The story of Tim Brent’s journey to the National Hockey League does not represent the conventional path taken by most players. After developing in Canadian junior hockey leagues or United States college hockey, players usually ply their trade in the American Hockey League, before proving their worth in the NHL. Brent’s accent to the big leagues follows a much different storyline.Coming off a solid 35-point campaign with the Cambridge Winterhawks Jr. B hockey team, Brent was drafted second overall, two spots ahead of Columbus Blue Jackets sniper Rick Nash, in the 2000 Ontario Hockey League Priority Draft by the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors.
Brent played four seasons with the Majors, where he scored 220 points in 238 regular season games. He also tallied 70 points in 69 OHL playoff games. Following the 2001-02 season, Brent was selected 37th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks did not sign Brent within two years from his draft date, so he became a free agent, which prompted him to re-enter the NHL draft.
In his second go around with the draft, the Ducks once again drafted Brent, but instead chose him with the 75th overall pick in the 2004 Draft. He joined the club’s farm team – the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks – in the fall of 2004 and went on to score a marginal 18 points in 46 games. He built on his rookie season by posting 24-and-30 point seasons with the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League. Brent earned a 15-game audition with the big club during the 2006-07 season, where he had only one goal.
After a fairly quiet NHL call up with the Ducks, Brent was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins during the summer of 2007 for Stephen Dixon, who is currently playing in the Swedish Elite League. Brent lit up the AHL that season, scoring 61 points in 74 games. He was recalled by the Penguins for one game during the season.
As if he wasn’t already frustrated, Brent was traded to his third organization in three years when the Penguins shipped him to Chicago in exchange for Danny Richmond. Then 24 years old, Brent began to realize that the window of opportunity for him to make the NHL was closing and he would likely serve as a career minor-leaguer.
Brent entered a contract year in the 2008-09 season with the Rockford Ice Hogs and scored at close to a point-per-game pace with 62 points in 64 games. He was rewarded for his stellar play with a one-year contract from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brent had 28 points in 33 games during an injury riddled season and also earned a late season call up with the Leafs.
The Leafs re-signed Brent for one more season to give him another opportunity to play a leading role on the Toronto Marlies. He had an outstanding training camp and pre-season, which cemented his spot on the Maple Leafs roster. The 6-foot, 197-pound centre doesn’t excel in any particular area, but is technically sound and specializes in killing penalties.
Despite some criticism directed as the Leafs coaching staff for not retaining Christian Hanson, the blue and white appeared to have made the right choice by keeping Brent around to help the team in the short term. At only 26 years old, with six AHL seasons under his belt, Brent is finally seizing the opportunity to contribute as a regular in the NHL. Fulfilling his life-long goal with his favourite team growing up is even more rewarding.
Tim Brent just hopes he is here to stay.
2009-10 Statistics
33 games, 13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points, 19 penalty minutes
2010-11 Prediction
72 games, 12 goals, 10 assists, 28 points, 32 penalty minutes
3 Burning Questions
1 - Do you think Tim Brent deserved to make the Leafs roster instead of Christian Hanson?
2 - How many points do you think Brent will score this season?
3 - Will the line of Fredrik Sjostrom, Tim Brent and Colby Armstrong significantly bolster the Leafs penalty kill?
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