Derick Brassard

Forward, New York Rangers, #16

From Gatineau, Québec, Derick Brassard was born on 22^nd of September 1987.  He played with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL and totalled an impressive 76 points in 69 games in his rookie season in the Major Juniors. Brassard came back even better in his sophomore season, trumping his rookie point total by a significant margin, picking up 116 points in only 58 games, making him Drummondville’s top offensive player.  It therefore did not come as much of a surprise when he was selected 6^th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.  Some experts say he had the greatest on-ice vision in his draft class.  As early as in his first month with the Blue Jackets’ farm team, the Syracuse Crunch, he was named rookie of the month.   He won that award twice in the same year.  He was also selected to represent the Crunch in the AHL All-Star game.  Brassard was called up to Columbus a first time in January 2008 but an injury limited his ice-time and ultimately resulted in him going back to the farm team.  He eventually made the team out of camp at the start of the 2008-2009 season and delivered on the expectations winning NHL Rookie of the Month in October 2008.  On December 18, 2008 Brassard injured his shoulder during a fight with James Neal of the Dallas Stars and ended up undergoing surgery.  At the time he was leading the NHL in rookie scoring.  At the trade deadline in 2013, Brassard was dealt to the New York Rangers where he finished with a 1.0 point per game average during the play offs.   Derick is a dynamic and smart playmaker with swift and agile hands.  He is able to dispense lightning-quick accurate passes at will.  He is also known to have a killer wrist shot.