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Brian Willsie
Brian Willsie
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
Height
Weight
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
202 lb (92 kg)
NHL Team (P)
Cur. Team
F. Teams
Montreal Canadiens
Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Washington Capitals Colorado Avalanche
Los Angeles Kings
Born (1978-03-16)March 16, 1978,
London, ON, CAN
NHL Draft 146th overall, 1996
Colorado Avalanche
Pro Career 1998 – present

Brian Willsie (born March 16, 1978) is a Canadian ice hockey right winger who currently plays for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Playing career[]

Willsie grew up in the small southwestern Ontario town of Belmont, Ontario and played minor hockey for the local Belmont MHA teams and the AAA Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. In 1993–94 he played for the Chiefs Midget AAA team before signing for the 1994–95 season with the St. Thomas Stars Jr.B. club of the Western Ontario Junior B League (OHA).

Willsie began his junior career with the Guelph Storm of the OHL in the 1995–96 season. At the conclusion of the season, Brian was drafted 146th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. After starring for the Storm in the following two seasons, Brian was named to the OHL First All-Star team and represented Canada at the 1998 World Junior Championships.

Willsie made his professional debut in the 1998–99 season with the Hershey Bears of the AHL, affiliate of the Avalanche. In the 1999–2000 season, Brian made his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche, playing in a solitary game on January 9, 2000 against the Chicago Blackhawks. It wasn't until the 2001–02 season that Willsie played his first full season in the NHL appearing in 56 games with the Avalanche.

After spending the majority of his 5-year tenure with Colorado splitting between the AHL and the NHL, Willsie was claimed by the Washington Capitals prior to the 2003–04 season on October 3, 2003.[1] Willsie established himself with the Capitals scoring 15 points in 49 games in a season that was shortened with a concussion

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Willsie had a brief stay with Slovenian team HDD Olimpija Ljubljana before he racked up a team-leading 24 goals along with 17 assists (41 points) in just 53 games played for Capitals affiliate, the Portland Pirates, in the AHL. The 2005–06 season was a breakout year for Willsie, as he set career highs with 19 goals, 22 assists, for a total of 41 points with the Capitals.

On July 4, 2006, Brian signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings.[2] After missing only 1 games with the Kings in the 2006–07 season, Willsie suffered a downturn in production and was often a extra forward in the following season, appearing in only 53 contests.

On July 15, 2008, Willsie signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, marking his second stint with the team.[3] Brian now a veteran, was re-assigned to captain affiliate the Lake Erie Monsters prior to the 2008–09 season.[4] Only 14 games into the season, Willsie was recalled to the depleted Avalanche where he remained for the season appearing in 42 games and scoring his lone goal for the season on January 21, 2009, against former team the Kings in a 6-5 loss.[5] Willsie re-signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche on July 6, 2009.[6]

Willsie played in four games with the Avalanche early in the 2009–10 season but primarily remained in the AHL to continue as captain of Lake Erie. He set a franchise record and led the team with 26 goals in 75 games.[7]

On July 14, 2010, Willsie signed a one-year two-way contract with the Washington Capitals. It is believed he will likely be assigned to the Hershey Bears.[8]

On July 7, 2011, Willsie signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens where he is likely to get more time in the NHL. [9]

Career statistics[]

Regular Season and Playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs Bantam AAA MHAO 39 29 40 69 32
1994–95 St. Thomas Stars Jr.B. WOJHL 44 18 23 41 32
1995–96 Guelph Storm OHL 65 13 21 34 18 16 4 2 6 6
1996–97 Guelph Storm OHL 64 37 31 68 37 18 15 4 19 10
1997–98 Guelph Storm OHL 57 45 31 76 41 12 9 5 14 18
1998–99 Hershey Bears AHL 72 19 10 29 28 3 1 0 1 0
1999–00 Hershey Bears AHL 78 20 39 59 44 12 2 6 8 8
1999–00 Colorado Avalanche NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2000–01 Hershey Bears AHL 48 18 23 41 20 12 7 2 9 14
2001–02 Colorado Avalanche NHL 56 7 7 14 14 4 0 1 1 2
2002–03 Hershey Bears AHL 59 29 28 57 49
2002–03 Colorado Avalanche NHL 12 0 1 1 15 6 1 0 1 2
2003–04 Washington Capitals NHL 49 10 5 15 18
2004–05 HDD Olimpija Ljubljana SLV 14 7 9 16 38
2004–05 Portland Pirates AHL 53 24 17 41 47
2005–06 Washington Capitals NHL 82 19 22 41 77
2006–07 Los Angeles Kings NHL 81 11 10 21 49
2007–08 Los Angeles Kings NHL 53 4 8 12 30
2008–09 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 12 8 6 14 8
2008–09 Colorado Avalanche NHL 42 1 3 4 14
2009–10 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 75 26 31 57 44
2009–10 Colorado Avalanche NHL 4 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 76 30 38 68 68 6 2 3 5 6
2010–11 Washington Capitals NHL 1 0 1 1 0
NHL totals 381 52 57 109 217 10 1 1 2 4

International[]

Year Team Comp GP G A Pts PIM
1998 Canada WJC 7 0 2 2 4
Junior int'l totals 7 0 2 2 4

Awards and honours[]

Award Year
OHL
First All-Star Team 1998

References[]

  1. No Takers for Cujo. ESPN (2003-10-03). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
  2. Kings sign forward Brian Willsie. Los Angeles Kings (2006–07-04). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
  3. Avalanche signs McCormick, Willsie. Colorado Avalanche (2008-07-15). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
  4. Willsie channels disappointment into goals. NHL (2008-10-30). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
  5. Kings 6, Avalanche 5. CBS Sports (2009-01-21). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
  6. Avs agree to terms with six players. Colorado Avalanche (2009-07-06). Retrieved on 2010-02-28.
  7. 2009–10 player rewind...Brian Willsie. Lake Erie Monsters (2010-07-14). Retrieved on 2010-07-14.
  8. Caps Sign Willsie. Washington Post (2010-07-14). Retrieved on 2010-07-14.
  9. http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2011/07/hershey_bears_brian_willsie_si.html

External links[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Brian Willsie. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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