Playing career
Brendl was a highly rated junior star with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League, winning numerous awards and making the all-star team of the 1999 Memorial Cup. This led to him being drafted fourth overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers. However, Brendl's talent never translated to stardom at the NHL level, where he managed only 22 points in 78 career games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Phoenix Coyotes. On August 20, 2001, he was traded by the Rangers to Philadelphia as part of a package which saw Eric Lindros go to New York.
In 2006, Brendl joined the Swedish Elitserien team Mora IK for which he scored the most goals in the Elitserien during the regular season. After one season with the team he signed a three-year contract with Brynäs IF, also in Elitserien. Brynäs regards the signing of Brendl as one of the club's biggest and most spectacular signings in the recent history of the club. [1] In June, 2008, Brendl signed with the Russian team Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in the Kontinental Hockey League. [2] In the inaugural season of the KHL, Brendl led the league in scoring with 35 goals (with another Czech forward Jan Marek).
In 2010, Brendl signed with the KalPa of the SM-liiga.
Brendl is often considered to be a notable draft bust due to his high draft selection and his inability to transition his high-scoring junior career to the NHL level. Although compared to Mike Bossy by scouts for his scoring prowess before being drafted, Brendl only scored 11 goals in 78 NHL games. [3] Brendl's lack of work ethic has been cited as a primary reason why his game never transitioned to the NHL level, being considered a "one-dimension" offensive player and not adapting to the exercise or defencive requirements of the league. [3] [4] Following the conclusion of his playing career, Brendl admitted in an essay that coaches treating him as a one-dimensional player who was only capable of playing in offensive situations made him lose motivation in his hockey career shortly after being drafted, and blamed a combination of poor personal decisions and poor coaching on why his NHL career did not work out, but rejects the "bust" label given his lengthy overseas career. [5]
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