Brian Pothier

Brian Pothier
Born	(1977-04-15) April 15, 1977 (age 45) 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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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.^{[ citation needed ]}

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		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995–96	Northfield Mount Hermon School	HS–Prep		27	11	22	33	36		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	RPI Engineers	ECAC		34	1	11	12	42		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	RPI Engineers	ECAC		35	2	9	11	28		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	RPI Engineers	ECAC		37	5	13	18	36		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	RPI Engineers	ECAC		36	9	24	33	44		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		3	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Orlando Solar Bears	IHL		76	12	29	41	69		16	3	5	8	11
2001–02	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		33	3	6	9	22		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Chicago Wolves	AHL		39	6	13	19	30		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Ottawa Senators	NHL		14	2	4	6	6		1	0	0	0	2
2002–03	Binghamton Senators	AHL		68	7	40	47	58		8	2	8	10	4
2003–04	Ottawa Senators	NHL		55	2	6	8	24		7	0	0	0	6
2004–05	Binghamton Senators	AHL		77	12	36	48	64		6	0	1	1	6
2005–06	Ottawa Senators	NHL		77	5	30	35	59		8	2	1	3	2
2006–07	Washington Capitals	NHL		72	3	25	28	44		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Washington Capitals	NHL		38	5	9	14	20		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Washington Capitals	NHL		9	1	2	3	4		13	0	2	2	8
2008–09	Hershey Bears	AHL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Washington Capitals	NHL		41	4	7	11	10		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		20	1	3	4	11		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Genève–Servette HC	NLA		44	8	25	33	26		6	2	4	6	10
2011–12	Genève–Servette HC	NLA		50	6	21	27	34		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				362	26	92	118	202		29	2	3	5	18
AHL totals				188	25	89	114	154		14	2	9	11	10

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.^{[ dead link ]}
5. "Pothier Scores First Since Concussion". Yahoo Sports . 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-04-03.^{[ dead link ]}
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.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database