Derick Brassard: From PTO to Ottawa Senators’ Masterton Trophy Nominee

Last Thursday, Ottawa Senators rookie Shane Pinto should’ve been celebrating his 20th goal of the season, but as the puck crossed the Philadelphia Flyers goal line, there was an eerie hush that fell over the Canadian Tire Centre crowd.

Senators’ forward Derick Brassard was laying prone on the ice, clutching his right leg after an innocuous collision at the side of the Flyers’ net.

In his postgame comments, head coach D.J. Smith said “It didn’t look good.”

Saturday morning, Smith announced Brassard had sustained a broken right fibula and had a plate inserted.

While it was an awful conclusion to Brassard’s season, just to reach that point was a huge accomplishment for the 16-year veteran, especially after arriving in Senators’ training camp on a Professional Try-out in September.

And for that, Derick Brassard is the Professional Hockey Writers Association Ottawa chapter’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey, and Derick Brassard certainly defines each of these three qualities.

When notified of his nomination Brassard was caught off guard, “Yeah, I was pretty surprised. And at the same time, I’m really honored to represent the team. And I know Bobby (Ryan), won it a few years ago and Craig (Anderson) won. That’s like two times in the last 10 years for the organization. So that’s pretty good. And yeah, I’m just glad like when I reached my 1000th game. I just kind of stuck with it over the years, travelling around from team to team. It was pretty hard mentally, but going back in the summer and trying to get ready for the season without a contract, I was hoping for the best. And I kept working and working and yeah, this year I made a team out of camp coming on in PTO. And now I don’t know how many games I played this year. I think we’re 60. So I wasn’t really knowing how many games I was going to play. I’m really thankful for the opportunity out here and playing and having a role and everything. That’s the only thing any player can ask for. And, you know, I love the group here. We have a good group of guys. They’re really talented and it’s been a lot of fun this year.”

The Hull, QC-born, now Ottawa area resident made it his goal to play hockey this season shortly after the 2021-22 campaign concluded. Like previous summers, Brassard went to work training with a group of players in Montreal in sessions led by Nashville Predators player development coach Sebastien Bordeleau.

Bordeleau has become a mentor for Brassard for the past three years and assisted in pushing him to make it a go of it this season.

“I have a pretty good relationship with him. I started working with him three years ago and we became friends. Sometimes when it’s not going well, I talk to him a lot and he kept pushing me to play and play. And so were my frends and the closest people around me trying to get me to 1000 games – try to set new goals for myself,” Brassard told assembled Ottawa chapter PHWA members.

Though he worked out all summer, contract offers weren’t coming in for the unrestricted free agent. At that point “Big Game Brass” as he’s known for rising to the occasion in the postseason, spoke to his agent, Allan Walsh to see if he could land a deal with Ottawa.

 “I told my agent I wanted to come back to Ottawa and talk to (Senators GM) Pierre (Dorion). I know it kind of happened late a little bit, but that’s the only place I wanted. I wanted to come here, and he had to check all the roster stuff for training camp and I ended up coming here.”

The 2006 sixth overall Colombus Blue Jackets selection had no reservations entering Senators’ camp as basically a walk-on.

“I was coming in here and trying to make the team. I had to go back 15 years ago or before that in minor hockey – trying to make the team out of camp, because usually in the NHL, you have a contract or you sign a long term contract, so you don’t have to worry about that stuff. But no, it was fun. Just come in here and just try to play well in the preseason and try to earn it,” Brassard explained.

The versatile forward registered three points in four preseason outings and was rewarded with a one-year deal for his effort.

Derick Brassard fulfilled his role admirably, adding secondary scoring (13 goals, 23 points) to the club’s bottom six forward core and filling out a spot on the Senators’ second power-play unit.

On his play this season, Brassard was happy he could assist in many facets of the game, on and off the ice, “I’m just glad I came here and helped the team in some ways. We had a lot of injuries this year and it opened opportunities for other players and that’s when I took it this year. I played pretty much every position everywhere. I did pretty much everything and I took a lot of pride on and off the ice, trying to be a good older brother for some of the younger guys we have here.”

Brassard’s highlight in 2022-23 was appearing in his 1000th regular season game at Madison Square Garden on March 2nd, a building in which he had so much success for three-plus seasons while playing for the New York Rangers.

Brassard scored a pair of goals in the game, becoming only the seventh player to do so in his 1000th game. Senators’ current vice-president of business operations, Chris Phillips was also one of the seven to accomplish this feat.

“Yeah, it was pretty special. You know, playing at the Garden against my former team. Ended up putting some goals on the board for the guys which was pretty special. I’m going to remember that day for a long time,” Brassard told Full Press Hockey.

Brassard sustained his injury one day after this interview. At the time he remained undecided if he was going to lace up the skates next season, saying “I think I’m going to finish this season, and we’ll see. You know where we’re going to be in this summer and everything – what’s going to happen with this team here. We’re going to have Josh (Norris) back. There’s going to be a few guys coming back, but I’ll see. how the body is. I’ve been battling with some stuff this year and  I’m lucky enough to work with this staff – trying to stay healthy all season long, But I’ll probably take a few weeks off and decide what’s going to happen to make sure.”

Owning a minority share of the Quebec Major Junior League Gatineau Olympiques, Brassard envisions himself continuing in the sport, working in management.

“I think I see myself more on the management side of it. I talked to (Montreal Canadiens assistant coach) Alex Burrows about coaching and he said he’s on his computer a lot. We’ll see, I’m not saying no to that, but I’d love to work in hockey after. I definitely have some plans for after my career. But I’d like to be more on the management side.”

So if this is the end for the Senators’ Masterton nominee, Derick Brassard has had a solid career.

One Stanley Cup Final.

Three Conference Finals.

2016 IIHF World Championship Gold.

1013 regular season games played. 215 goals, and 330 assists for 545 points.

118 playoff games played. 25 goals and 43 assists for 68 points.