Brad Lukowich

Bradley J. Lukowich (born August 12, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and former assistant coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League. He has won the Stanley Cup twice in his career, with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. He was on the roster of the Stars when they won the cup in 1998–99, but did not play enough games to get his name on the Cup. He is currently coaching hockey.

Playing career Lukowich played major junior in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Kamloops Blazers for three seasons. On December 5, 1993, he scored the goal in the first recorded teddy bear toss that prompted fans to throw a few hundred bears onto the ice. With Kamloops, Lukowich won back-to-back Memorial Cup championships in 1994 and 1995. He played in the Stars' system with the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League (IHL) in his first three professional seasons, earning NHL call-ups with the Stars in 1997–98 and 1998–99. Lukowich participated in the Stars' 1999 Stanley Cup championship win, appearing in eight games during the playoffs, but did not qualify to have his name added to the Cup. In 1999–2000, he remained with the Stars full-time and recorded four points over 60 games in his NHL rookie season, averaging nearly 12 minutes of ice time. Lukowich scored eight points in his only season with the Sharks before being traded once more, along with defenceman Christian Ehrhoff on August 28, 2009, to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for prospects Daniel Rahimi and Patrick White.

With 10 defencemen on the Canucks with one-way contracts, however, Lukowich was assigned by the Canucks to the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was recalled on January 1, 2010, due to an injury to defenceman Kevin Bieksa. He subsequently scored his first goal as a Canuck, as well as his first in 111 NHL games overall, on January 25, a game-winner in a 3–2 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

In June 2013, Lukowich signed a contract with the Western Hockey League's Lethbridge Hurricanes to become the team's assistant coach. He was dismissed in February 2014, which led to a wrongful dismissal suit launched in April. The suit was settled in August 2014, with the Hurricanes issuing a statement that Lukowich had not been fired with cause.

Personal life Lukowich and his wife Cara have two daughters. His father, Bernie Lukowich, played two seasons in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as 21 games with the Calgary Cowboys of the World Hockey Association (WHA), while his cousin Morris Lukowich played 582 games in the NHL and 228 games in the WHA.

Lukowich resides in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, where he is in charge of hockey programs at local StarCenter ice rinks.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1992–93 Kamloops Blazers WHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1993–94 Kamloops Blazers WHL 42 5 11 16 168 16 0 1 1 35 1994–95 Kamloops Blazers WHL 63 10 35 45 125 18 0 7 7 21 1995–96 Kamloops Blazers WHL 65 14 55 69 114 13 2 10 12 29 1996–97 Michigan K-Wings IHL 69 2 6 8 77 4 0 1 1 2 1997–98 Michigan K-Wings IHL 60 6 27 33 104 4 0 4 4 14 1997–98 Dallas Stars NHL 4 0 1 1 2 — — — — — 1998–99 Michigan K-Wings IHL 67 8 21 29 95 — — — — — 1998–99 Dallas Stars NHL 14 1 2 3 19 8 0 1 1 4 1999–00 Dallas Stars NHL 60 3 1 4 50 — — — — — 2000–01 Dallas Stars NHL 80 4 10 14 76 10 1 0 1 4 2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 66 1 6 7 40 — — — — — 2002–03 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 70 1 14 15 46 9 0 1 1 2 2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 79 5 14 19 24 18 0 2 2 6 2004–05 Fort Worth Brahmas CHL 16 3 5 8 33 — — — — — 2005–06 New York Islanders NHL 57 1 12 13 32 — — — — — 2005–06 New Jersey Devils NHL 18 1 7 8 8 9 0 0 0 4 2006–07 New Jersey Devils NHL 75 4 8 12 36 11 0 1 1 2 2007–08 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 59 1 6 7 20 — — — — — 2008–09 San Jose Sharks NHL 58 0 8 8 12 6 0 0 0 0 2009–10 Texas Stars AHL 29 3 15 18 10 — — — — — 2009–10 Vancouver Canucks NHL 13 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 2010–11 Texas Stars AHL 67 4 23 27 59 6 1 0 1 2 2010–11 Dallas Stars NHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Texas Stars AHL 67 4 22 26 40 — — — — — NHL totals 658 23 90 113 369 71 1 5 6 22

Awards Won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.