From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 11

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 11 will look at young winger Viktor Stalberg.

Viktor Stalberg was born on January 17th, 1986, in Gothenburg, Sweden. His playing career began at the age of eighteen with IF Molndal Hockey's U18 team in the Swedish U18 league, where he played in thirteen games and scored fourteen goals while adding thirteen assists during the 2003-2004 season. He finished the year with the Junior squad of the same organization, playing in eighteen games while potting twenty-five goals and ten assists. Stalberg stayed with that team to begin 2004-2005, appearing in eleven games while registering sixteen goals and seven assists before a promotion to the third-tier league team in the same organization. Here he played in twenty-nine games and had six goals and nine assists. Stalberg returned to the Junior U20 league in 2005-2006, playing for his hometown team, Frolunda HC Goteberg Junior, where he had twenty-seven goals and twenty-six assists in forty-one games, followed by six goals and five assists in seven postseason games. In the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Stalberg was a sixth round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He came to North America in 2006-2007 to play college hockey at the University of Vermont, scoring seven goals and passing eight assists in a full thirty-nine game season. Stalberg improved in his sophomore season at Vermont, posting ten goals and thirteen assists in thirty-nine games. The development continued in his junior year, where he had twenty-four goals and twenty-two assists in thirty-nine games during the 2008-2009 season. At the end of that season, which saw him pick up multiple individual awards and a Hobey Baker nomination while helping guide the team to the Frozen Four, Stalberg joined the Toronto Marlies, American Hockey League affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, for two playoff games, in which he had one assist. He remained with the Marlies to begin the 2009-2010 season, playing in thirty-nine games while scoring twelve goals and supplying twenty-one assists before a promotion to the NHL. In forty games with the Maple Leafs, Stalberg scored nine goals and five assists. On June 30th, 2010, Stalberg's Maple Leafs career ended when he was traded with Chris Didomenico and Phillipe Paradis to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt as part of the Blackhawks' 2010 post-Stanley Cup-winning sell-off. In 2010-2011, Stalberg showed growth again by playing in seventy-seven games and posting twelve goals and twelve assists in the regular season, followed by one goal in seven postseason games. His development continued in 2011-2012 as he had twenty-two goals and twenty-one assists in seventy-nine games in the regular season and two assists in six playoff games. Stalberg returned to Sweden at first during the NHL lockout of 2012, playing in eleven games with Frolunda of the Swedish Elitserien, to the tune of seven goals and five assists. He headed east to wrap up the lockout while playing with Atlant Mytishchi of the Kontinental Hockey League of Russia and Eastern Europe. During fourteen games with Atlant, Stalberg had three goals and seven assists. After the lockout, Stalberg played in forty-seven games for the Blackhawks during the 2013 season, posting nine goals and fourteen assists. During the playoffs, he occasionally saw top line minutes and in nineteen games had three assists, playing a minor role in helping the Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup just three years after he was brought in because of their previous championship.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 10

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 10 means we have passed one-third done, and to celebrate we will talk about penalty killing specialist Michael Frolik.

