Brian Engblom

Brian Engblom
Brian Engblom
Born	January 27, 1955 (age 69); Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Canadiens; Washington Capitals; Los Angeles Kings; Buffalo Sabres; Calgary Flames
National team	Canada
NHL draft	22nd overall, 1975; Montreal Canadiens
WHA draft	22nd overall, 1974; Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	1975–1987

Brian Paul Engblom (born January 27, 1955) is a Canadian ice hockey broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and a former professional hockey defenseman. He was a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens.

Biography

Engblom was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and played for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was drafted 22nd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1975 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first two professional seasons with Montreal's AHL affiliate Nova Scotia Voyageurs before playing in his first NHL game in the 1977 Stanley Cup playoffs with Montreal. He won two Stanley Cups, in 1978, and 1979 with the Canadiens. Engblom's name was left off the Cup in 1977 because he played no regular season games. He played in two playoff games and did not play in the finals.

In September 1982, while he was establishing himself as a top NHL defenseman, Engblom was traded to the Washington Capitals as part of a six-player blockbuster trade that sent him, Doug Jarvis, Rod Langway and Craig Laughlin to Washington in exchange for Rick Green and Ryan Walter.^[1] A season later, he was dealt with Ken Houston to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for future Hall Of Famer Larry Murphy. He finished his career with stints for the Buffalo Sabres, and Calgary Flames. Engblom's final NHL season of 1986–87 ended prematurely due to bone spurs in his spinal column that required major surgery to repair.^[2] In 11 seasons, Engblom scored 29 goals and 177 assists.

Engblom was an NHL color commentator for ESPN and NHL on ABC from 1993 to 2004. After NBC Sports acquired NHL TV rights in 2004, he served as their color commentator/studio analyst for both NBC/NBCSN and the network's coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Engblom was an analyst on NHL Live for Versus and also served as a color analyst for Winnipeg Jets games on TSN in Canada.^[3] During the 2005–06 season, he was color analyst for Columbus Blue Jackets games aired on Fox Sports Ohio. Engblom has also provided post-game analysis for the Colorado Avalanche on Altitude Sports and Entertainment, in rotation with Mark Rycroft.

Engblom joined Sun Sports for the 2015–16 season as a color analyst for the Tampa Bay Lightning replacing Bobby Taylor, who moved to studio host.^[4]

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	1974–75	^[5]
AHCA West All-American	1974–75	^[6]
MJHL Most Valuable Player	1973
AHL first All-Star team	1977
Eddie Shore Award (AHL Most Outstanding Defenseman)	1977
Stanley Cup championships	1978, 1979
NHL second team All-Star	1982

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1981	Canada	CC	5	1	0	1	4
1983	Canada	WC	10	1	2	3	0
Senior totals			15	2	2	4	4

^ Fisher, Red (September 11, 1978). "Canadiens make blockbuster trade". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
^ Duhatschek, Eric (1987-01-16). "Engblom hits fork in road". Calgary Herald. p. D1. Retrieved 2013-12-02.
^ Smith, Joe (August 11, 2015). "Bolts name 'The Chief's' successor: Brian Engblom to take over as color analyst". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
^ "Brian Engblom named new Color Analyst for Lightning television broadcasts". NHL.com. August 11, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
^ "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.