Brian Rafalski

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United StatesUnited States  Brian Rafalski Ice hockey player
Brian Rafalski
Date of birth September 28, 1973
place of birth Dearborn , Michigan , USA
size 178 cm
Weight 87 kg
position defender
number # 28
Shot hand Right
Career stations
1990-1991 Madison Capitols
1991-1995 University of Wisconsin – Madison
1995-1996 Brynäs IF
1996-1997 HPK Hämeenlinna
1997-1999 HIFK Helsinki
1999-2007 New Jersey Devils
2007-2011 Detroit Red Wings
2014 Florida Everblades

Brian Christopher Rafalski (* 28. September 1973 in Dearborn , Michigan ) is a retired American ice hockey player , who during his playing career 1990-2011 among other 998 games for the New Jersey Devils and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League on contested the position of defender . Rafalski is one of the most successful defenders of American origin and - in addition to two silver medals at the Winter Olympics - won the Stanley Cup three times with New Jersey and Detroit .

Career

In 1990 Brian Rafalski started his career with the Madison Capitols in the United States Hockey League . From 1991 he went to the University of Wisconsin – Madison , where he studied economics and played for the university ice hockey team. In the 1994/95 season he led the team with 45 points in 43 games in the final round of the NCAA championship. He received several awards that season, including Best Defender of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and was named to the NCAA First All-Star Team.

After he dropped out of college in 1995, he moved ungedraftet in the Swedish Elitserien for Brynäs IF , where he played one year. In the summer of 1996 he went to Finland and joined HPK Hämeenlinna from the SM-liiga . In his first season he was able to convince there and received the Pekka Rautakallio trophy as the best defender of the season. Within the league he finally moved to HIFK Helsinki and won the Finnish championship in the 1997/98 season . He had his best season in the 1998/99 game year , when he was again awarded the title of best defender, the Kultainen kypärä as the best player in the SM-liiga and the Matti-Keinonen trophy as the player with the best plus / minus rating .

In the meantime, the National Hockey League had also become aware of the American and the New Jersey Devils signed him in May 1999. At the age of 26 he made his debut in the National Hockey League very late, but he was able to build on his good performance in Europe and won the Stanley Cup with the Devils for the first time in the same season . In addition, there was the election to the NHL All-Rookie Team . Also in the 2000/01 season , the Devils moved into the Stanley Cup final, but failed there at the Colorado Avalanche . Rafalski was a major support for the team in the playoffs , scoring 18 points in 25 games.

Rafalski worked for the New Jersey Devils for eight years

Rafalski continued to play at a consistently high level and was nominated by the US national team for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City . In the end he was able to win the silver medal with the team. In the final he had achieved the interim 2-2 for the USA in the 2-5 defeat against Canada .

In the 2002/03 season , the defender won the Stanley Cup for the second time with the New Jersey Devils and the following year he was invited to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time . A second nomination followed in 2007. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Rafalski was back in the US squad, which was only eighth after a quarter-final against Finland. In the 2006/07 season , Rafalski set a new personal record with 55 scorer points , but failed with New Jersey in the second round of the playoffs.

In the summer of 2007, Rafalski signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent , earning him a total of $ 30 million. The defender completed the 2007/08 season mainly in the first line of defense together with team captain Nicklas Lidström and - although he played nine fewer games due to injury - set the previous year's record of 55 points and led the Red Wings defenders with 13 goals.

In the play-offs, too, he and Lidström formed one of the most dominant defensive ranks in the league and thus made a large contribution to the Stanley Cup final. After the Red Wings won three of the first four games of the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins , they were 2-0 down in the fifth game in front of their own audience before they equalized in the last third and Rafalski even took the lead a little later. But with 35 seconds remaining, the Penguins were able to equalize the game and won it in the third overtime . In the following sixth game, Rafalski laid the foundation stone for the fourth victory over the Penguins and thus the third Stanley Cup victory in his career with another goal for a 1-0 lead. Rafalski took part in the 2010 Winter Olympics with Team USA and again won the silver medal with the team. After the 2010/11 season , the defender decided to end his playing career at the age of 37. Only after a break of more than two years did he complete three games for the Florida Everblades in the ECHL in a comeback attempt in January 2014 , which ended in the same month due to persistent back problems.

Achievements and Awards

International

  • 2010 Best Defender of the Winter Olympics
  • 2010 Winter Olympics All-Star Team

Career statistics

Regular season Play-offs
season team league Sp T V Pt SM Sp T V Pt SM
1990/91 Madison Capitols USHL 47 12 11 23 28 - - - - -
1991/92 University of Wisconsin – Madison WCHA 34 3 14th 17th 34
1992/93 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 32 0 13 13 10
1993/94 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 37 6th 17th 23 26th
1994/95 University of Wisconsin-Madison WCHA 43 11 34 45 48
1995/96 Brynäs IF Elitserien 40 4th 14th 18th 26th 9 0 1 1 2
1996/97 HPK Hämeenlinna SM-liiga 49 11 24 35 26th 10 6th 5 11 4th
1997/98 HIFK Helsinki SM-liiga 40 13 10 23 20th 9 5 6th 11 0
1998/99 HIFK Helsinki SM-liiga 53 19th 34 53 18th 11 5 9 14th 4th
1999/00 New Jersey Devils NHL 75 5 27 32 28 23 2 6th 8th 8th
2000/01 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 9 43 52 26th 25th 7th 11 18th 7th
2001/02 New Jersey Devils NHL 76 7th 40 47 18th 6th 3 2 5 4th
2002/03 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 3 37 40 14th 23 2 9 11 8th
2003/04 New Jersey Devils NHL 69 6th 30th 36 24 5 0 1 1 0
2004/05 New Jersey Devils NHL not played because of lockout
2005/06 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 6th 43 49 36 9 1 8th 9 2
2006/07 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 8th 47 55 34 11 2 6th 8th 8th
2007/08 Detroit Red Wings NHL 73 13 42 55 34 22nd 4th 10 14th 12
2008/09 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 10 49 59 20th 18th 3 9 12 11
2009/10 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 8th 34 42 26th 12 3 8th 11 2
2010/11 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 4th 44 48 22nd 11 2 1 3 4th
2011/12 without a contract not played after retirement
2012/13 without a contract not played after retirement
2013/14 Florida Everblades ECHL 3 0 1 1 0 - - - - -
USHL total 47 12 11 23 28 - - - - -
WCHA overall 146 20th 78 98 118
NHL overall 833 79 436 515 282 165 29 71 100 66
Elitserien total 40 4th 14th 18th 26th 9 0 1 1 2
SM-liiga total 142 43 68 111 64 30th 16 20th 36 8th

International

Represented the USA at:

year team event result Sp T V Pt SM
1992 United States June World Cup 3rd place, bronze 7th 0 1 1 2
1993 United States June World Cup 4th Place 7th 0 2 2 2
1995 United States WM 6th place 5 0 0 0 2
1999 United States World Cup qual 1st place 3 0 1 1 0
2002 United States Olympia 2nd place, silver 6th 1 2 3 2
2004 United States World cup 4th Place 4th 0 3 3 6th
2006 United States Olympia 8th place 5 0 2 2 0
2010 United States Olympia 2nd place, silver 6th 4th 4th 8th 2
Juniors overall 14th 0 3 3 4th
Men overall 29 5 12 17th 12

( Legend for player statistics: Sp or GP = games played; T or G = goals scored; V or A = assists scored ; Pkt or Pts = scorer points scored ; SM or PIM = penalty minutes received ; +/− = plus / minus balance; PP = overpaid goals scored ; SH = underpaid goals scored ; GW = winning goals scored; 1  play-downs / relegation )

Web links

Commons : Brian Rafalski  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Rafalski, Brian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rafalski, Brian Christopher (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1973
PLACE OF BIRTH Dearborn , Michigan