Michael Frolik was born on February 17th, 1988, in Kladno, Czechoslovakia. He began his playing career at the very young age of fourteen with HC Kladno's U17 team in 2002-2003, scoring thirty-seven goals and twenty-one assists during the regular season in forty-six games, followed by nine goals and an assist in ten playoff games. Frolik played only one game with the U17 team in 2003-2004, registering an assist before joining Kladno's Junior level team, where he had twenty-one goals and twenty-three assists in fifty-three games, followed by three goals and an assist in seven playoff games. He then represented the Czech Republic in the World Junior Classic's U18 tournament, playing in two games but failing to record a point. Frolik began the 2004-2005 team at the junior level, posting nine goals and eleven assists in fifteen games before a promotion to the Czech Extraliga Kladno team. He scored only three goals and an assist in twenty-seven games. Frolik also completed a rare accomplishment in the postseason, playing in games with the U17 squad (he was still only sixteen), the junior team, and the parent team in the same season. He had a total of two goals in seven postseason games. Continuing with the heavy workload, Frolik also played in both the World Junior U18 tournament in 2005 as well as the regular World Junior Championships, posting lines of three goals, one assist, and seven games played in both categories and winning the bronze medal in the World Juniors. He continued to split time over many teams in 2005-2006, playing in three games with Kladno's Junior team, with one goal and two assists, followed by two goals and seven assists in forty-eight games with the parent team. He only played with the Junior team in the playoffs, scoring three goals and dishing nine assists in six games. Frolik again did double duty at the World Juniors, playing to two goals and three assists in seven games at the U18 tournament, winning his second bronze medal in that tournament, followed by one assist in six games at the World Junior Championship. His extensive international record caught the eye of the Florida Panthers, who drafted him tenth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, bringing him to North America. It must have seemed like a calm season in 2006-2007, playing only for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Rimouski Oceanic in fifty-two games, with a line of thirty-one goals and forty-two assists. Frolik again represented the Czech Republic in the World Junior Championships in 2007, scoring four goals and passing two assists in six games. He stayed with Rimouski in 2007-2008, playing in forty-five games while recording twenty-four goals and forty-one assists, followed by nine postseason games with two goals and four assists. He also made his final appearance in the World Junior Championships, scoring five goals in six games. Frolik made his NHL debut, skipping the American Hockey League altogether, in 2008-2009, where he had twenty-one goals and twenty-four assists in seventy-nine games. He put up similar numbers in 2009-2010, playing in all eighty-two games with the Panthers and scoring twenty-one goals and dishing twenty-two assists. The stability Frolik had grown accustomed to was broken in 2010-2011, where he began with the Panthers to the tune of eight goals and twenty-one assists in fifty-two games, in line with his normal production. Florida was done with him though, and traded him and goaltender Alexander Salak to the Chicago Blackhawks for Jack Skille, the "Huge Specimen" Hugh Jessiman, and David Pacan. The change of scenery was not good for Frolik, as he had only three goals and six assists in a reduced role in twenty-eight games. He added two goals and three assists in seven playoff games, his first playoff experience in the NHL. One of the goals was his first postseason penalty shot goal. He finally got his first opportunity to represent the Czech Republic in the 2011 World Championships, scoring three goals and two assists in nine games as the Czechs won the bronze medal. Frolik's numbers failed to rebound in 2011-2012, as he had only five goals and ten assists in sixty-three games, and two more goals and one assist in four playoff games. When the NHL locked out the players in 2012, Frolik took his game back to the Czech Republic to play for Pirati Chomutov in thirty-two games, with fourteen goals and ten assists. He returned for the second year of his three-year contract with the Blackhawks after the lockout ended, but he only had three goals and seven assists in forty-five games played. He matched those totals in the playoffs in only twenty-three games, including his second postseason penalty shot goal against the Detroit Red Wings, making him the first player in NHL history to have two penalty shot goals in the postseason. His strong defensive play and penalty killing abilities made him a vital part of the Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks team, but he was not heroic and was traded at the NHL Entry Draft to the Winnipeg Jets for a third round and fifth round pick to play out the last year of his contract.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 9

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 9 takes a look at defenseman Michal Rozsival. 

Michal Rozsival was born on September 3rd, 1978, in Vlasim, Czechoslovakia. Rozsival began his hockey career at age sixteen in the Czech Junior league with HC Dukla Jihlava, scoring eight goals and adding thirteen assists in thirty-one games during the 1994-1995 season. He was promoted to the parent team for 1995-1996, but had only three goals and four assists in thirty-six games, and then appeared for the Czech Republic in the European Junior Championship in the U18 division. Rozsival's play still attracted the attention of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who selected him in the fourth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. He came to North America in 1996-1997, and joined up with the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League. Here he blossomed to a line of eight goals and thirty-one assists in sixty-three games. Rozsival remained with the Broncos for the 1997-1998 season as well, appearing in seventy-one games while scoring fourteen goals and supplying fifty-five assists. In 1998-1999, Rozsival joined the Penguins' then-American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, making forty-nine appearances and potting three goals with twenty-five assists. Rozsival finally made it to the NHL in the 1999-2000 season, playing in seventy-five games for the Penguins, posting a line of four goals and seventeen assists, and then going pointless in two playoff games. The Penguins were not as interested in his services in 2000-2001, having him appear in thirty games at the NHL level with scoring totaling one goal and five assists before being sent to their new AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to play in twenty-nine games, with a line of eight goals and eight assists. Rozsival rejoined Pittsburgh in 2001-2002, playing in seventy-nine games, while knocking in nine goals and serving out twenty assists. Rozsival struggled to stay in the lineup in 2002-2003, playing in only fifty-three games that season, and scoring just four goals and six assists. He was looking to rebound in 2003-2004, but had a severe knee injury in training camp and missed the entire season for the NHL and only playing in one AHL game. Making matters worse was the NHL lockout that cancelled the 2004-2005 season, leaving Rozsival with no choice but to play at home in the Czech Republic. He began the campaign with Ocelari Trinic of the Czech Extraliga, playing in thirty-five games with only one goal and ten assists before signing as a free agent with Pardubice, where he played in sixteen more games in the regular season to the tune of one goal and three assists, followed by sixteen playoff games in which he recorded one goal and two assists. Finally, once the lockout was over, Rozsival returned to the NHL on a two-year contract with the New York Rangers. Any questions of his durability were erased when he played in all eighty-two games during the 2005-2006 season, scoring five goals and dishing out twenty-five assists. He then played in four games in the playoffs, with one assist. In his walk year of 2006-2007, Rozsival gave the Rangers reason to keep him, scoring ten goals and thirty assists in eighty games, followed by three goals and four assists in the playoffs. New York re-signed Rozsival to a four-year contract worth $24 million after the season, and then posted thirteen goals and twenty-five assists in 2007-2008, as well as one goal and five assists in the postseason. Rozsival was selected to play for the Czech Republic in the World Championships in 2008, and appeared in four games but scored no points. Rozsival's numbers slipped in 2008-2009 when he scored eight goals and twenty-two assists in seventy-six regular season games before being kept off the scoresheet completely in seven playoff games. Rozsival continued his decline in 2009-2010, posting only three goals and twenty assists while playing in every game. Rozsival again played for the Czech Republic in the 2010 World Championships, supplying two assists in nine games as the Czechs won the gold medal. Entering the final year of his contract with the Rangers in 2010-2011, Rozsival scored three goals and twelve assists in thirty-two games before being traded for the first time in his career to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Wojtek Wolski. Rozsival closed out the season with just three goals and three assists for Phoenix, and went pointless in only four playoff games. The Coyotes resigned Rozsival to a one-year contract, and he appeared in only fifty-four games in 2011-2012, scoring one goal and passing twelve assists, and then going pointless in fifteen postseason games. Rozsival did not play during the lockout in 2012, but was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks for 2013, playing in twenty-seven games during the shortened season and registering twelve assists. He was deemed a vital part of the strong Blackhawks defense, and lived up to the role in the playoffs, playing in twenty-three games and scoring four assists, including one on the goal that ended the triple-overtime in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Five games later, Rozsival's long quest to hoist the Stanley Cup came to a successful end as the Blackhawks won the series over the Boston Bruins. Rozsival was rewarded with another one-year contract from the Blackhawks on July 5th, 2013.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 8

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 8 looks at blue-collar center Michal Handzus.

