Adam Brooks (ice hockey) explained

Adam Brooks
Birth Date:6 May 1996
Birth Place:Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:176
Position:Centre
Shoots:Left
League:DEL
Team:EHC Red Bull München
Former Teams:Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets
Draft:92nd overall
Draft Year:2016
Draft Team:Toronto Maple Leafs
Career Start:2017

Adam Brooks (born May 6, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who is currently playing for EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He was selected in the fourth round, 92nd overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Brooks has also previously played for the Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights, and Winnipeg Jets.

Playing career

Amateur

While playing AAA hockey for the Winnipeg Hawks, both Brooks and his older brother Brett attended West Kildonan Collegiate. Brooks ended the season being named AAA Impact Player of the Year and MVP.[1]

Brooks was selected 25th overall by the Regina Pats in the 2011 Western Hockey League (WHL) draft after recording 111 points with the Winnipeg Hawks.[2] He signed with the Pats on August 24, 2011, but was reassigned to the Winnipeg Thrashers in the Manitoba U-18 'AAA' Hockey League.[3] While with the Thrashers, Brooks was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck Austria.[4] At the conclusion of the 2011–12 season, Brooks recorded 41 points in 37 games, and appeared in the Western Canada Under-16 Challenge.[5]

After only recording 11 points during the 2013–14 season, Brooks was passed over in his first year of eligibility for the NHL Entry Draft. Prior to the beginning of the new season, the Pats hired Dave Struch and Brooks excelled that season, recording 62 points in 64 games.[6] Despite going undrafted again, Brooks partook in the New York Rangers rookie camp.[7]

His success continued into the following season where Brooks lead the league with 82 assists and 120 points, which earned him the Bob Clarke Trophy.[8] This also earned him a 72nd final ranking from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau amongst North American skaters.[9] By the time the 2016 NHL Entry Draft came around, Brooks was drafted 92nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[10] Brooks was named team captain of the Pats to start his final junior year in the 2016–17 WHL season.[6] Although the Pats qualified for the playoffs, Brooks injured his knee in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference semi-final and was out for the rest of the series.[11] At the conclusion of his junior career, Brooks ranked third all-time in regular-season games played with 317, 10th in career points with 335, and sixth in assists with 216.[12] He was also named to the WHL First All-Star team.[13]

Professional

On June 29, 2017, Brooks was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[14] After attending the Leafs training camp, Brooks was reassigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, to begin the 2017–18 season.[15] Brooks played on a line with Ben Smith and Colin Greening, whom helped him record his first career AHL point in a 4–0 win over the Charlotte Checkers.[16] He later scored his first career AHL goal in a 5–1 win over the Belleville Senators on December 31, 2017.[17] Brooks finished his rookie campaign with the Marlies recording 19 points in 57 regular AHL games, and six points in 20 playoff games to help lead the Marlies to their first Calder Cup in franchise history.[18]

After attending the Leafs training camp, Brooks was reassigned to the Marlies for the 2018–19 AHL season.[19] The Marlies qualified for the 2019 Calder Cup playoffs, where Brooks recorded a hat trick to sweep the Marlies past the Rochester Americans.[20] Brooks played his first NHL game against the New York Rangers on December 28, 2019.[21] Brooks finished the season with 3 points in 7 games with the Maple Leafs and 9 goals and 20 points in 29 games for the Marlies. He re-signed with the Maple Leafs to a two-year, two-way contract in May 2020.[22] On January 22, 2021, Brooks scored his first NHL goal with the Maple Leafs on Mikko Koskinen of the Edmonton Oilers.[23] He finished the season with 5 points in 11 games with the Maple Leafs.[24]

On October 10, 2021, prior to the season, Brooks was placed on waivers by the Maple Leafs as part of pre-season roster cuts. He was subsequently claimed by the Montreal Canadiens the following day.[24] He appeared in four games with the Canadiens.[25] Brooks was placed back on waivers by Montreal on November 16, 2021; the following day, he was claimed by the Vegas Golden Knights.[26] Brooks played in seven games for the Golden Knights, scoring two goals.[25] On February 15, 2022, Brooks was placed on waivers by the Golden Knights, and subsequently re-claimed by Toronto the next day.[27] However, on February 17, Toronto placed Brooks on waivers again; the following day, he was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets.[28] He finished the season with 14 games played for the Jets.[25]

On July 13, 2022, Brooks was signed as a free agent to a two-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[25]

On July 15, 2024, Brooks signed with EHC Red Bull München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.[29]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12Winnipeg ThrashersMMHL37172441671340
2012–13Regina PatsWHL55481213
2013–14Regina PatsWHL6047112440110
2014–15Regina PatsWHL643032621894376
2015–16Regina PatsWHL7238821203012716236
2016–17Regina PatsWHL66438713061175131812
2017–18Toronto MarliesAHL57811192202464
2018–19Toronto MarliesAHL6121194028136286
2019–20Toronto MarliesAHL299112019
2019–20Toronto Maple LeafsNHL70330
2020–21Toronto Maple LeafsNHL11415020002
2020–21Toronto MarliesAHL1749136
2021–22Montreal CanadiensNHL40110
2021–22Vegas Golden KnightsNHL72022
2021–22Henderson Silver KnightsAHL50330
2021–22Winnipeg JetsNHL140000
2022–23Lehigh Valley PhantomsAHL541025353131232
2023–24Lehigh Valley PhantomsAHL471312251261230
NHL totals43 6 5 11 22 0 0 0 2

