Brian Lee (born March 26, 1987) is an American 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 ...

player. Lee played in the

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 ...

with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, who drafted him in the first round, ninth overall in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

, and the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. Originally considered one of the top defensive prospects, Lee had a solid NHL career but arguably did not live up to expectations of the 9th overall draft selection, only playing in 209 career NHL games.

Playing career

Junior

Brian Lee grew up in

Moorhead, Minnesota Moorhead () is a city in and county seat of Clay County, Minnesota, United States, on the banks of the Red River of the North. Located in the Red River Valley, an extremely fertile and active agricultural region, Moorhead is also home to several ...

, and was a stand out player for the

Moorhead High School Moorhead High School is a public high school in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. Established in 1883, the school serves approximately 2,000 students in grades 912. Extracurricular activities Student groups and activities at Moorhead High Sc ...

Spuds hockey team. In 2004–05, Lee played junior hockey for the

Lincoln Stars The Lincoln Stars are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box on the former Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. History ...

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) and had an outstanding season. For his season, he was selected Minnesota's Mr. Hockey as the number one player in

Minnesota high school boys hockey Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

in 2005. He was also named the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

' Player of the Year for Minnesota prep boys hockey that year. That year, his senior year, he was one of the few high school players to play for Team USA in the

World Junior Hockey Championships The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

College

Lee chose to attend 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 N ...

and played for the college team for two years. Lee would play for the US at the

2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships The 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (''2006 WJHC'') were held in Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. The championships began on December 26, 2005, and finished on January 5, 2006. Games were played at GM Place ...

Ottawa Senators

In the

, the

drafted Lee in the first round, 9th overall. Lee made his professional hockey debut in the

2007–08 NHL season The 2007–08 NHL season was the 91st season of operation (90th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It began on September 29, 2007, and the regular season ended April 6, 2008. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 4, with the ...

. Ottawa then assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, after training camp. Lee was named to the AHL All-Star Game roster in the 2007–08 season. Lee made his NHL regular season debut on March 25, 2008, against 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 ...

HSBC Arena Jeunesse Arena is an indoor multi-purpose arena, located in the region of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named for the American cosmetics company Jeunesse Global through a naming rights deal closed in 2017. Before, the spons ...

in a 6–3 win for Ottawa. Lee played in 6 games with Ottawa in 2007–08 and in 5 games in 2008–09 before being reassigned to Binghamton for development on October 22, 2008. He was later recalled and finished the season with Ottawa, recording 13 points in 53 NHL games and assuming a more defensive role. Following the training camp for the 2009–10 season, Lee was once again assigned to Binghamton, while AHL veteran

Matt Carkner Matthew "Matt" Carkner (born November 3, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens 58th overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the San J ...

and newcomer

Erik Karlsson Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson (; born 31 May 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Otta ...

remained with Ottawa. Lee's agent stated that Lee was "shocked and surprised that he's not among Ottawa's top-six defencemen."Lee floored by demotion
Ottawa Sun, 30 September 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2009.

Tampa Bay Lightning

On February 27, 2012, Lee was traded by the Senators to the

for

Matt Gilroy Matthew J. Gilroy (born July 20, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who last played for the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League (NL). Gilroy played in National Hockey League (NHL) with the New York Rangers, ...

. In the following

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, on May 17, 2013, while playing with the Syracuse Crunch during 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 ...

Eastern Conference semifinals against the Springfield Falcons, Lee suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament which required surgery, and he opened the 2013–14 NHL season on Tampa Bay's long-term injured reserve list. Lee was not re-signed by the Lightning at the end of his contract and became an unrestricted free agent. On December 12, 2014, Lee announced his retirement from professional hockey. Lee had attended training camp with 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 early October, and said he felt good. However, he started having pain in his knee. This stemmed from the same knee injury that he had two corrective surgeries on. Lee stated that he is planning on studying nursing at North Dakota State and anesthesiology at the University of North Dakota. Lee played a total of 209

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 ...

games with the

and the

. During that time he scored 5 goals, and 31 assists. Lee stated that he still wants to be around hockey and looks forward to being able to give back to the community.

Personal information

Brian's brother, John, played NCAA Division I ice hockey with 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 ...

. John was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 5th round (131st overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Brian 1987 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Binghamton Senators players Lincoln Stars players Living people National Hockey League first-round draft picks North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players Ottawa Senators draft picks Ottawa Senators players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Syracuse Crunch players Tampa Bay Lightning players People from Moorhead, Minnesota