Andrew Brunette
Andrew Brunette was drafted by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round, 174th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He won the 1992-93 Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as top goal scorer in the Ontario Hockey League. After a sporadic start on the Capitals, Brunette was eventually moved to Nashville. He scored the first goal in Nashville Predators history, in a 3-2 win versus the Carolina Hurricanes. In Nashville, he would play 77 games and ended up with 31 points.
After his season in Nashville, Brunette would be moved to the Atlanta Thrashers for their first season as well. While he wouldn't score their first goal, he did have a 50-point season with 23 goals and 27 assists. Brunette played one more year in Atlanta and then headed to Minnesota, where he spent three profitable years. After the lockout, he was moved once more to Colorado where he is currently playing.
Brunette has the distinction of scoring the final goal ever on legendary Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy in overtime of game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on April 22, 2003.
The basic goods on Andrew Brunette is that he is a reliable and dependable forward that can come up with big goals in all the right moments. When franchises are looking to start out or rebuild, they look for a player like Brunette because of his experience and his ability to get the job done. While he isn't necessarily a star player and probably isn't a Hall of Fame calibre forward, Brunette certainly has a nose for the net and can find the garbage around the crease to collect goals. Not a glory player by any means, he is a sound choice for depth scoring that could use a bit more energy in terms of his physical play.
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