Luke Bradley Bombardir (born May 5, 1972) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who played for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

and the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. He currently serves as the Minnesota Wild's Director of Player Development and Senior Director of Community Relations.

Playing career

Amateur

Growing up in British Columbia, Bombardir played minor hockey with the Powell River Paper Kings in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League from 1988 until 1990. As a result of his play, in which he recorded 10 goals and 25 assists in 60 games, Bombardir was selected in the third round, 56th overall, in the

1990 NHL Entry Draft The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with fourteen of the twenty- ...

by the

. He did not expect to be drafted and thus showed up at

BC Place BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently ...

in a T-shirt and faded jeans instead of a suit and tie. Prior to the draft, Bombardir was expected to enrol at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

but considered playing in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

for the

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

Professional

After graduating from the University of North Dakota with a degree in economic development, Bombardir began his professional career with the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). In 1996, his second year with the team, Bombardir was selected for the American Hockey League All-Star team. While entering his third professional season, an

NHL lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

happened and Devils assistant coach Larry Robinson spent six weeks training the AHL team. When reflecting on the ordeal, Bombardir said: "I learned more from him in those six weeks than from any other coach." However, Bombardir suffered a broken leg while chasing the puck and missed most of the 1996–1997 season. He returned to the lineup for the 1997–98 season where he made his NHL during a 4–1 loss to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

. Coach

Jacques Lemaire Jacques Gerard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and head coach who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He spent his entire twelve-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career with the Mon ...

praised Bombardir after his debut, saying: "He played well. He was in control...We were confident when he was on the ice." On April 15, 1998, Bombardir recorded his first career NHL goal in a 5–4 loss to the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. During the 1999–2000 season, Bombardir made his NHL post-season debut while

Scott Niedermayer Scott Niedermayer (born August 31, 1973) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman and current special assignment coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He played 18 seasons and over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devi ...

was suspended. The Devils eventually won the

2000 Stanley Cup Finals The 2000 Stanley Cup Finals was the Stanley Cup Finals, championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1999–2000 NHL season, 1999–2000 season, and the culmination of the 2000 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested by the Eastern Co ...

and he brought the Cup to Powell River. His play during the 2000–01 season earned him a three-year contract extension with the Wild after he posted a career-high 15 assists. As well, although the Wild had been rotating captains each month, Bombardir became the first to serve two consecutive months in January and February. In October 2001, Bombardir fractured his right ankle and was expected to miss two months to recover. The injury occurred during a 3-3 tie with the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

when he was smashed into the boards by

Ethan Moreau Ethan Byron Moreau (born September 22, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Moreau was selected in the first round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, 14th overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He ...

. At the time of the injury, Bombardir was playing 25 minutes a game, more than any Wild player. Upon returning to the team's lineup, he recorded his first goal in 104 games during a 5–3 win over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on February 28, 2002. Bombardir returned to the Wild for the 2003–04 season where he was again named captain of the team in January. In February, Bombardir and

Sergei Zholtok Sergei Zholtok, who was also known as Sergejs Žoltoks (December 2, 1972 – November 3, 2004) was a Latvians, Latvian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston B ...

were traded to the

in exchange for a third and fourth-round pick in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

Post-career

In September 2006, Bombardir accepted a full-time position as the director of community partnerships for the Minnesota Wild. Following this, Bombardir was appointed Director of Player Development in 2010.

Personal life

Bombardir and his wife Heather have three children together.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bombardir, Brad 1972 births Living people Albany River Rats players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from British Columbia Minnesota Wild executives Minnesota Wild players Nashville Predators players New Jersey Devils players People from Powell River, British Columbia Powell River Kings players Springfield Falcons players Stanley Cup champions North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players New Jersey Devils draft picks