Yulaev Ufa | ||
| NHL draft | 144th overall,1995 Vancouver Canucks | ||
| Playing career | 1997–2015 | ||
Brent Bernard Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is aCanadian former professionalice hockeydefenceman who played the majority of his career in theNational Hockey League (NHL). Sopel was originally selected 144th overall at the1995 NHL Entry Draft by theVancouver Canucks. He has also played for theNew York Islanders,Los Angeles Kings,Chicago Blackhawks,Atlanta Thrashers andMontreal Canadiens, winning theStanley Cup in2010 with Chicago.
In addition to his NHL career, Sopel has also played in theKontinental Hockey League (KHL) withMetallurg Novokuznetsk andSalavat Yulaev Ufa, also briefly playing for theAmerican Hockey League (AHL)'sChicago Wolves before retiring from professional hockey in 2015.
On April 3, 1996, just under a year after being drafted, Sopel signed his first professional contract with his draft team, theVancouver Canucks.[1] He was told by CoachMarc Crawford that he would never play in the NHL, but Sopel scored his first NHL goal on April 10, 1999, against theEdmonton Oilers'Tommy Salo.[2] In 2002, Sopel won the Fred J. Hume Award for Unsung Hero voted by the Vancouver Canucks Booster Club. On December 31, 2001, and January 21, 2002, Sopel won USA Today's NHL Player of the Week award.[citation needed]
On August 3, 2005, the Canucks traded Sopel to theNew York Islanders in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the2006 NHL Entry Draft.[3] On August 16, just under a week after being traded, Sopel signed a two-year, $4.8 million contract with the Islanders.[4]
Sopel was traded back to the Canucks during their2006–07 season on February 1, 2007, theNHL trade deadline day. He missed the first game of the2007 Stanley Cup playoffs against theDallas Stars after he injured his back while picking up a cracker that was dropped by his daughter.[5] The Canucks beat the Stars in quadruple overtime, in the sixth longest game in NHL history.[6]
Heading into the2007–08 season with no contract, Sopel was invited to theDetroit Red Wings' training camp.[7] However, on September 28, 2007, Sopel left Detroit's camp, instead signing a one-year, $1.5 million contract with theChicago Blackhawks after the Red Wings had only offered a one-year, $500,000 contract.[8][9] On January 10, 2008, Sopel signed a three-year, $7 million contract extension with the Blackhawks, keeping him in Chicago through to the 2010–11 season.[10] On December 26, 2007, in a 5–2 win over theNashville Predators, Sopel sustained a broken finger, resulting in him missing the next seven games. He then would miss 12 more games due to a wrist injury sustained on February 20, 2008, in a 3–0 win over theMinnesota Wild.[11] He ended the season with a goal and 19 assists for 20 points in 58 contests.
After playing 23 games with the Blackhawks with two points recorded (a goal and an assist) to start the2008–09 season, Sopel underwent elbow surgery, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.[12]
Sopel played in 73 games for the Blackhawks in the2009–10 season recording a goal and seven assists for eight points. His resurgent season resulted in him being named the Blackhawks nominee for theBill Masterton Memorial Trophy as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey but was not named a top three finalist by the NHL.[13][14] On June 9, 2010, Brent Sopel won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks as the team defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in theStanley Cup Finals. He ended the2010 playoffs with a goal and five assists for six points in all 22 playoff games. On June 22, Sopel brought the team's recently-wonStanley Cup to the 2010Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Sopel brought the Cup to the parade in honour of the lateBrendan Burke, son of his former general manager while playing for Vancouver,Brian Burke, to display it in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade,[15] stating to the press that honouring Burke's legacy and his father's example of familial support and tolerance was one of his reasons for marching in the parade.[16]
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On June 23, 2010, Sopel was traded to theAtlanta Thrashers, along withDustin Byfuglien,Ben Eager andAkim Aliu, in exchange for the 24th (Kevin Hayes) and 54th overall picks (Justin Holl) in the2010 NHL Entry Draft,Marty Reasoner,Joey Crabb andJeremy Morin.[17]
After playing 59 games for Atlanta, registering two goals and seven points, Sopel was then traded to theMontreal Canadiens, along withNigel Dawes, in exchange forBen Maxwell and a fourth-round draft pick in2011 on February 24, 2011.[18] On March 8, in a 4–1 win over theBoston Bruins, Sopel sustained a broken left hand, causing him to miss the next seven games.[19] He finished out the rest of the 2010–11 season pointless in 12 games. He also played all seven games and recorded a goal in the first round of the2011 playoffs as the Canadiens would lose the series in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins.
On July 29, 2011, Sopel announced that he had signed a two-year contract withMetallurg Novokuznetsk of theKontinental Hockey League (KHL).[20] During the2012–13 season, his second with Novokuznetsk, Sopel was traded toSalavat Yulaev Ufa for their playoff campaign on January 31, 2013. During the subsequent summer, he signed a two-year contract extension with Salavat Yulaev.[21]
On October 10, 2014, theChicago Wolves of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL) announced that they had signed Sopel to astandard player contract for the2014–15 season.[22] On February 27, 2015, however, after 29 games played, Sopel announced his retirement from professional hockey.[23]
Sopel was diagnosed with a learning disability after the symptoms ofdyslexia sounded similar to his struggles.[24] This inspired him to create the Brent Sopel Foundation to help promote and raise funds for youth with dyslexia.[25]
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 50 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 67 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 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 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 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 | ||
| 2013–14 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | KHL | 38 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | ||
| 2014–15 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 29 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 659 | 44 | 174 | 218 | 309 | 71 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 20 | ||||
| KHL totals | 136 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 59 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 25 | ||||