Brent Sopel
Brent Sopel was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada on January 7th, 1977 and is the Hockey Player. At the age of 47, Brent Sopel biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 47 years old, Brent Sopel has this physical status:
Brent Bernard Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Sopel was first drafted 144th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks, the team he started his NHL career with.
He has appeared for the New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Montreal Canadiens, as well as winning the Stanley Cup in 2010 with Chicago. Sopel has also played in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Metallurg Novokuznetsk and Salavat Yulaev Ufa, as well as briefly playing for the Chicago Wolves in AHL), before retiring from professional hockey in 2015.
Personal life
Sopel was also diagnosed with dyslexia after his daughter was diagnosed with dyslexia after the signs sounded similar to his struggles. Brent Sopel Foundation founder Brent Sopel Foundation was inspired to help youth with dyslexia and raise money for them.
Playing career
Sopel signed his first professional deal with his draft team, the Vancouver Canucks, on April 3, 1996, just under a year after being drafted. Coach Marc Crawford told him he would never play in the NHL, but Sopel scored his first NHL goal against the Edmonton Oilers on April 10, 1999. Sopel was voted by the Vancouver Canucks Booster Club in 2002 for Unsung Hero. Sopel received USA Today's National Player of the Week award on December 31, 2001 and January 21, 2002.
On February 1, 2007, the NHL trade deadline was passed back to the Canucks during their 2006–07 season. He missed the first game of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs against the Dallas Stars because he hurt his back while picking up a cracker that had been dropped by his daughter. In the sixth longest game in NHL history, the Canucks defeated the Stars in quadruple overtime in quadruple overtime.
The Canucks traded Sopel to the New York Islanders in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Sopel signed a two-year, $4.8 million contract with the Islanders on August 16, just under a week after being traded.
Sopel was welcomed to the Detroit Red Wings' training camp during the 2007–08 season without a contract. However, Sopel left Detroit's camp on September 28, 2007, signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks instead. After the Red Wings had only offered a one-year, $500,000 deal, the Red Wings had only offered a one-year, $500,000 deal. Sopel signed a three-year, $7 million deal with the Blackhawks on January 10, 2008, extending his Chicago tenure through the 2010-11 season. Brent Sopel of the Chicago Blackhawks captured the Stanley Cup on June 9, 2010.
Sopel carried the team's newly won Stanley Cup to the 2010 Chicago Gay Pride Parade in June 2010. Sopel carried the Cup to the parade in honor of late Brendan Burke, son of his former general manager when playing for Vancouver, Brian Burke, who died in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade, telling the world that honoring Burke's legacy and his father's example of familial support and compassion was one of his reasons for marching in the parade.
Sopel was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers on June 23, 2010, along with Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Akim Aliu, in exchange for the 24th (Kevin Hayes) and 54th overall picks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, and Jeremy Morin.
After playing 59 games for Atlanta, scoring two goals and seven points, Sopel was traded to the Montreal Canadiens along with Nigel Dawes in exchange for Ben Maxwell and a fourth-round draft pick in 2011.
Sopel revealed on July 29, 2011 that he had signed Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, a two-year deal (KHL). Sopel was traded to Salavat Yulaev Ufa for their playoff campaign during the 2012-2013 season, his second with Novokuznetsk. He signed a two-year deal with Salavat Yulaev in the summer.
The Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) announced on October 10, 2014 that they had signed Sopel to a standard player deal for the 2014-15 season. Sopel resigned from professional hockey on February 27, 2015, but after 29 games played, however, he announced it on February 27, 2015.
Awards
- 2001 – Player of the Week (December 31, 2001 – January 6, 2002)
- 2002 – NHL Player of the Week (January 21–27)
- 2010 – Won Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks