Chris Brooks (born September 19, 1972) 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 ...

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 ...

coach and former player. In June 2022, he became an assistant coach for the

Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey The Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (NCAA), Division I college ice hockey program that represents Clarkson University. The Golden Knights have been a member of ECAC Ho ...

program.

College career

Brooks attended

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

where he played four seasons of NCAA Division I hockey with the

Western Michigan Broncos The Western Michigan Broncos are a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I program representing Western Michigan University (WMU) in college athletics. They compete in the Mid-American Conference in men's coll ...

, then of the

Central Collegiate Hockey Association The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) is a college athletic conference in the Midwestern United States that participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. The current CCHA began play in the 2021–22 season; a previ ...

(CCHA). During his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

season his outstanding play was recognized when he was selected as the CCHA Rookie of the Year for the 1992–93 season.

Professional career

He turned professional in 1996, joining the Amarillo Rattlers of the

Western Professional Hockey League The Western Professional Hockey League (abbreviated WPHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league. The WPHL operated from 1996 to 2001 with teams based in the southern United States, primarily Texas and Louisiana. The league started with six te ...

(WPHL) for the league's inaugural 1996–97 season. In his rookie season Brooks led the league in points with 110, and was named the WPHL's most valuable player. He played the 1997–98 season with the

Mobile Mysticks The Mobile Mysticks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Mobile, Alabama that played in the ECHL. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center. The team was founded in 1995 as an expansion franchise, joining the E ...

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 ...

, but also skated in four

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 ...

games (including two playoff games) with the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

. Brooks rejoined the Amarillo Rattlers for the 1998–99 season where he led the league by scoring 48 goals. During the 2002–03 season he skated in 11 games with the

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

of the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

Coaching career

Brooks commenced his coaching career in 1999 when he returned to the

as an assistant coach. He remained with Western Michigan for nine seasons before accepting the position of head coach for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 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 ...

starting with the 2008–09 season, a position he held for three seasons. He then became the head coach of the ice hockey program for

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1894, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Stevens Point grants associ ...

, a position he held from 2010–2011 to 2016–2017. During his tenure, he led the Pointers to three straight

NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship The NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament is an annual tournament to determine the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division III. The Division III championship was contested from 1984 through 2019, but then suspended due to COVID-19. T ...

appearances, finishing as runner-ups in 2014 and 2015 and winning the national championship in 2016. He held a 119-45-13 record in his 6 seasons with the team. In June 2017, Brooks was named an assistant coach for the

Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey The Michigan Tech Huskies men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Michigan Technological University. The Huskies are a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA). They play at the M ...

program by head coach

Joe Shawhan Joseph R. Shawhan (born January 28, 1963) is an American ice hockey head coach who most recently served as head coach at Michigan Tech. Career Shawhan began his time at Lake Superior State in 1982. After sitting out the 1984–85 season he ret ...

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Chris 1972 births Living people Amarillo Rattlers players Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey centres Kalamazoo Wings (UHL) players Mobile Mysticks players Ice hockey people from Stratford, Ontario Springfield Falcons players Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players