Thomas Brett Skinner (born June 28, 1983) 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 h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

and current head coach of the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won one league championship in 2018 and was awarded USHL Organization of the Year for 2008–09 and 2012–13. ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

(USHL). He spent one season as the head coach of the

Minnesota Wilderness The Minnesota Wilderness are a Tier II junior ice hockey team based in Cloquet, Minnesota, and play in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The organization formerly fielded teams in the Canada-based Junior A Superior International Junior ...

of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) after serving five seasons as an assistant coach with the

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...

of the USHL. Skinner played professional hockey for eleven seasons between 2005 and 2017, appearing in over 400 games for 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) for 10 different clubs, and briefly in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL),

National Hockey League 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 ...

(NHL) and overseas in the Czech Republic. Skinner was drafted by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

68th overall in the 3rd round of the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...

Playing career

Skinner was drafted by the

68th overall in the 3rd round of the

. Brett was a member of the

Trail Smoke Eaters The Trail Smoke Eaters are a junior A ice hockey team from Trail, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League. History The Smoke Eaters (aka ''Smokies'') have existed as both junior and senior teams since the ...

in the

BCHL The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league from British Columbia under Hockey Canada and BC Hockey. Founded in Vernon in 1961, the BCHL now includes 18 teams. From 1993 to 2021, the league was a member of the Ca ...

in 2000–01, the

Des Moines Buccaneers The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season. History The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...

in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

in 2001–02, and then the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

from 2002–2005. As a Denver Pioneer, he was a member of two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

national championship winning teams, was named an All-American in 2004–05. He was named team captain for what would have been his senior year at Denver (2005–06) but signed his first professional contract with the Canucks on August 30, 2005, and made his pro debut with affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...

of the AHL, in the 2005–06 season. At the trade deadline, Skinner was traded by the Canucks, along with a 2nd round pick to the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *'' The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title * ...

for

Keith Carney Keith Edward Carney (born February 3, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He last played for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2007–08 season. Playing career Keith Carney was drafted 76t ...

and Juha Alen on March 9, 2006. Despite being dealt, Skinner remained on loan with the Moose until the end of the season. Skinner spent the 2006–07 season, playing with the

Augusta Lynx The Augusta Lynx were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the James Brown Arena. The Lynx, who played in the ECHL, had affiliations with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL ...

, Portland Pirates and the

Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Omaha, Nebraska, United States at the Omaha Civic Auditorium from 2005–07. Following the 2006–07 season, the Calgary Flames annou ...

. He was traded by the Ducks, along with Nathan Saunders, to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

for

Mark Mowers Mark C. Mowers (born February 16, 1974) is a former professional ice hockey forward and current pro scout for the Minnesota Wild. He had previously played in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Brui ...

just prior to the 2007–08 season on September 24, 2007. Skinner enjoyed a break out year with the Providence Bruins recording 47 points in 68 games and playing in the AHL All-Star game. On July 3, 2008, Skinner was signed to a one-year contract by the New York Islanders. He was assigned to its affiliate, the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...

of the AHL, to start the 2008–09 season. When a rash of injuries hit the Islanders, Skinner was recalled and made his NHL debut in a 4-2 defeat against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

on October 27, 2008. Skinner played 11 games with the Isles before he was returned to the Sound Tigers. On January 13, 2009, he was traded by the Islanders to the Atlanta Thrashers for

Junior Lessard Lucien Lessard Jr. (born May 26, 1980), known as Junior Lessard, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH. Playing career As a youth, Lessard played in the 1993 and 1994 Q ...

. He was then assigned to affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

, where he remained for the rest of the season. On July 8, 2009, Skinner signed a one-year contract with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. He was assigned to the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

, for 2009–10. Skinner scored 28 points in 73 games for the Monsters. During the season on January 22, 2010, Skinner was re-called but did not debut with the Avalanche. Skinner left North America as a free agent and signed a one-year contract with the Russian team,

Amur Khabarovsk Hockey Club Amur (russian: Хоккейный клуб Амур), commonly referred to as the Amur Khabarovsk, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Khabarovsk. They are members of the Chernyshev Division of the Kontinental Hockey Le ...

, of the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

on August 12, 2010. In the 2011–12 season, Skinner journey-manned as he played for three different teams in three different leagues, the

Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Eissporthalle Iserlohn which is also known as '' ...

in Germany,

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the Liiga. They play at ''Tampere Deck Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 18 Finnish league championships (1959, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, ...

in Finland and

Modo Hockey Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The club was founded in 1987 and has won one SHL championships; in 2007. ...

in Sweden respectively. Without substantial European interest, Skinner returned to North America and signed a one-year contract with the

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009 in the Central Hockey League (CHL) where they played f ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

on October 12, 2012. During the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, Skinner was leading the league in defensive scoring with 37 points in 28 games, before he was loaned to the American League's Grand Rapids Griffins on January 31, 2013. After three games with the Griffins he was signed to an AHL contract for the remainder of the season on February 7, 2013. On September 2, 2014, Skinner signed abroad as a free agent to a one-year contract with KHL Chomutov of the second Czech division the, 1. národní hokejová liga.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Brett 1983 births Allen Americans players Amur Khabarovsk players Augusta Lynx players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Des Moines Buccaneers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey people from Brandon, Manitoba Iserlohn Roosters players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Manitoba Moose players Modo Hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions New York Islanders players Norfolk Admirals players Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights players Portland Pirates players Piráti Chomutov players Providence Bruins players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Tappara players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the Czech Republic Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches