Brent Seabrook

Brent Seabrook (born April 20, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman playing for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 14th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft out of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He played four seasons of junior with the Lethbridge Hurricanes before joining the Blackhawks in 2005–06. Internationally, he competes for Team Canada and has won gold medals at the 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2005 World Junior Championships and 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Playing career
Growing up in Tsawwassen, Delta, British Columbia, Seabrook played minor hockey with the Pacific Vipers, along with three future Chicago Blackhawks teammates, Colin Fraser, Troy Brouwer and Andrew Ladd. He went on to play major junior in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Lethbridge Hurricanes, having been drafted by them in the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft in 2000. Seabrook played with former Chicago Blackhawks teammate Kris Versteeg for three seasons in Lethbridge. After a 42-point season in 2002–03 with the Hurricanes, Seabrook was drafted 14th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Seabrook made his professional debut after completing his fourth and final WHL season, being assigned to the Norfolk Admirals, the Blackhawks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the final three games of the regular season and six post-season games. Seabrook cracked the Blackhawks' lineup his first year out of junior in 2005–06 and recorded 5 goals and 32 points as a rookie. In his third NHL season, in 2007–08, Seabrook matched his rookie total with 32 points while tallying a personal best nine goals. He began the season on the top-defensive pairing with Duncan Keith.

The following season, he became an integral part of a young and rejuvenated Blackhawks team that made the playoffs for the first time in seven years the following season in 2009. Seabrook scored 11 points in 17 post-season games as the Blackhawks made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings. His younger brother Keith plays for the Vancouver Canucks organization and is currently playing for their minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. On June 9, 2010, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime. Seabrook won his first Stanley Cup as a member of the team. He was on the ice when the victory occurred.

On December 30, 2010 the Chicago Blackhawks named Seabrook alternate captain for time that captain Jonathan Toews missed due to an upper body injury.

On February 27, 2011 the Chicago Blackhawks signed Seabrook to a 5-year 30 million dollar contract.

International play
During his junior career, Seabrook represented Team Canada in two World Junior Championships. In 2004 in Finland, he recorded 3 points to help Canada to the gold medal game against the United States, where they were defeated 4–3. Returning the following year in 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in the United States, he matched his 3-point total from the previous tournament and helped defeat Russia 6–1 in the final to capture Canada's first gold medal of a five-year run.

After his rookie season with the Chicago Blackhawks, Seabrook made his senior international debut with Team Canada at the 2006 World Championships in Latvia, where Canada failed to medal.

On December 30, 2009, Seabrook was called and asked to play for Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver along with Blackhawks teammates Duncan Keith and Jonathan Toews. He was expected to continue his NHL pairing with Keith during the tournament, but he instead became designated as Canada's seventh defenceman. He notched one assist over seven games as Canada won the gold medal over the United States 3–2 in overtime on February 28, 2010.

Awards and achievements

 * 2003 IIHF World U18 Championships gold medalist (Canada)
 * 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships silver medalist (Canada)
 * WHL East Second All-Star Team (2005)
 * 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships gold medalist (Canada)
 * 2006–07 NHL YoungStars Game participant
 * 2010 Stanley Cup champion (Chicago Blackhawks)
 * 2010 Olympic gold medalist (Canada)