Brooks Orpik
Brooks Orpik was drafted 18th overall in the first round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The San Francisco, California native spent three seasons (1998-2001) in the Hockey East League with Boston College, where he helped them win the NCAA Championship in 2001. He finished his time with Boston College with 41 points and 322 penalty minutes in 119 total games. He played all of 2001-02 and most of the next season in the AHL with the Wikes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He made his NHL debut during the 2002-03 season, but finished pointless in those six games. He appeared in 79 games with Pittsburgh in 2003-04 and finished the season with a team-leading 127 penalty minutes. Also that season, he played in the NHL YoungStars game. He led Pittsburgh with 124 penalty minutes, 203 hits and 122 blocked shots during the 2005-06 season. He again led the Penguins in hits during the next two seasons (186 and 239, respectively), along with leading the 2007-08 playoffs with 102 hits and 61 blocked shots before Pittsburgh lost in game six of the Stanley Cup finals to the Detroit Red Wings. He signed a six-year contract extension during the off-season and produced new career-highs in 2008-09 with 17 assists, 19 points and a team-leading 309 hits. He then appeared in all 24 post-season games and helped Pittsburgh beat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games to become the Stanley Cup champions. In international hockey, he represented the United States at the 2000 World Junior Championships and the 2006 World Championships. At 6’2 and around 220 pounds, Orpik is a hard hitting, tough defenseman with good leadership qualities. However, he could work on his offensive skills and shoot the puck more.
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