Brian Strait

Brian James Strait (born January 4, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who is an unrestricted free agent. He last played for the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders and the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL.

Playing career

Amateur As a youth, Strait played in the 2002 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Middlesex Islanders minor ice hockey team.

Strait played two seasons at the Northfield Mount Hermon School, recording 12 points during his freshman season, and 20 the next year. Beginning in 2004 he joined the U.S. National Development Team in the North American Hockey League. He was the captain of the gold-medal U.S. team at the 2006 IIHF World U18 Championships.

After graduating from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in 2006, Strait attended Boston University, where he began playing for the Boston Terriers men's ice hockey team. In his freshman season, Strait was twice selected as Hockey East rookie of the week. He served as captain of the U.S. team at the 2008 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where the team finished fourth. That season he also was selected runner-up for the Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman award.

Professional After his junior season at Boston University, Strait signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who selected Strait in 2006. He began his professional career a few months later with the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Strait made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh on February 21, 2011, against the Washington Capitals. On the eve of the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, he was picked off of waivers from the Penguins by the New York Islanders January 18, 2013. After establishing his role within the Islanders defense after 6 games he signed a three-year one-way extension deal worth $775,000 per year on January 31, 2013. He scored his first NHL goal on December 20, 2013, against Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers.

On July 1, 2016, Strait signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Winnipeg Jets. Strait appeared in 5 games for 2 assists, over the course of the 2016–17 season, in his lone year with the Jets.

Having left the Jets at the conclusion of his contract, Strait returned to the Metropolitan division, in signing a one-year, two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils on July 1, 2017. In the 2017–18 season, he was reassigned to serve as an Alternate captain with the Devils AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Devils. Adding a veteran presence for the B-Devils inaugural campaign, Strait appeared in 61 games for 8 points. On May 8, 2018, Strait opted to forgo free agency agreeing to a two-year, two-way extension to remain with the New Jersey Devils.

Career statistics

Regular Season and Playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2002–03 Northfield Mount Hermon School HS Prep 30 1 8 9 — — — — — 2003–04 Northfield Mount Hermon School HS Prep 30 5 15 20 — — — — — 2004–05 US NTDP U17 USDP 18 1 5 6 8 — — — — — 2004–05 US NTDP U18 USDP 7 0 3 3 2 — — — — — 2004–05 US NTDP Juniors NAHL 42 4 8 12 42 10 0 2 2 2 2005–06 US NTDP U18 USDP 40 2 7 9 31 — — — — — 2005–06 US NTDP U18 NAHL 15 0 5 5 41 — — — — — 2006–07 Boston University HE 36 3 3 6 47 — — — — — 2007–08 Boston University HE 37 0 10 10 20 — — — — — 2008–09 Boston University HE 38 2 5 7 67 — — — — — 2009–10 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 78 2 12 14 73 4 0 1 1 0 2010–11 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 75 2 8 10 49 12 1 3 4 10 2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 41 4 12 16 26 2 0 1 1 0 2011–12 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 9 0 1 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 2012–13 Wilkes–Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 26 0 0 0 34 — — — — — 2012–13 New York Islanders NHL 19 0 4 4 10 6 1 0 1 12 2013–14 New York Islanders NHL 47 3 6 9 14 — — — — — 2014–15 New York Islanders NHL 52 2 5 7 32 7 0 0 0 4 2015–16 New York Islanders NHL 52 1 5 6 31 — — — — — 2016–17 Manitoba Moose AHL 58 2 12 14 36 — — — — — 2016–17 Winnipeg Jets NHL 5 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2017–18 Binghamton Devils AHL 61 3 5 8 52 — — — — — 2018–19 Binghamton Devils AHL 10 0 0 0 8 — — — — — AHL totals 349 13 49 62 278 18 1 5 6 10 NHL totals 187 6 23 29 91 16 1 0 1 16

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2005 United States U17 5th 5 0 0 0 2 2006 United States WJC18 6 0 0 0 4 2008 United States WJC 4th 6 0 0 0 6 Junior totals 17 0 0 0 12