BY MATT VEVODA M
ost nights, Sheldon Brookbank toils in relative anonymity among the typ- ical household names on his team.
Rarely does the Ducks defenseman show up on a scoresheet, having
scored 26 points in 243 career NHL games entering February. He also shares a locker room with a surefire Hall of Famer, the league’s reigning Hart Trophy winner and several former All-Stars. That does not, however, embody the significance of Brookbank to the
Ducks franchise. A calming presence on the blue line, he’s one of those “does all the little things” guys-- standing up for his teammates, blocking shots and playing on the penalty kill. When the team is in a pinch because of injuries, he’ll even convert into a fourth-line forward on occasion. “I’m not too flashy,” Brookbank says. “Probably the less you notice me, the
better I’m doing. We have a lot of guys who take care of the offense. I’m just trying to play solid back there, as much as possible and play with consistency. “ His no frills type of game has earned him a roster spot in Anaheim since Feb.
3, 2009, when he was acquired from New Jersey for prospect David McIntyre. That has made him an elder statesman on the club, trailing only the more recognizable names of Selanne, Perry, Getzlaf, Ryan, Parros and Beauchemin in tenure. “It’s always nice if you can be somewhere for an extend- ed period of time,” says Brookbank, who ranked seventh all-time among Anaheim defenseman in penalty minutes (nearly half on fighting
Unheralded Sheldon has been a rock back end for
8 Ducks Digest
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