Neil Brady

Neil Patrick Brady (born April 12, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is best known for scoring the first goal in the history of the contemporary Ottawa Senators franchise on October 8, 1992.

Playing career Brady enjoyed an exemplary junior hockey career in the WHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers. After scoring 81 points in 72 games and registering over 100 penalty minutes in 1985–86, Brady was chosen third overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1986 NHL entry draft. He was returned to junior, then turned pro with the AHL's Utica Devils in 1988–89. He made his NHL debut on October 5, 1989.

After just 29 games in 3 seasons in which Brady struggled with his confidence, the Devils organization gave up on him, and he was traded to the expansion Ottawa Senators for future considerations on September 3, 1992. Brady found early success in Ottawa, scoring the first goal for the modern-day Ottawa Senators franchise in both the pre-season, against the Hartford Whalers and the regular season against Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy. He went on to score 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points during the 1992–93 season. Though these numbers were the best of his NHL career, they were nowhere near the standards he set at the junior level.

Brady fell out of favour with the Senators organization, and was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Stars in December, 1993, though he was chiefly a farmhand for his new team. In total, Brady played in 89 NHL games, scoring 9 goals and 22 assists for 31 points and 95 penalty minutes. Brady spent the remainder of his career in the now-defunct International Hockey League. He retired in 2001 after the league folded.

Personal Brady currently lives and works in Calgary, Alberta.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85 Calgary Northstars AAA AMHL 37 25 50 75 75 — — — — — 1984–85 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL — — — — — 3 0 0 0 2 1985–86 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 72 21 60 81 104 21 9 11 20 23 1986–87 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 57 19 64 83 126 18 1 4 5 25 1987–88 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 61 16 35 51 110 15 0 3 3 19 1988–89 Utica Devils AHL 75 16 21 37 56 4 0 3 3 0 1989–90 Utica Devils AHL 38 10 13 23 21 5 0 1 1 10 1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 19 1 4 5 13 — — — — — 1990–91 Utica Devils AHL 77 33 63 96 91 — — — — — 1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1991–92 Utica Devils AHL 33 12 30 42 28 — — — — — 1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 7 1 0 1 4 — — — — — 1992–93 New Haven Senators AHL 8 6 3 9 2 — — — — — 1992–93 Ottawa Senators NHL 55 7 17 24 57 — — — — — 1993–94 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 43 10 16 26 188 5 1 1 2 10 1993–94 Dallas Stars NHL 5 0 1 1 21 — — — — — 1994–95 Kalamazoo Wings IHL 70 13 45 58 140 15 5 14 19 22 1995–96 Michigan K-Wings IHL 61 14 20 34 127 10 1 4 5 8 1996–97 Michigan K-Wings IHL 76 13 20 33 62 4 1 0 1 0 1997–98 Houston Aeros IHL 65 9 26 35 56 4 2 0 2 34 1998–99 Manitoba Moose IHL 13 1 5 6 8 — — — — — 1999–2000 Utah Grizzlies IHL 82 14 36 50 129 3 0 0 0 2 2000–01 Utah Grizzlies IHL 26 0 4 4 34 — — — — — 2000–01 Chicago Wolves IHL 24 1 1 2 12 — — — — — NHL totals 89 9 22 31 95 — — — — — AHL totals 231 77 130 207 198 9 0 4 4 10 IHL totals 460 75 173 248 756 41 10 19 29 76