Drake Berehowsky (born January 3, 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 ...

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 ...

. He is best known for his time 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 ...

(NHL), where he played for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

, Edmonton Oilers,

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

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 ...

and

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

. He is the former head coach of the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL. He had two stints as the team's head coach, first coaching the Solar Bears during the 2012–13 season. Following the 2021-22 season, the Solar Bears and Berehowsky mutually agreed to part ways.

Playing career

As a youth, Berehowsky played in the 1985 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Toronto Marlboros

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team. Berehowsky began his junior hockey career with the Kingston Raiders of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 1988 and had a strong rookie season, earning 46 points in 63 games. The Raiders were renamed the " Kingston Frontenacs" in 1989–90. Berehowsky only appeared in nine games as he suffered a serious knee injury. He earned 14 points in those nine games and the

drafted Berehowsky with their first round draft pick in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Berehowsky split the 1990–91 season between the Frontenacs and the North Bay Centennials before earning a late season call-up to the Leafs. He returned to North Bay for the 1991–92 season, recording 82 points in 62 games, helping the Centennials to the OHL finals, tallying 31 points in 21 post-season games. Berehowsky earned another late season call-up to Toronto, appearing in a single game, before being sent to the St. John's Maple Leafs for the 1992

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) playoffs, where he recorded five assists in six games. Berehowsky split the 1992–93 and 1993–94 seasons between St. John's and Toronto before earning a full-time roster spot in Toronto in the 1994–95 season. Berehowsky appeared in 25 games with the Maple Leafs in 1994–95. On April 7, 1995, the team traded him to the

for Grant Jennings. Berehowsky finished the season as the odd man out on the Penguins' defense, as he appeared in only four regular season games and one playoff game with the team. In 1995–96, Pittsburgh sent Berehowsky to the Cleveland Lumberjacks, their AHL affiliate, for most of the season and he only appeared in one game with the Penguins. After the season, Berehowsky became a free agent. He split the 1996–97 season between the Carolina Monarchs of the AHL and the San Antonio Dragons of the International Hockey League until signing an NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers on September 30, 1997. Berehowsky spent most of the season with the Oilers, appearing in 67 regular season and 12 post-season games with the club. However, he did spend some time with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL, playing in eight games. On October 1, 1998, the Oilers traded Berehowsky, Éric Fichaud and Greg de Vries to the

for Mikhail Shtalenkov and Jim Dowd. Berehowsky played with the Predators until 2001, having a career season in 1999–2000 when he scored 12 goals and 32 points, leading the Nashville defense in goals. On March 9, 2001, the Predators dealt Berehowsky to the

. Berehowsky's time with the Canucks was short, as he was once again traded, on December 28, 2001, with Denis Pederson, to the

for Todd Warriner, Trevor Letowski and Tyler Bouck. Berehowsky spent regular time on the Coyotes' blueline, helping them to the post-season. An injury suffered in training camp sidelined Berehowsky for most of the 2002–03 season, and he only appeared in seven games with Phoenix, and two with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL before becoming a free agent at the end of the season. On August 29, 2003, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he had played from 1994 to 1996. Berehowsky played in 47 more games with the Penguins. On February 11, 2004, the Penguins traded Berehowsky to his original NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, for Ric Jackman, where he finished out the season. With the NHL in a lockout for the 2004–05 season, Berehowsky signed with Skellefteå AIK in Sweden for the season, before signing a contract with Eisbären Berlin in Germany for the 2005–06 season. After the season with Berlin, Berehowsky returned to North America, where he signed with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL, before retiring from hockey in the summer of 2006.

Coaching career

After his NHL career, Berehowsky served as an assistant coach with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL for three seasons. On June 19, 2012, Berehowsky was named head coach of the Orlando Solar Bears for their inaugural season in the ECHL. In the 2012–13 season, Berehowsky lead the expansion team to a record of 28 wins, 37 losses, 3 overtime losses, and 4 shootout losses totaling 63 points; second to last place in the 14-team Eastern Conference, with only three teams finishing with fewer points in the 23-team league. Global Lethbridge's Paul Kingsmith announced June 4, 2013, Berehowsky was to be the next head coach for the Lethbridge Hurricanes 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 ...

(WHL). During his first season with the club, the Hurricanes finished with 16 fewer wins and 37 fewer points than the previous season. The team missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and set the franchise record for fewest wins (12) and fewest points (29) in the 26 season Lethbridge Hurricanes' history as well as the 47-year franchise history. On December 9, 2014, Berehowsky was fired from his coaching duties with the struggling Hurricanes. He then joined the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League as an associate coach in 2015. On November 14, 2016, Berehowsky left the Wolves to return to Orlando for a second stint as head coach of the Solar Bears.

Head coach record

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berehowsky, Drake 1972 births Barrie Colts players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Carolina Monarchs players Cleveland Lumberjacks players ECHL coaches Edmonton Oilers players Eisbären Berlin players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Ice hockey people from Toronto Kingston Frontenacs players Kingston Raiders players Lethbridge Hurricanes coaches Living people Nashville Predators players NHL first-round draft picks North Bay Centennials players Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players St. John's Maple Leafs players San Antonio Dragons players San Antonio Rampage players Skellefteå AIK players Springfield Falcons players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Toronto Maple Leafs players Vancouver Canucks players