Brent Bilodeau (born March 23, 1973) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

. He was drafted in the first round (17th overall) of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

while a member of the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. Founded in 1971 as the Vancouver Nats, the team arrive ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hocke ...

Professional career

Player

A primarily defensive defenseman, his game was thought to suit Montreal's style of play of the time, but he never played a single game for the Canadiens or any other NHL team. He is the only first round draftee of the 1991 draft not to have played any games in the NHL. He played in minor-pro hockey leagues until he retired as a member of the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now ECHL) when th ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

after the 2004–05 season.

Coaching

Shortly after his retirement, Bilodeau entered coaching. He started his coaching his career as an assistant with the ECHL's

Las Vegas Wranglers The Las Vegas Wranglers were a professional ice hockey team based in Las Vegas Valley. The Wranglers were members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League). The Wranglers were founded a ...

for three years before becoming the head coach of the

Wichita Thunder The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

in 2008. He was also an assistant coach for the

Tri-City Americans The Tri-City Americans are an American major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League and based in Kennewick, Washington. Founded in 1966 as the Calgary Buffaloes, the team settled in Kennewick in 1988 after a number of re ...

, from 2009 to 2012.

Personal

Bilodeau was born in Dallas, Texas while his father Yvon was a member of the CHL's

Dallas Black Hawks The Dallas Black Hawks were a minor-league professional ice hockey team in Dallas, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was a member of the Central Hockey League and played home games at State Fair Coliseum. Origins and relocation to Dallas The Blac ...

. He learned how to skate at age two and started playing hockey at age five. His father Yvon was a former

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

draft pick, selected in the 6th round (78th overall) in the

1971 NHL Entry Draft The 1971 NHL amateur draft was the ninth NHL entry draft. It was held on June 10, 1971, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Larry Robinson, who retired after the 1991– ...

and his uncle

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surname) * Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II * Bob t ...

was a former

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

draft pick, selected in the ninth round (133rd overall) in the 1973 NHL Entry Draft. He is married to retired American WNBA player Cass Bauer-Bilodeau.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Coaching statistics

Awards

* WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1992 & 1993

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bilodeau, Brent 1973 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of American descent Fredericton Canadiens players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Alberta Ice hockey people from Texas Johnstown Chiefs players Kansas City Blades players Las Vegas Thunder players Living people Montreal Canadiens draft picks NHL first-round draft picks People from Westlock County Saint John Flames players San Antonio Dragons players San Francisco Spiders players Seattle Thunderbirds players Sportspeople from Dallas Swift Current Broncos players Wichita Thunder coaches Tacoma Sabercats players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 20th-century American sportsmen