Shot Right Name Brian Pothier Career start 2000 Role Ice hockey player Position Defenseman | NHL Draft Undrafted Height 1.83 m Shoots Right-handed Playing career Weight 90 kg | |
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NLA teamFormer teams Geneve-Servette HCAtlanta ThrashersOttawa SenatorsWashington CapitalsCarolina Hurricanes Education | ||
Brian pothier gets his first as a cane
Brian Pothier (born April 15, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Pothier played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2000 until 2010.
Contents
- Brian pothier gets his first as a cane
- Brian pothier first goal in 15 months
- Playing career
- Transactions
- References
Brian pothier first goal in 15 months
Playing career
Undrafted to the NHL, Pothier played collegiate hockey with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After his senior year he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers on March 27, 2000. After two seasons with the Thrashers he was moved to the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2002–03 season in a trade for Shawn McEachern, and was later signed by the Washington Capitals as a free agent in the summer of 2006.
On January 3, 2008, Pothier was injured suffering a concussion, possibly when Boston Bruins right winger Milan Lucic hit him hard into the boards, resulting in the fourth reported concussion of his career which sidelined Brian for the next fourteen months. Pothier later attributed his post-concussion symptoms and long recovery period to an undiagnosed astigmatism resulting from his latest concussion. He stated that he had recovered from the concussion two to three months after the injury, but his astigmatism led to the symptoms previously thought to be post-concussion syndrome until it was properly diagnosed in December 2008.
On December 17, 2008, he practiced in full gear for the first time since the injury. On March 4, 2009, Pothier was assigned to the Capitals American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for conditioning and to see if he experienced any post-concussion symptoms. After successfully completing his conditioning stint, Pothier was recalled back to the Capitals and made his return to the ice on March 16, 2009, fourteen months after the initial injury. He then scored his first goal since his injury on March 31, 2009 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In the 2009–10 season after scoring 11 points in 41 games with the Capitals, Brian was traded along with prospect Oskar Osala to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defensemen Joe Corvo on March 3, 2010.
On July 27, 2010, Pothier ended his North American career and signed a two-year contract with European team Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss National League A (NLA). After two seasons in Switzerland, Pothier signed a two-year contract extension to remain with Genève-Servette. However he was unable to take the ice, due to lingering concussion symptoms that ultimately ended his professional career.
While in his recovery and still of the intention to fulfill his contract obligation to Genève-Servette HC, Pothier served as a voluntary assistant coach with the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth.