Thomas Brett Skinner (born June 28, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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 ...

defenceman 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 ...

and current head coach of the

Fargo Force The Fargo Force is a Junior ice hockey#Tier I, Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Force have won two league championships in 2017–18 USHL season, 2018 and 2023–24 USHL seas ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL). He spent one season as the head coach of the Minnesota Wilderness of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL) after serving five seasons as an assistant coach with the

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premi ...

of the USHL. Skinner played professional hockey for eleven seasons between 2005 and 2017, appearing in over 400 games for the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) for 10 different clubs, and briefly in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL),

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) and overseas in the Czech Republic. Skinner was drafted by the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

68th overall in the 3rd round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Skinner was drafted by the

68th overall in the 3rd round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Brett was a member of the

Trail Smoke Eaters The Trail Smoke Eaters are a junior A ice hockey team from Trail, British Columbia, Canada. They are a part of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). History The Smoke Eaters (aka ''Smokies'') have existed as both junior and senior teams si ...

in the

BCHL The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

in 2000–01, the

Des Moines Buccaneers The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season. History The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 sea ...

in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

in 2001–02, and then the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

from 2002–2005. As a Denver Pioneer, he was a member of two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

national championship winning teams, was named an All-American in 2004–05. He was named team captain for what would have been his senior year at Denver (2005–06) but signed his first professional contract with the Canucks on August 30, 2005, and made his pro debut with affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

of the AHL, in the 2005–06 season. At the trade deadline, Skinner was traded by the Canucks, along with a 2nd round pick to the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

for Keith Carney and Juha Alen on March 9, 2006. Despite being dealt, Skinner remained on loan with the Moose until the end of the season. Skinner spent the 2006–07 season, playing with the

Augusta Lynx The Augusta Lynx were a minor-league professional ice hockey team based in Augusta, Georgia. The Lynx played their home games at the James Brown Arena. The Lynx, who played in the ECHL, had affiliations with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL a ...

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

and the

Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Omaha, Nebraska, United States at the Omaha Civic Auditorium from 2005–2007. Following the 2006–07 season, the Calgary Flames annou ...

. He was traded by the Ducks, along with Nathan Saunders, to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

for

Mark Mowers Mark C. Mowers (born February 16, 1974) is a former professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward and current pro scout for the Minnesota Wild. He had previously played in the National Hockey League with the Nashville Predators, Detroit R ...

just prior to the 2007–08 season on September 24, 2007. Skinner enjoyed a break out year with the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

recording 47 points in 68 games and playing in the AHL All-Star game. On July 3, 2008, Skinner was signed to a one-year contract by the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

. He was assigned to its affiliate, the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 200 ...

of the AHL, to start the 2008–09 season. When a rash of injuries hit the Islanders, Skinner was recalled and made his NHL debut in a 4-2 defeat against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

on October 27, 2008. Skinner played 11 games with the Isles before he was returned to the Sound Tigers. On January 13, 2009, he was traded by the Islanders to the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

for

Junior Lessard Lucien Lessard Jr. (born May 26, 1980), known as Junior Lessard, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Thetford Mines Isothermic of the LNAH. Playing career As a youth, Lessard played in the 1993 and 1994 Q ...

. He was then assigned to affiliate, the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

, where he remained for the rest of the season. On July 8, 2009, Skinner signed a one-year contract with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

. He was assigned to the Avalanche's AHL affiliate, the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

, for 2009–10. Skinner scored 28 points in 73 games for the Monsters. During the season on January 22, 2010, Skinner was re-called but did not debut with the Avalanche. Skinner left North America as a free agent and signed a one-year contract with the Russian team,

Amur Khabarovsk Hockey Club Amur (), commonly referred to as the Amur Khabarovsk, is a professional ice hockey club based in Khabarovsk, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Located in the Russian Far East, th ...

, of the

KHL The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

on August 12, 2010. In the 2011–12 season, Skinner journey-manned as he played for three different teams in three different leagues, the

Iserlohn Roosters The Iserlohn Roosters are a professional ice hockey team based in Iserlohn, North Rhine-Westphalia. They are members of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) since 2000 and play their home games at the Balver-Zinn Arena which is also known as ''Eissp ...

in Germany,

Tappara Tappara (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Battle axe") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team playing in the SM-liiga. They play at ''Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena'' in Tampere, Finland. The team has won 20 Finnish league championships, wh ...

in Finland and

Modo Hockey Modo Hockey (or MoDo with uppercase letters) is a professional ice hockey club in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The team currently plays in Sweden's second-tier league HockeyAllsvenskan after losing to HV71 after the play out following the 2024/25 se ...

in Sweden respectively. Without substantial European interest, Skinner returned to North America and signed a one-year contract with the

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Allen Event Center, Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009–10 CHL season, 2009 in the Centr ...

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 ...

on October 12, 2012. During the

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Skinner was leading the league in defensive scoring with 37 points in 28 games, before he was loaned to the American League's Grand Rapids Griffins on January 31, 2013. After three games with the Griffins he was signed to an AHL contract for the remainder of the season on February 7, 2013. On September 2, 2014, Skinner signed abroad as a free agent to a one-year contract with KHL Chomutov of the second Czech division the, 1. národní hokejová liga.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Brett 1983 births Allen Americans players Amur Khabarovsk players Augusta Lynx players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Wolves players Denver Pioneers men's ice hockey players Des Moines Buccaneers players Grand Rapids Griffins players Ice hockey people from Brandon, Manitoba Iserlohn Roosters players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people Manitoba Moose players Modo Hockey players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions New York Islanders players Norfolk Admirals players Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights players Portland Pirates players Piráti Chomutov players Providence Bruins players Rockford IceHogs (AHL) players Tappara players Vancouver Canucks draft picks AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches 21st-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland