Brian Bradley (ice Hockey, Born 1965)
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Brian Richard Walter Bradley (born January 21, 1965) is a
Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...
former professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
player. Bradley played for a number of different hockey teams in many different leagues. He played for the London Knights in the early 1980s before being selected 51st overall, in the 3rd round, by the
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
at the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Bradley spent a season with the Canadian national team before moving to the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) for good.


Playing career

As a youth, Bradley played in the 1978 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Kitchener, Ontario. Brian Bradley's NHL debut came in the 1985–86 season with the
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
, where he saw very limited action (only 5 regular season games and one playoff game), although his first playoff game was during the 1986 Stanley Cup Finals against the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
. He would spend most of the season with the
Moncton Golden Flames The Moncton Golden Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick, playing home games at the Moncton Coliseum. The team operated in the American Hockey League between 1984–85 AHL season, 1984 and 1986–87 AHL season, ...
(Calgary's minor league team), where he was linemates with future superstar
Brett Hull Brett Andrew Hull (born August 9, 1964) is a Canadians, Canadian–Americans, American former ice hockey player and general manager, and currently an executive vice president of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played f ...
. In 1988, after arriving back from playing with Canadian National Men's Hockey Team, where he spent most of the 1986–87 NHL season playing, Bradley was traded to the
Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
. During the 1989 playoffs, Bradley would tie rookie Trevor Linden with a team-leading 7 points in seven games. His best regular season totals with the Canucks came in the 1989–90 season when he scored a team respectable 48 points and was awarded The Canucks' "Most Exciting Player Award" by Canuck fans. He started out the 1990–91 season playing strongly, only to be traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
for mobile defenceman Tom Kurvers. In
1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...
, the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning acquired him in the 1992 NHL Expansion Draft, and he would become the team's first star. He would score the team's first preseason goal against the Minnesota North Stars. He would set personal highs in goals, assists and points before the All-Star Break. At the end of Tampa Bay's inaugural season, Bradley led the team with a career high 42 goals and 86 points. He played well enough throughout the season that he also made his
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
All-Star debut. In 1995–96 he set a personal high of 56 assists. That same year the
Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
debuted in the NHL playoffs. The next season ( 1996–97) Brian Bradley would score the first goal in the history of the Ice Palace arena. Unfortunately, he would be sidelined for most of the 1997-98 season due to a concussion. He would remain with the Lightning until retiring due to chronic injuries on September 23, 1999.


Post-hockey life

Bradley is still affiliated with the Lightning's organization and makes frequent appearances on Bally Sports Sun television, which broadcasts regular season Lightning games. On March 29, 2017, Bradley was inducted into the Sports Club of Tampa Bay Hall of Fame as part of the Hall's 34th class. Bradley became the third member of the Lightning organization to be inducted. This is Bradley's second hall of fame induction in that he is also a member of the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame in his hometown of Kitchener, Ontario.


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


International


Awards and honours

*Selected to two NHL All-Star Games: 1993,
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
*Held the NHL record for most goals scored (42) by a single player in an expansion team's inaugural season from 1993-2018. *Inducted into the Tampa Bay Lightning Hall of Fame in 2025.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Brian 1965 births Living people Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey centres Colorado Flames players Ice hockey people from Kitchener, Ontario Ice hockey players at the 1988 Winter Olympics London Knights players Moncton Golden Flames players National Hockey League All-Stars Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Tampa Bay Lightning announcers Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen