Brad Isbister

Brad Isbister (born May 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 541 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career Isbister grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and played junior hockey with the Calgary Canucks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, recording 49 points in 35 games in 1992–93. The following season, he began his career in the Western Hockey League with the Portland Winter Hawks. After a 16-goal, 36-point season in 1994–95, he was drafted in the third round, 67th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1995 NHL entry draft. Upon being drafted, he returned to the Winter Hawks and recorded 89 points, as well as a team-high 45 goals. In his final year with the Winter Hawks, Isbister recorded 33 points in 24 games and was named to the WHL West Second All-Star Team. That season, he also competed for the Team Canada at the 1997 World Junior Championships and made his professional debut with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL, appearing in 7 games.

Isbister played his first NHL game on October 1, 1997, for the Phoenix Coyotes (formerly the Winnipeg Jets) against the Chicago Blackhawks. His first NHL point was an assist, in a 3–2 Phoenix win over the Colorado Avalanche on October 11. He scored his first NHL goal ten days later on October 21, in a 4–3 loss to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Isbister finished his rookie season with 17 points in 66 games. After his second season with the Coyotes, Isbister was traded to the New York Islanders on March 20, 1999, with a third round draft pick (Brian Collins) in 1999 for Robert Reichel, a third round draft pick (Jason Jaspers) in 1999 and a fourth round draft pick (via Ottawa; Phoenix selected Preston Mizzi) in 1999. With New York, Isbister spent the majority of the 2006–07 season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate.

Following his only season with the Rangers organization, Isbister signed a one-year, $525,000 contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Isbister only played 55 games with Vancouver due to injuries and staff decisions.

In 2008, he was not re-signed and was picked up by the Ottawa Senators, signing a two-way, one-year contract on September 4, 2008. At the end of training camp, Isbister was assigned to Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. However, he instead went overseas to play for EV Zug of the Swiss Nationalliga A and on September 27, 2009, retired as an active player and went into coaching.

International play

Isbister first played internationally with Team Canada at the 1997 World Junior Championships. He scored 7 points in 7 games, tied for seventh in tournament scoring, as Canada captured their fifth straight gold medal. Isbister scored the final goal of the 2–0 victory over the United States in the gold medal game.

Three years later, Isbister made his senior international debut, competing in the 2000 World Championships. He scored 7 points in 9 games for Team Canada, but they were defeated in the semi-finals by the Czech Republic, then lost the bronze medal game to Finland.

Isbister competed for Canada for the second consecutive year in the 2001 World Championships and scored 5 goals in 7 games. Canada was once again held from a medal as they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by the United States.

Coaching career On September 27, 2009, the University of Calgary's head hockey coach, Mark Howell, announced that Isbister would be an assistant coach along with former NHL player Cory Cross. He coached for one season with the Dinos.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1992–93 Calgary Canucks AJHL 35 24 25 49 74 — — — — — 1993–94 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 64 7 10 17 45 10 0 2 2 0 1994–95 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 67 16 20 36 123 — — — — — 1995–96 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 71 45 44 89 184 7 2 4 6 20 1996–97 Portland Winter Hawks WHL 24 15 18 33 45 6 2 1 3 16 1996–97 Springfield Falcons AHL 7 3 1 4 14 9 1 2 3 10 1997–98 Springfield Falcons AHL 9 8 2 10 36 — — — — — 1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 66 9 8 17 102 5 0 0 0 2 1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 32 4 4 8 46 — — — — — 1998–99 Springfield Falcons AHL 4 1 1 2 12 — — — — — 1998–99 Las Vegas Thunder IHL 2 0 0 0 9 — — — — — 1999–00 New York Islanders NHL 64 22 20 42 100 — — — — — 2000–01 New York Islanders NHL 51 18 14 32 59 — — — — — 2001–02 New York Islanders NHL 79 17 21 38 113 3 1 1 2 17 2002–03 New York Islanders NHL 53 10 13 23 34 — — — — — 2002–03 Edmonton Oilers NHL 13 3 2 5 9 6 0 1 1 12 2003–04 Edmonton Oilers NHL 51 10 8 18 54 — — — — — 2004–05 HC TWK Innsbruck EBEL 11 7 4 11 41 5 3 1 4 6 2005–06 Boston Bruins NHL 58 6 17 23 46 — — — — — 2006–07 Albany River Rats AHL 9 3 5 8 54 — — — — — 2006–07 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 34 12 8 20 22 — — — — — 2006–07 New York Rangers NHL 19 1 4 5 14 4 0 0 0 2 2007–08 Vancouver Canucks NHL 55 6 5 11 38 — — — — — 2008–09 EV Zug NLA 24 10 7 17 55 3 1 1 2 12 NHL totals 541 106 116 222 615 18 1 2 3 33

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 1997 Canada WJC 7 4 3 7 8 2000 Canada WC 4th 9 4 3 7 18 2001 Canada WC 5th 7 5 0 5 16 Junior totals 7 4 3 7 8 Senior totals 16 9 3 12 34

Awards and achievements Gold medal (World Junior Championships with Team Canada) - 1997 WHL West Second All-Star Team - 1997