Michal "Zeus"Handzus was born on March 11th, 1977 in Banska Bystrica, Czechoslovakia. Handzus began his playing career in 1993-1994 at the age of sixteen by playing with SK Iskra Banska Bystrica Jr. in the Slovak Junior League, posting twenty-three goals and thirty-six assists in forty games. He stepped up to the Slovak second-tier league in 1994-1995, appearing in twenty-two games with fifteen goals and fourteen assists. He also made his first representation of Slovakia in the European Junior Championship, scoring five goals and three assists in five games. His success in Slovakia earned him NHL consideration, and he was drafted 101st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. Handzus stayed in the Iskra organization in 1995-1996, playing with their Slovak Extraliga team, but he only had three goals and an assists in nineteen games. He was also invited to play in the World Junior Championship in 1996, chipping in three assists in six games. In 1996-1997, Handzus joined SKP PS Poprad, playing in forty-four games and recording fifteen goals and eighteen assists, followed by another appearance at the World Juniors, scoring two goals and supplying four assists in six games. Handzus came to North America in the 1997-1998 season, playing for the Worcester IceCats of the American Hockey League, scoring twenty-seven goals and notching another thirty-six assists in sixty-nine games. His production was deemed worthy of an NHL promotion in 1998-1999, and he appeared in sixty-six games with the Blues, scoring four goals and passing twelve assists. Handzus played a larger role in 1999-2000, playing in eighty-one of the eighty-two games in an NHL season, and scoring at a twenty-five goal and twenty-eight assist pace. This earned him a chance to represent his native Slovakia at the World Championships, where he had one goal and four assists in six games while his country earned the silver medal. His postseason numbers in the NHL only showed five assists in eighteen games, which is reasonable given the preference by coaches for veterans in the playoffs. Also, Handzus' had a strong defensive game which was rewarded by a nomination for the Frank J. Selke trophy, which honors the league's best defensive forward. The 2000-2001 season was not as spectacular for Handzus, who struggled to a line of ten goals and fourteen assists in thirty-six games with the Blues before being traded with Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe, and their first round selection to the Phoenix Coyotes for the star Keith Tkachuk. With the Coyotes, Handzus had four goals and four assists in ten games. The following season proved to be busy for Handzus, who remained with the Coyotes and played in seventy-nine games, scoring fifteen goals and dishing thirty assists during the regular season before going pointless in the postseason over five games. He also represented Slovakia internationally twice during the season, playing two games at the Salt Lake City Olympics and scoring one goal, followed by one goal and four assists during six games at the World Championships, where Slovakia won the gold medal. Despite all of that, the Coyotes parted ways with Handzus at the draft in 2002, trading him and Robert Esche to the Philadelphia Flyers for Brian Boucher and the third round pick they had previously acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators, which was used to select Joe Callahan. Handzus played the full eighty-two games for the first time in his career in 2002-2003 with the Flyers, posting a line of twenty-three goals and twenty-one assists, and then two more goals and six assists in thirteen postseason games, preventing him from going to the World Championships. The 2003-2004 season was fairly similar for Handzus, playing in every game and owning a twenty goal and thirty-eight assist statistics line, while supplying another five goals and five assists in eighteen playoff games. Handzus had to put his Flyers career on hold during the 2004-2005 season due to the season-cancelling NHL lockout, so he returned home to Slovakia and played with HKm Zvolen in the Slovak Extraliga, scoring fourteen goals and twenty-four assists in thirty-three games. He also represented Slovakia at the World Championships for the first time in three years, scoring three goals in seven games. After the labor disagreement was settled, Handzus returned to play in seventy-three games with the Flyers in 2005-2006, while scoring only eleven goals with thirty-three assists, and then just two assists in six postseason games. The Flyers traded Handzus to the Chicago Blackhawks in the offseason for Kyle Calder. This proved to be an unfortunate choice, as Handzus tore his ACL in his eighth game of the 2006-2007 season with Chicago, after scoring three goals and five assists in what looked like a promising season. Nonetheless, Handzus received a four-year contract from the Los Angeles Kings on July 2nd, 2007, worth $16 million. Many would think this might be an overpayment for a player with durability questions in a salary cap era, but Handzus proved the doubters wrong in 2007-2008, playing in all eighty-two games and scoring seven goals and fourteen assists. Notably from the season was that no health questions persisted, but now production was the subject with Handzus. So again, he quelled the doubts by doubling his point total in 2008-2009, scoring eighteen goals and twenty-four assists while playing in every game. He also made another representation for Slovakia at the World Championships, scoring only four assists in six games. The story was similar in 2009-2010, when Handzus missed only one game while scoring twenty goals and twenty-two assists, while seeing the Kings make the playoffs for the first time while he had played for them. In the postseason, he had three goals and two assists over six games. Handzus also represented Slovakia at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, potting three goals and three assists in seven games. This likely kept his mind from having to watch his previous two teams play for the 2010 Stanley Cup, which the Blackhawks won. In 2010-2011, Handzus played in every game again at the age of thirty-three, but his production slipped to twelve goals and eighteen assists in the contract year, and he only had one goal and one assist in six more playoff games. The Kings had seen enough, and let the defensive forward walk at the end of the year, and walk he did to the San Jose Sharks, signing a two-year and $5 million contract after playing at the 2011 World Championships to the tune of two assists in five games. In the 2011-2012 season, Handzus played in only sixty-seven games, while scoring seven goals and passing seventeen more assists, followed by a lackluster postseason of only two games, with no points. Even worse, he watched another former team, the Kings, hoist the Stanley Cup without him. Handzus again had to take his talents overseas when the NHL locked out their players in 2012, and he played in fifteen games with his hometown team in Slovakia, HC '05 Banska Bystrica in the Slovak Extraliga, scoring nine goals and ten assists in fifteen games. He returned to the Sharks once the lockout ended, scoring one goal and one assist in twenty-eight games primarily as a fourth-line shutdown forward. He was then traded back to the Blackhawks for only a fourth round draft pick. Despite the slight of being traded for only a pick, Handzus was able to continue contributing defensively in eleven regular season games with the Blackhawks, and he also scored one goal and five assists. Handzus was a person of focus in the Blackhawks locker room during the playoffs, as the now-thirty-six year old forward had still not won the Stanley Cup. After twenty-three games of playoff hockey, that statement was gone, with Handzus contributing three goals and eight assists as well as spectacular defense to help him finally obtain the Stanley Cup. He was one of the first two people to be handed the Cup after captain Jonathan Toews lifted it, a gesture of respect to the most senior veterans of the team.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 7

