Brian Finley

Brian Finley (born July 13, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played for the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.

Playing career Finley was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie. Finley was a standout junior goaltender played most of his junior hockey with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In 1999, Finley won the OHL Goaltender of the Year. He was among the leaders of the Colts that won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as champions of the OHL and went on to the 2000 Memorial Cup Finals where they lost to the Rimouski Océanic 6–3. Finley was a member of Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1999 where he won a silver medal and 2000, where he won a bronze medal. He was invited to try out a third time for the 2001 tournament.

As a top-rated goaltender Finley was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the first round, sixth overall of the 1999 NHL entry draft. He signed a three-year contract with the Predators, including a sizeable signing bonus. He was invited to the 2000–01 Predators training camp and started in four games. He was sent back to the Colts following the camp as Mike Dunham's contract holdout had been resolved. However, after playing 20 games, Finley suffered a serious groin injury that required surgery.

Finley joined the Predators the following year and spent the next few years with Nashville's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. He made his NHL debut on January 1, 2003 in relief of the injured Tomáš Vokoun, allowing three goals. He was named AHL Goaltender of the Month for November on December 1, 2005.

Finley was an unrestricted free agent following the 2005–06 season. He signed with the Boston Bruins on July 17, 2006. During the 2006–07 season he played ten games for Boston's AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and two games for Boston. In his first appearance for Boston, he replaced Tim Thomas in net, giving up two goals in a 6–4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This would be his last professional season, as after the 2006–07 season Finley chose to retire after appearing in four NHL games.

Personal Following his retirement from professional hockey, Finley became a police officer with York Regional Police since 2009.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1997–98 Barrie Colts OHL 41 23 14 1 — 2154 105 3 2.92 .917 5 1 3 260 13 0 3.00 .918 1998–99 Barrie Colts OHL 52 36 10 4 — 3063 136 3 2.66 .920 5 4 1 323 15 0 2.79 .917 1999–2000 Barrie Colts OHL 47 24 12 6 — 2540 130 2 3.07 .916 23 14 8 1353 58 1 2.57 .923 2000–01 Barrie Colts OHL 16 5 8 0 — 818 42 0 3.08 .912 — — — — — — — — 2000–01 Brampton Battalion OHL 11 7 3 1 — 631 31 0 2.95 .900 9 5 4 503 26 1 3.10 .916 2002–03 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 — 47 3 0 3.86 .769 — — — — — — — — 2002–03 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 22 7 11 2 — 1207 59 2 2.93 .898 — — — — — — — — 2002–03 Toledo Storm ECHL 7 4 2 0 — 305 12 0 2.36 .918 1 0 1 60 4 0 4.00 .889 2003–04 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 43 23 15 4 — 2561 100 2 2.34 .918 1 0 1 59 2 0 2.05 .917 2004–05 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 64 36 22 — 4 3642 139 7 2.29 .921 7 3 4 458 20 1 2.62 .913 2005–06 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 32 18 7 — 2 1708 77 4 2.70 .908 8 3 2 415 20 0 2.89 .892 2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 1 — 0 60 7 0 7.00 .829 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 1 — 0 59 3 0 3.04 .909 — — — — — — — — 2006–07 Providence Bruins AHL 10 6 3 — 0 576 29 1 3.02 .893 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 4 0 2 0 0 166 13 0 4.70 .851 — — — — — — — — AHL totals 171 90 58 6 6 9,694 404 16 2.50 .913 16 6 7 932 42 1 2.70 .904

International Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1999 Canada WJC 1 0 0 0 20 2 0 6.00 .667 2000 Canada WJC 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .921 Junior totals 2 1 0 0 80 5 0 3.75 —