Louis Dennis DeBrusk (born March 19, 1971) 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. He is currently a

colour analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a Sportscaster, sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian E ...

for

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 ...

broadcasts on

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

and the late game of ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

''.

Playing career

DeBrusk was raised in

Port Elgin, Ontario Port Elgin is a community in Bruce County, Ontario, Canada. Its location is in the traditional territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation. Originally named Normanton the town was renamed Port Elgin when it was incorporated in 1874, after James Bruce, ...

and played junior hockey with the Port Elgin Bears and

Stratford Cullitons The Stratford Warriors are a junior ice hockey team based in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. They play in the Mid-Western division of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The team was originally named the Warriors but was changed to Cullitons i ...

before joining the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

. Drafted by 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 ...

in the third round of the

1989 NHL Entry Draft The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was the 27th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the pla ...

, DeBrusk would never appear in a game for the club as he was traded to the

on October 4, 1991 in a package with

Bernie Nicholls Bernard Irvine Nicholls (born June 24, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre, who played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). His junior career was spent with the Kingston Canadians, where he established himse ...

, and

Steven Rice Steven Rice (born May 26, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League in the 1990s. Rice was born in Kitchener, Ontario. Rice was drafted 20th overall by the New York ...

for

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

. Debrusk joined 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 ...

as a free agent on August 27, 1997 to replace 'tough' players Rudy Poeschek and

Brantt Myhres Brantt Robert Myhres (born March 18, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the fifth round, 97th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Myhres played for the Tampa ...

when he signed a two-year, two-way deal worth about $750,000, with the second year at the Lightning's option, before being traded to the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

on June 11th, 1998, along with a 5th round pick in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

for

Craig Janney Craig Harlan Janney (born September 26, 1967) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League from 1987–88 until 1998–99, when blood clots ended his career prematurely. Playing ca ...

. Debrusk, an impending restricted free agent, was resigned by the Coyotes on August 10, 1998. On August 30, 2002, by this time again an unrestricted free agent, Debrusk signed a contract with the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

. He would last appear in a professional hockey game during the

2003–04 AHL season The 2003–04 AHL season was the 68th season of the American Hockey League. The league introduced the Willie Marshall Award in honor of the career points leader in the AHL, and awards it to the annual top goal scorer. The AHL switched from a si ...

. Altogether, Debrusk played 401

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 ...

games. DeBrusk was known for his fighting skills and racked up 1161 penalty minutes over the course of his NHL career. He was inducted to his hometown Cambridge's Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.

Broadcasting career

Debrusk is the main colour analyst on the late game of ''

''. He previously worked as the colour commentator for the Phoenix Coyotes radio broadcasts. On September 2, 2008, DeBrusk was announced as the new colour commentator for ''

NHL on Sportsnet ''NHL on Sportsnet'' is the blanket title for presentations of the National Hockey League broadcast held by a Canadian media corporation, Rogers Communications, showing on its television channel Sportsnet and other networks owned by or affilia ...

'' Edmonton Oilers television broadcasts, replacing former analyst

Ray Ferraro Raymond Vincent Ferraro (born August 23, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player and currently sports commentator, broadcaster for NHL on ESPN, ESPN/NHL on ABC, ABC and formerly of TSN Hockey, TSN. He played for 21 se ...

. He was replaced by

Drew Remenda Drew Remenda (born April 13, 1962) is a Canadian former hockey coach, radio broadcaster, and television hockey analyst. He currently is a radio and television broadcaster for the San Jose Sharks. He served as colour commentator for television bro ...

in 2014 but continued as an analyst, before rejoining the Oilers broadcast team as a colour commentator for the 2020-21 season, alongside announcer

Jack Michaels Jack Michaels (born January 23, 1974) is an American ice hockey Sports commentator, announcer who is currently the play-by-play announcer for Edmonton Oilers broadcasts on CHED (AM), 630 CHED and Sportsnet television. He was previously the an ...

Personal life

DeBrusk's son

Jake DeBrusk Jake DeBrusk (born October 17, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League (NHL) where he wears jersey number 74. He was drafted 14th overall by the Bruins in the 2 ...

also plays in the NHL. He was ranked the 24th-best player available in the

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...

by NHL Central Scouting, and subsequently selected 14th overall that year by 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 ...

Career statistics

References

External links

Profile at the Coyotes' website
* 1971 births Living people Arizona Coyotes announcers Binghamton Rangers players Cape Breton Oilers players Chicago Blackhawks players Edmonton Oilers announcers Edmonton Oilers players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Ontario Las Vegas Thunder players London Knights players Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) players National Hockey League broadcasters New York Rangers draft picks Norfolk Admirals players People from Cambridge, Ontario Phoenix Coyotes players Quebec Citadelles players San Antonio Dragons players Springfield Falcons players Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian ice hockey left wingers {{Canada-icehockey-winger-1970s-stub