Rod Brind'Amour
Rod Brind'Amour was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, first round, ninth overall. He began his career with the Blues, then was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers with Dan Quinn for Murray Baron and Ron Sutter following the 1990-91 season. Following his return from an ankle injury during the 1999-2000 season, he was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes along with Jean-Marc Pelletier in exchange for Keith Primeau.
Brind'Amour spent his years in Philadelphia as an alternate captain to Kevin Dineen and then Eric Lindros, filling in as captain and wearing the "C" when Lindros was out of the lineup. It was there that he started his reputation of being one of the best shutdown centers of the NHL. His style of defensive play made him a certain pick to play against opposing forwards with scoring skill. This has also culminated into a Selke Trophy awarded to him as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and again in 2007, where he is playing some of his best hockey.
Brind'Amour was one-third of the "BBC Line" featuring Bates Battaglia and Erik Cole during the Carolina Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup run in 2002. Brind'Amour was named Captain of the Hurricanes before the 2005-06 season and continues to provide great leadership to the team. In December 2006, he scored his 1000th career point and in February 2007, he recorded his 400th career goal.
While he has never achieved a lot of offensive production, Brind'Amour simply doesn't have to. He is the type of player that is used to play great defensive hockey and win faceoffs. Brind'Amour continues to be one of the great leaders in the game, too, and will likely serve as captain for the Hurricanes for yet another year.
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