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Brian Rolston
Brian Rolston
Position Forward
Shoots Left
Height
Weight
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
214 lb (97 kg)
NHL Team
F. Teams
New York Islanders
Colorado Avalanche
Boston Bruins
Minnesota Wild
New Jersey Devils
Born (1973-02-21)February 21, 1973,
Flint, MI, USA
NHL Draft 11th overall, 1991
New Jersey Devils
Pro Career 1993 – present

Brian Lee Rolston (born February 21, 1973) is a professional ice hockey player and an alternate captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He has won a Stanley Cup Championship with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, and the World Cup of Hockey in 1996 playing for Team USA. Rolston has represented the United States of America three times in Olympic competition for ice hockey. In the Salt Lake City Olympics of 2002, he won the Silver Medal.

Brian has three sons, Ryder Scott, Brody and Stone. His older brother is Ron Rolston, who is currently coaching the Rochester Americans. Rolston has been a resident of Short Hills, New Jersey.[1]

Playing career[]

Rolston is considered a utility forward, as he can play as a centre, left wing and right wing competently. The 6'2', 214 pound forward is best known for his highly regarded two-way ability.

Rolston was drafted in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils as their second pick in the first round. Prior to his NHL career, Rolston played for Lake Superior State University (where as a freshman he scored the game winning goal and earned Most Outstanding Player honors in the National Championship game, which his team won), then the Albany River Rats of the AHL. He has played for the New Jersey Devils, the Minnesota Wild, the Colorado Avalanche and the Boston Bruins. He scored a then career high 62 points, including nine shorthanded goals in 2001–02 with the Bruins. During his career, he has scored a total of 33 shorthanded goals.

Rolston signed with the Minnesota Wild as an unrestricted free agent on July 8, 2004, though his debut with the Wild didn't take place until the 2005–06 season due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Rolston often quarterbacked the Minnesota Wild's powerplay (a task normally given to a defenseman) due to his booming shot from the point and strong two-way ability. During the season, he was an on-ice leader and was one of the Wild's top scorers, scoring a new career high of 79 points. He was named as team captain for the Minnesota Wild for February, October, November 2006 and January 2007. During 2006–07, Rolston scored three goals (one on a penalty shot and two in overtime shootouts), using a slapshot from the slot. He was selected for the 2006–07 NHL Western Conference All-Star Team. During the game, Rolston scored two goals and added two assists. Rolston's shot is also known for making Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère duck for cover[2] during a game in the 2007-2008 NHL season when Rolston fired a slapshot from the right wing aiming for the top left corner of the net. Giguere visibly ducked to avoid being hit in the mask, resulting in a goal for Rolston. In a similar event during the 2006-2007 NHL season, Rolston fired a slapshot on Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. The shot hit Luongo in the mask, and though unhurt, Luongo was visiby dazed for minutes, lying on the ice until the team's trainer confirmed he was okay to continue the game. Rolston would later score on a penalty shot using his slapshot in the same game against Luongo.

On June 29, 2008, Rolston's negotiating rights were traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in return for a conditional draft pick in 2009 or 2010.[3] After failing to agree to a contract with the Lightning, Rolston became a free agent the next day on July 1, 2008, and signed a four-year deal worth $20 million to return to the New Jersey Devils.[4]

Rolston was traded to the New York Islanders for Trent Hunter. In reaction to the trade, Rolston was quoted by The Star Ledger as saying "It's been a bit of a rough ride in Jersey, I'm actually happy to go to a place that wants me. I just want to start new. I'm actually really happy about the change. [...] I saw it coming. There was no blindside here. It was something we discussed from the end of the season and into the summer." Rolston had been waived by the Devils during the 2010-11 NHL season, and is entering the final year of the four year deal he signed in 2008.[5]

Awards and achievements[]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 Lake Superior State Lakers CCHA 41 18 28 46 16
1992–93 Lake Superior State Lakers CCHA 39 33 31 64 20
1993–94 Albany River Rats AHL 17 5 5 10 8 5 1 2 3 0
1994–95 Albany River Rats AHL 18 9 11 20 10
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 40 7 11 18 17 6 2 1 3 4
1995–96 New Jersey Devils NHL 58 13 11 24 8
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 18 27 45 20 10 4 1 5 6
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 76 16 14 30 16 6 1 0 1 2
1998–99 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 24 33 57 14 7 1 0 1 2
1999–00 New Jersey Devils NHL 11 3 1 4 0
1999–00 Colorado Avalanche NHL 50 8 10 18 12
1999–00 Boston Bruins NHL 16 5 4 9 6
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 77 19 39 58 28
2001–02 Boston Bruins NHL 82 31 31 62 30 6 4 1 5 0
2002–03 Boston Bruins NHL 81 27 32 59 32 5 0 2 2 0
2003–04 Boston Bruins NHL 82 19 29 48 40 7 1 0 1 8
2005–06 Minnesota Wild NHL 81 34 45 79 48
2006–07 Minnesota Wild NHL 78 31 33 64 46 5 1 1 2 4
2007–08 Minnesota Wild NHL 81 31 28 59 53 6 2 4 6 8
2008–09 New Jersey Devils NHL 64 15 17 32 30 7 1 1 2 4
2009–10 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 20 17 37 22 5 2 1 3 0
2010–11 New Jersey Devils NHL 65 14 20 34 34
NHL totals 1186 335 402 737 458 70 19 12 31 38

International[]

Medal record
Competitor for Flag of the United States United States of America
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Silver 2002 Salt Lake City
World Championships
Bronze 1996 Vienna
World Junior Championships
Bronze 1992 Kaufbeuren
Year Team Comp GP G A Pts PIM
1991 United States WJC 8 1 5 6 0
1992 United States WJC 7 3 3 6 2
1993 United States WJC 7 6 2 8 2
1994 United States OG 8 7 0 7 8
1996 United States WC 8 3 4 7 4
1996 United States WCH 1 0 0 0 0
2002 United States OG 6 0 3 3 0
2004 United States WCH 2 0 0 0 0
2006 United States OG 6 3 1 4 4
Junior int'l totals 22 10 10 20 4
Senior int'l totals 31 13 8 21 16

References[]

  1. Russo, Michael. "Rolston sees Minnesota in a positive light: The current New Jersey veteran remains "eternally grateful" and isn't bashful about talking up the Wild.", Star Tribune, March 20, 2009. Accessed March 15, 2011.
  2. Brian Rolston slap shot on Giguere. Youtube (2007-02-03). Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
  3. Wild trade forward Rolston's rights to Lightning. The Sports Network (2008-06-29). Retrieved on 2009-07-02.
  4. Rolston, Holik return to Devils, join Pandolfo, Salvador. ESPN (2009-07-02). Retrieved on 2010-07-25.
  5. Chere, Rich. "Devils trade Brian Rolston to Islanders", July 28, 2011. Retrieved on July 29, 2011. 

External links[]

Preceded by
Scott Niedermayer
New Jersey Devils first round draft pick
1991
Succeeded by
Jason Smith
Preceded by
Willie Mitchell
Minnesota Wild captain
February 2006
Succeeded by
Wes Walz
Preceded by
Wes Walz
Minnesota Wild captain
Oct/Nov 2006
Succeeded by
Keith Carney
Preceded by
Keith Carney
Minnesota Wild captain
January 2007
Succeeded by
Mark Parrish
Preceded by
Pavol Demitra
Minnesota Wild captain
November 2007
Succeeded by
Mark Parrish
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Brian Rolston. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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