International

Awards and honours

Award or HonourYear
WHL
First All-Star Team (East)2016
Bob Clarke Trophy2016
WHL First All-Star Team2017
AHL
Calder Cup (Toronto Marlies)2018[30]

Notes and References

  1. News: Saper . Avi . Brooks brothers well suited to AAA hockey this season . December 5, 2019 . Winnipeg Free Press . May 18, 2011.
  2. Web site: Pats Take High Scoring Forward . reginapats.com . December 5, 2019 . May 5, 2011.
  3. Web site: Pats Sign Top Two Picks . reginapats.com . December 5, 2019 . August 24, 2011.
  4. Web site: Adam Brooks Selected to Youth Olympic Games . reginapats.com . December 5, 2019 . October 21, 2011.
  5. Web site: Adam Brooks sizing up the competition . reginapats.com . December 5, 2019 . June 5, 2012.
  6. Web site: Nugent-Bowman . Daniel . How Maple Leafs prospect Adam Brooks went from afterthought to coveted . sportsnet.ca . December 5, 2019 . July 13, 2017.
  7. Web site: Regina Pats' Adam Brooks in a New York state of mind . ckom.com . December 5, 2019 . September 8, 2015.
  8. Web site: Dave Schioler presenting the WHL Top Scorer Award (Bob Clarke Trophy) to Adam Brooks from Winnipeg, MB of The Regina Pats. May 4, 2016 . December 5, 2019.
  9. Web site: Two Pats in CSS Final Rankings . reginapats.com . December 5, 2019 . April 12, 2016.
  10. Web site: Adam Brooks Drafted 92nd Overall . reginapats.com . December 5, 2019 . June 25, 2016.
  11. News: Harder . Greg . Pats captain Adam Brooks went out on his terms in the WHL final . December 5, 2019 . Regina Leader-Post . May 16, 2017.
  12. News: Harder . Greg . The journey's not over for Pats captain Adam Brooks . December 5, 2019 . Regina Leader-Post . March 22, 2017.
  13. Web site: WHL announces 2016-17 Conference All-Star teams . whl.ca . December 5, 2019 . March 22, 2017.
  14. Web site: Maple Leafs sign Regina Pats' star Adam Brooks to ELC . . Johnston . Mike . 2017-06-29 . 2017-06-29.
  15. Web site: Maple Leafs Reassign Players to Marlies . marlies.ca . December 5, 2019 . September 17, 2017.
  16. Web site: Weekend Wrap-Up: October 23, 2017 . marlies.ca . December 5, 2019 . October 23, 2017.
  17. Web site: Total Team Effort Pushes Marlies Past Senators . marlies.ca . December 5, 2019 . December 31, 2017.
  18. News: Harder . Greg . Brooks' sip from Calder Cup makes him thirsty for more . December 5, 2019 . Regina Leader-Post . June 21, 2018.
  19. Web site: Maple Leafs Reduce Roster . Toronto Maple Leafs . NHL.com . December 5, 2019 . September 30, 2018.
  20. Web site: Marlies advance on Brooks' hat trick . theahl.com . December 5, 2019 . April 24, 2019.
  21. Web site: Former Pats captain Adam Brooks still pinching himself after NHL debut with Leafs . Regina Leader-Post . Harder . Greg . December 31, 2019 . November 22, 2022.
  22. Web site: Maple Leafs sign Adam Brooks to two-year, two-way extension . Sportsnet . May 14, 2020 . November 22, 2022.
  23. Web site: Maple Leafs' Adam Brooks deflects puck in slot to score first NHL goal . Sportsnet . January 22, 2021 . November 22, 2022.
  24. Web site: Canadiens claim forward Adam Brooks off waivers from Maple Leafs . Sportsnet . October 10, 2021 . October 10, 2021.
  25. Web site: Flyers add five depth players . . July 13, 2022 . July 13, 2022 . NHL.com.
  26. Web site: Vegas Golden Knights claim Forward Adam Brooks off waivers . . NHL.com . November 17, 2021 . November 17, 2021.
  27. Web site: Maple Leafs claim F Brooks off waivers . TSN . February 16, 2022 . February 17, 2022.
  28. Web site: Jets claim Winnipeg's Adam Brooks off waivers, reassign David Gustafsson . Global News . Hobson . Russ . February 18, 2022 . November 22, 2022.
  29. Web site: EHC Red Bull München verpflichtet Adam Brooks . www.redbullmuenchen.de . July 15, 2024 . de . July 15, 2024 . EHC Red Bull Munich signs Adam Brooks.
  30. Web site: Marlies Win 2018 Calder Cup . marlies.ca . December 5, 2019 . June 14, 2018.