Donald Brashear was the archetype of an enforcer. He was always at the top among the NHL leaders in penalty minutes, and when he retired, he was 15th all-time in PIMs. Brashear was a goon, and fighting was his greatest asset.
He wasn’t the most skillful player in the NHL, but he made up for it by spreading fear in his opponents. And there weren’t many who actually looked forward to playing against him.
Fellow former enforcer Georges Laraque has claimed that Brashear was one of only a handful of players that made him nervous before a fight.
”In the last years of my career, only a handful of players would still make me a bit nervous before a fight: Donald Brashear, Brian McGrattan, and mostly Derek Boogaard — may he rest in peace,” Laraque said.
Donald Brashear played his last ever NHL game in 2010 for the New York Rangers. After 12 games in the Swedish top tier with Peter Forsberg’s former team Modo, Brashear retired from pro hockey. But he hasn’t called it quits just yet.
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Brashear, now 51 years of age, still plays for the Wendake Black Jack of the Ligue de Hockey Senior Du Lac Au Fleuve (LHSLF). It’s a semi-pro league of just four teams in the Lac au Fleuve area of Quebec. And to nobody’s surprise, Brashear is still playing exactly as we’re used to.
Brashear ended up taking on two opponents this past weekend and earning a game misconduct for it. One of the players Brashear went after was left bloodied on the ice.
Donald Brashear will now likely be suspended as the league plans to take action.
”This is things I cannot tolerate. My responsibility is that players can play safely. That is our mission. We will have no choice but to take actions,” said Mathieu Caron, commissioner of the LHSLF, per TVA Sports.
It’s uncertain what caused Donald Brashear to react the way he did, but one thing is for sure: He will probably not be allowed to gear up for a while.
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