Brian R. Willsie (born March 16, 1978) is a Canadian 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 ...

right winger. Willsie was selected by 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 ...

in the 6th round (146th overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft and played almost 400 games in the

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 ...

with the Avalanche,

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

and

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

. Willsie currently works in a player development role within the Avalanche organization.

Personal life

Willsie's uncle was an international ice hockey referee and his cousin

David Willsie David Willsie (born March 28, 1968) is a Canadian coach and former Wheelchair rugby player. Early life Willsie was born on March 28, 1968, in Dorchester, Ontario, Canada to parents John and Jean. His father was an international ice hockey refer ...

is a Paralympic athlete.

Playing career

Willsie grew up in the small southwestern Ontario town of Belmont, Ontario and played minor hockey for the local Belmont MHA teams and eventually one year with the AAA Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs. In 1993–94 he played for the Chiefs Midget AAA team before signing for the 1994–95 season with the St. Thomas Stars Jr.B. club of the Western Ontario Junior B League (OHA). With the Stars Brian teamed up with St Thomas native Joe Thornton to help capture the Western Jr. B. League championship. Willsie began his junior career with the

Guelph Storm The Guelph Storm are a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. They have played in the OHL since the 1991–92 season. The team plays home games at the Sleeman Centre. History The franchise started as the Toronto Marl ...

of the OHL in the 1995–96 season. At the conclusion of the season, Brian was drafted 146th overall by the

in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. After starring for the Storm in the following two seasons, Brian was named to the OHL First All-Star team and represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

World Junior Championships. Willsie made his professional debut in the 1998–99 season with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

of the AHL, affiliate of the Avalanche. In the 1999–2000 season, Brian made his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche, playing in a solitary game on January 9, 2000 against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

. It wasn't until the 2001–02 season that Willsie played his first full season in the NHL appearing in 56 games with the Avalanche. After spending the majority of his 5-year tenure with Colorado splitting between the AHL and the NHL, Willsie was claimed by the

prior to the 2003–04 season on October 3, 2003. Willsie established himself with the Capitals scoring 15 points in 49 games in a season that was shortened with a concussion During the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

, Willsie had a brief stay with Slovenian team

HDD Olimpija Ljubljana Hokejsko drsalno društvo Olimpija Ljubljana, commonly referred to as HDD Olimpija or simply Olimpija, was a Slovenian professional ice hockey club from Ljubljana. They played their home games at the Tivoli Hall. Olimpija has won 13 Yugoslav Ice ...

before he racked up a team-leading 24 goals along with 17 assists (41 points) in just 53 games played for Capitals affiliate, the

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 ...

, in the AHL. The 2005–06 season was a breakout year for Willsie, as he set career highs with 19 goals, 22 assists, for a total of 41 points with the Capitals. On July 4, 2006, Brian signed a two-year contract with the

. After missing only 1 games with the Kings in the 2006–07 season, Willsie suffered a downturn in production and was often an extra forward in the following season, appearing in only 53 contests. On July 15, 2008, Willsie signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, marking his second stint with the team. Brian now a veteran, was reassigned to captain 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 ...

prior to the 2008–09 season. Only 14 games into the season, Willsie was recalled to the depleted Avalanche where he remained for the season appearing in 42 games and scoring his lone goal for the season on January 21, 2009, against former team the Kings in a 6-5 loss. Willsie re-signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche on July 6, 2009. Willsie played in four games with the Avalanche early in the 2009–10 season but primarily remained in the AHL to continue as captain of Lake Erie. He set a franchise record and led the team with 26 goals in 75 games. On July 14, 2010, Willsie signed a one-year

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the Washington Capitals. Brian was assigned to the Hershey Bears where he spent the entire 2010-2011 season with the exception of a one-game recall to the Washington Capitals. With the Bears, Willsie had a career year and led the team in goals with 30. On July 7, 2011, Willsie signed a one-year contract with 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 ...

. Assigned to affiliate, the

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs were a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the Bulldogs played home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purc ...

, Willsie was named an alternate captain and concluded the 2011-12 season leading the team in scoring with 44 points in 68 games. After spending the last four seasons primarily in the AHL, Willsie returned for his second tenure in Europe signing an initial try-out contract with Finnish team, TPS of the SM-liiga, on August 21, 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 on September 22, 2012, TPS extended his contract for the remainder of the season and named him captain. In leading TPS with 24 goals, good for third in the SM-liiga, Willsie was subsequently signed to a one-year contract extension on February 14, 2013. With his intentions to experience various styles of European hockey from the onset, Willsie was then immediately granted permission by TPS to join

Kloten Flyers EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...

of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

for the remainder of the season with his extension for the 2014 season with TPS still in effect. On July 9, 2013, Willsie signed a unique dual contract with

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n club,

KHL Medveščak Zagreb KHL Medveščak Admiral (), also known as KHL Medveščak Zagreb, is a Croatian professional ice hockey team based in Zagreb, established in 1961. The team's name derives from the location of its original arena in the Medveščak area in centra ...

, of 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 ...

for the beginning of the

2013–14 KHL season The 2013–14 KHL season was the sixth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The league's 28 teams played a 54-game balanced schedule. The regular season began on 4 September with the Lokomotiv Cup between last year's finalists Dynamo Moscow ...

. Under the terms of the contract, Willsie agreed to play with Zagreb from August to October, then honour his Finnish contract with TPS. Willsie was signed with a view to commit to Medveščak Zagreb for the following 2014–15 season. After contributing with 5 points in 13 games, Willsie returned to TPS and compiled 25 points in 33 Liiga games before opting to join a third club prior to the transfer deadline, agreeing to a two-year deal with Örebro HK in the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (SHL; ) is a professional ice hockey league in Sweden and the highest level of the ice hockey in Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, and while Li ...

on February 17, 2014. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 season in Sweden, Willsie opted to end his professional career and returned to work in the Colorado Avalanche organization in a consultancy player development role.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willsie, Brian 1978 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Colorado Avalanche draft picks Colorado Avalanche players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Guelph Storm players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players HC TPS players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players Hershey Bears players KHL Medveščak Zagreb players EHC Kloten players Lake Erie Monsters players Los Angeles Kings players Örebro HK players Portland Pirates players Ice hockey people from London, Ontario Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland