Richard Joseph "Rick" Brebant (born ) is a retired

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 who played mainly in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. He is a member of the

British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame The British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame was founded in 1948 and is the third oldest ice hockey Hall of Fame in the world, behind the Russian and Soviet Hockey Hall of Fame (also founded in 1948) and the International Hockey Hall of Fame (founded in 19 ...

Career

Club

Born in Elliot Lake,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, Brebant started his professional career by playing the start of the 1987–88 season with the

Carolina Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. ...

in the

All-American Hockey League The All-American Hockey League (AAHL) was a minor professional hockey league formed in 1986 after the Continental Hockey League (CnHL) ceased operations. The league was created by the CnHL teams Danville, Dayton, and Troy adding the Downriver ...

(a predecessor of the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

). However, he left the club part way through the season to join the Durham Wasps who were playing in the Premier Division of the

British Hockey League The British Hockey League was the top-flight ice hockey league in the United Kingdom from 1980 until 1996 (with a short break between 1981 and 1982), when it was replaced by the Ice Hockey Superleague and the British National League. The league r ...

(BHL). Brebant stayed with the Wasps for six seasons. During his time with the Wasps he helped them to win the Norwich Union Cup in 1988–89 and 1990–91, the Premier Division in 1988–89, 1990–91 and 1991–92, and the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...

in 1988, 1991 and 1992. Brebant, himself, was named to the All-star team three times during this period as well as being named the British Ice Hockey Writers Association Player of the Year in 1990–91. In 1993, Brebant moved to the Cardiff Devils where he helped the team win the Premier Division and the playoffs in 1993–94. Brebant, again, was named to the All-star team this season. The following season, 1994–95, Brebant moved to the

Nottingham Panthers The Nottingham Panthers are a British professional ice hockey club based in Nottingham, England. They are members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. Their main team sponsor is the Nottingham Building Society. The Nottingham Panthers have won four ...

where he helped the team win the

Benson and Hedges Cup The Benson & Hedges Cup was a one-day cricket competition for first-class counties in England and Wales that was held from 1972 to 2002, one of cricket's longest sponsorship deals. It was the third major one-day competition established in Engla ...

(B&H Cup) and himself to his fifth time on the All-star team. Brebant returned to the Durham Wasps for the 1995–96 season before the team relocated to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

for the 1996–97 season as the

Newcastle Cobras The Newcastle Jesters were an ice hockey franchise based in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. The team were members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and played their home games at the Telewest Arena (now the Metro Radio Arena). History Single Season ...

in the newly formed

Ice Hockey Superleague The British Ice Hockey Superleague (BISL, also known as the Sekonda Ice Hockey Superleague from 1998 to 1999 for sponsorship reasons) was a professional ice hockey league in the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2003. Devised in 1995, it replaced ...

(ISL) and he became the team's

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

. After only a few games at the beginning of the 1997–98 season, Brebant moved to the Manchester Storm. The following season, still with Manchester, Brebant helped the team to win the B&H Cup and the league. Brebant stayed with Manchester for the beginning of the 1999–00 season before finishing the season with 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 ...

. For the 2000–01 season, Brebant moved to the

Sheffield Steelers The Sheffield Steelers are a professional ice hockey team located in Sheffield, England. They were formed in 1991 (see 1991 in sport) and play their home games at the Utilita Arena. They are currently a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League. ...

to play as an assistant coach under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Mike Blaisdell Michael Walter Blaisdell (born January 18, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1980 and 1989 and later in the British Hockey League (BHL) from 1990 to 2001. He was ...

, a friend from his time with the Durham Wasps. During the 2000–01 season, Brebant helped the team to a grand-slam by winning the B&H Cup, the Challenge Cup, the league, and the playoffs. The following season he helped the team to win the playoffs and, in the 2002–03 season, to win the Challenge Cup and the league. In 2003, Brebant moved back to Manchester for his final season in ice hockey, this time with the

Manchester Phoenix Manchester Phoenix was a semi professional ice hockey team from Greater Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group ''Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey'' to bring top-level ice hockey back to Ma ...

in the

Elite Ice Hockey League The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey ...

and again as a player-coach.

International

Brebant was first selected to play for the

Great Britain national ice hockey team The Great Britain men's national ice hockey team (also known as Team GB) is the national ice hockey team that represents the United Kingdom. A founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 1908, the team is control ...

in 1994 in Pool A of the

Ice Hockey World Championships The Ice Hockey World Championships are an annual international men's ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual ...

. Brebant's only

point Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

during the tournament was a shorthanded

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

against his home country,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, which Brebant has described as his favourite goal. Brebant was a regular member of the GB team throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s making a total of 32 appearances and scoring ten goals and 26 points.

Awards

*Named to the Premier Division All-star Team in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995. * British Ice Hockey Writers Association

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

in 1990–91. *Inducted to

in 2004.

Records

*Highest BHL Premier Division points scorer in 1988–89, 1990–91 and 1991–92. *All time goal, assist and point scorer for Durham Wasps. *Most assists in a single season for Durham Wasps. *Most points in a single season for Durham Wasps.

Career statistics

Club

International

Footnotes

References

External links

European Hockey.netIce Hockey Journalists UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brebant, Rick 1964 births Living people British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Canadian ice hockey centres Cardiff Devils players Carolina Thunderbirds players Durham Wasps players London Knights (UK) players Manchester Phoenix players Manchester Storm (1995–2002) players Newcastle Cobras players Nottingham Panthers players Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey players Sheffield Steelers players People from Elliot Lake Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Wales