Brad Isbister

Best known as a New York Islander where he challenged the 20 goal mark for parts of 4 seasons in the early 2000s, Brad Isbister was a frustrating enigma because he was often compared to another Islander behemoth - Todd Bertuzzi.

Isbister had wonderful size and strength, and protected the puck well. He liked to get in on the forecheck and hit hard but, unlike Bertuzzi, did not take a lot of penalties.

But he had very little offensive creativity. He was a throwback up-and-down your wing type of forward. But he had below average hands when pressured. He was most likely to throw the puck on the net rather than see his passing options. His shot release was quite slow, further limiting his effectiveness.

While the 6'3" 225lb giant lacked agility on his feet, he was a solid skater who had good straightaway speed and surprising first step quickness. When he was confident and on top of his game, he could excite the crowd by driving in off the wing right to the net for a scoring chance.

Isbister lacked the offensive creativity and defensive agility to be a top two lines power forward that the most optimistic of projections hoped for, especially coming off of a strong gold medal showing at the 1997 World Junior Championships. Still, his size and strength combined with good acceleration made him an intriguing project for several NHL teams.

Brad Isbister left the NHL after 541 games. He scored 106 career goals, 116 assists for 222 points. He added 1 goal and 3 points in 18 Stanley Cup playoff games.