Brian Lee

''This is about the player born in 1987. For the player of the same name born in 1984, please see Brian Lee (b. 1984).''

Brian Lee (born March 26, 1987) is an American professional ice hockey player. Lee is currently playing for the Ottawa Senators of the (NHL).

Playing career
Brian Lee grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota, and was a stand out player for the Moorhead High School Spuds hockey team. In 2004–05, Lee played junior hockey for the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and had an outstanding season. For his season, he was selected Minnesota's Mr. Hockey as the number one player in Minnesota high school boys hockey in 2005. He was also named the Associated Press' Player of the Year for Minnesota prep boys hockey that year. That year, his senior year, he was one of the few high school players to play for Team USA in the World Junior Hockey Championships.

In the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the Ottawa Senators drafted Lee in the first round, 9th overall. Lee chose to attend the University of North Dakota and played for the college team for two years. Lee would play for the USA at the 2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Lee made his professional hockey debut in the 2007–08 NHL season. Ottawa then assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators, after training camp. Lee was named to the AHL All-Star Game roster in the 2007–08 season. Lee made his NHL regular season debut on March 25, 2008, against the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena in a 6–3 win for Ottawa.

Lee played in 6 games with Ottawa in 2007–08 and in 5 games in 2008–09 before being re-assigned to Binghamton for development on October 22, 2008. He was later recalled and finished the season with Ottawa, recording 13 points in 53 NHL games and assuming a more defensive role.

Following the training camp for the 2009–10 season, Lee was once again assigned to Binghamton, while AHL veteran Matt Carkner and newcomer Erik Karlsson remained with Ottawa. Lee's agent stated that Lee was "shocked and surprised that he’s not among Ottawa’s top-six defencemen."

On November 30, 2010, Lee cleared waivers, however he has since returned to the Senators and has been a semi-regular in the lineup ever since.

Personal information
Brian's brother, John, currently plays NCAA Division I ice hockey with the University of Denver. John was selected by the Florida Panthers in the 5th round (131st overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.