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 7 talks about backup goaltender Ray Emery.

Ray Emery was born on September 28th, 1982 in Hamilton, Ontario. He began his playing career in the Ontario Junior C league with the Dunnville Terriers, appearing in twenty-two games to an appalling 3-19 win-loss record and a 6.36 goals-against average in the 1998-1999 season. In 1999-2000, Emery improved in the Ontario Junior B league with the Welland Cougars, playing in twenty-three games with a 13-10 record and a 2.81 GAA, along with one shutout. For the 1999-2000 to the 2001-2002 seasons, Emery played in the Ontario Hockey League, compiling a 60-49-11 record in 127 games played, with a 3.10 GAA and six shutouts for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. Between his second and third seasons with the Greyhounds, Emery was drafted 99th overall in the 2001 Entry Draft as a prospect for the Ottawa Senators. Then, at the end of the 2002-2003 season, Emery made three appearances with the Senators in Ottawa, winning in his only start while the other appearances came in relief, and he had a solid 1.42 GAA. Before that, Emery had played with the American Hockey League Binghamton Senators, posting 27-17-6 record in fifty games, while playing to a 2.42 GAA and shutting out the opponent seven times. Emery still played in Binghamton in the 2003-2004 season, appearing fifty-three times with 21-23-7 record while allowing goals at a 2.47 GAA rate but only three shutouts. In three more games in Ottawa, Emery had two wins and a 2.38 GAA. Emery likely would have played in the NHL for 2004-2005, but due to the season-cancelling lockout, stayed in Binghamton and had a 2.65 GAA an 28-18-5 record in fifty-one games. Emery got the NHL to stay in 2005-2006, starting thirty-eight games while making one relief appearance, with three shutouts, a 2.82 GAA, and a 23-11 record, as well as ten games in the playoffs that saw him have a 5-5 record and 2.88 GAA. Emery improved his NHL numbers in a larger role in 2006-2007, playing to a 33-16 record and 2.47 GAA with five shutouts in fifty-eight games, followed by twenty playoff games with a 13-7 record and a 2.26 GAA as the Senators fell short against the Anaheim Ducks for the Stanley Cup. Emery had his struggles off the ice though, including traffic violation and legal issues, which came to a head in 2007-2008, as the Senators soured on his behavior. He played in thirty-one games while making a 12-13 record and a 3.13 GAA before returning to Binghamton. There he had a solid 3.00 GAA and 1-1 record in two games while dealing with injuries. Emery's contract was up in the 2008 offseason, but with personality questions and a drop in production, no one offered him an NHL contract. On July 9th, Atlant Mytishchi of the Kontinental Hockey League of Russia and Eastern Europe signed Emery. In the 2008-2009 season, Emery posted a 22-8 record and a 1.86 GAA with Atlant, followed by seven playoff games with a matching GAA and a 3-3 record. This earned him some NHL interest again, when he was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers on June 10th, 2009. For 2009-2010, Emery played in twenty-nine games, all starts, and he had a 16-11 record and a 2.64 GAA, with three shutouts during the season. However, Emery's season was cut short by a disease called Avascular Necrosis, which required surgery to cure, as well as hip issues. The Flyers chose not to gamble on Emery again, but the Ducks that had previously beaten Emery in the Stanley Cup came calling with a one-year contract signed on February 7th, 2011 after his rehabilitation was complete. They assigned him to the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, where he played in three games with a 2.62 GAA and a 2-1 record, followed by two later wins that brought his GAA under two. With the Ducks, he played in ten games with a 2.28 GAA and a 7-2 record as a backup to Jonas Hiller. Due to the remarkable recovery from Avascular Necrosis, Emery was nominated by the NHL for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which honors the player who shows the most dedication and perseverance to hockey, but he didn't win it. Emery signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on October 3rd, 2011 to back up Corey Crawford. Emery actually ended up starting twenty-seven of his thirty-four appearances in 2011-2012 after Crawford struggled, playing to a 2.81 GAA and a 15-9 record. He did not play in the playoffs during that postseason. Emery returned to the Blackhawks for the lockout-shortened 2013 season, playing in 21 games with a fabulous 1.94 GAA and a 17-1 record on the team allowing the fewest goals during the regular season. This means that Emery and Crawford shared the William M. Jennings trophy. Crawford took the reins during the playoffs though, meaning Emery watched from the bench as the Blackhawks won the 2013 Stanley Cup. However, Emery was not brought back by the Blackhawks for 2013-2014, and will play in a platoon with Steve Mason in the Philadelphia Flyers crease.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 6

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 6 talks about journeyman defenseman Sheldon Brookbank.

Sheldon Brookbank was born on October 3rd, 1980, in Lanigan, Saskatchewan. He began his hockey career at age eighteen with the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, although his first two seasons from 1998-1999 and 1999-2000 do not have readily accessible statistics on Hockey-Reference.com. He played a third season with Humboldt, posting a line of fourteen goals and thirty-five assists in fifty-nine games, as well as 281 penalty minutes. Brookbank left the junior ranks in 2000-2001to play in the ECHL with the Mississippi Sea Wolves, where he had eight goals and twenty-one assists to go with 137 penalty minutes in sixty-two games, and then playing in another ten postseason games with the Sea Wolves, putting up one goal, four assists, and twenty-seven penalty minutes. He then joined the American Hockey League to play with the Grand Rapids Griffins for six more games. In this time, he had one assist and twenty-four penalty minutes. In 2002-2003, Brookbank remained with the Griffins, playing in sixty-nine games with two goals and eleven assists to his credit, while sitting for 136 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he supplied one goal and three assists with twenty-eight penalty minutes. On July 21st, 2003, Brookbank was signed by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and assigned to play with their AHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks for the 2003-2004 season. Here he had two goals and nine assists in a then-career-high seventy-four games played, while serving 216 penalty minutes. In nine playoffs games with Cincinnati, Brookbank had only two assists and twenty penalty minutes. He remained in the AHL during the 2004-2005 season, where he played in another sixty games, scoring a goal and adding eleven assists and 181 penalty minutes in the regular season. The playoffs saw him bring only forty penalty minutes with no points in eleven games. On August 4th, 2005, Brookbank was signed as a free agent by the Nashville Predators, who then assigned him to the Milwaukee Admirals for the 2005-2006 season. Brookbank was much more successful with the Admirals, scoring nine goals and dishing twenty-six assists in his first season of seventy-three games, while still adding grit with 232 penalty minutes, the most since his junior career. The Admirals made the playoffs, and in twenty-one postseason games, Brookbank registered one goal and eight assists as well as forty-nine penalty minutes. Brookbank began 2006-2007 with Milwaukee as well, and played in seventy-eight games to set a new career high in appearances, as well as goals and assists with fifteen and thirty-eight, respectively. However, during the playoffs, he went without a point and only six penalty minutes in four games. Nonetheless, Brookbank made it to the NHL for three games with the Nashvile Predators, supplying one assist and twelve penalty minutes during that short time. In the offseason, Brookbank signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets but never played for them after being waived, where he was then claimed by the New Jersey Devils. He played only one game with the AHL Lowell Devils during the 2007-2008 season, and spent another forty-four with the New Jersey Devils, playing to a line of eight assists and sixty-three penalty minutes. Brookbank began 2008-2009 with the Devils, going without a point in fifteen games while accumulating twenty-five penalty minutes before being shipped out to the Anaheim Ducks organization (his second stint with that franchise) on February 3rd, 2009 in exchange for David McIntyre. He scored one goal and added three assists and fifty-one penalty minutes. The Ducks provided stability for Brookbank, as he remained with them for the next three seasons. In 2009-2010, he had nine assists with 114 penalty minutes in sixty-six games, followed by forty games without a point but with sixty-three penalty minutes in 2010-2011, and finally a career-high eighty games in 2011-2012, which saw him score three goals and chip in eleven assists while serving a modest seventy-penalty minutes. He was signed on a two-year contract by the Chicago Blackhawks for the 2013 season, and he ended up playing in twenty-six games, with only a single goal and twenty-one penalty minutes to his name. He also made one postseason appearance, which like the other seventeen before that, saw him score no points despite playing on the championship winning team.

From Cradle to Cup: The Story of the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, Part 5

From Cradle to Cup will be a series running throughout July 2013 looking back at players on the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks roster for their Stanley Cup-winning campaign. Part 5 looks at enforcer forward Brandon Bollig. 

Brandon Bollig was born on January 31st, 1987, in St. Charles, Missouri. He began his playing career in the United States Hockey League at the age of nineteen, playing with the Lincoln Stars in the 2005-2006 season. During the season, he recorded eight goals, eight assists, and 175 penalty minutes. Bollig remained in Lincoln for the next two seasons, and over those years he had twenty-nine goals, twenty-eight assists, and 418 penalty minutes in 115 games. Over all three seasons with the Stars, Bollig appeared in twenty-six postseason games, while potting four goals, dishing eight assists, and serving sixty-four penalty minutes. Bollig attended college after his three years with the Lincoln Stars, and played college hockey with St. Lawrence University. Between 2008 and 2010 at St. Lawrence, Bollig played in seventy-eight games, posting thirteen goals and twenty-five assists, as well as a toned-down penalty minute total of 134. On April 3rd, 2010, Bollig was signed as a free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks, who then assigned him to the American Hockey League to play with the Rockford IceHogs. In three games to close out the season in Rockford, Bollig had a goal, an assist, and seven penalty minutes. Bollig played a full season with the IceHogs in 2010-2011, appearing in fifty-five games and scoring just four goals, while supplying 115 penalty minutes. Bollig also played most of the 2011-2012 season in Rockford, where he had three goals and six assists in fifty-three games, while being punished to the tune of 163 penalty minutes before being called up to the NHL to play with the Blackhawks after their trade of previous enforcer John Scott to the New York Rangers at the end of February. He did not record a point in eighteen regular season games, having only fifty-eight penalty minutes to his credit, but he appeared in four more postseason games, where he scored his first goal at the NHL level against the Phoenix Coyotes. Bollig was returned to the AHL for the beginning of the 2012-2013 campaign, as the NHL locked out the players, and in thirty-five games with Rockford, he had five goals, four assists, and 157 penalty minutes. Bollig then played twenty-five more games at the NHL level during the shortened season, going pointless but still posting a nasty fifty-one penalty minutes. He also made five postseason appearances, again without a point and this time only a minor, two-minute penalty during those games. Due to his playing in over half of the regular season games, Bollig will be able to have his name on the Stanley Cup after the Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins to cap off the shortened season.