Brendan Lemieux

Brendan Lemieux (born March 15, 1996) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Lemieux was born on March 15, 1996, in Denver, Colorado, where his father Claude was playing with the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was named after his father's former teammate with the New Jersey Devils, Brendan Shanahan.

The oldest son of Claude and his second wife Deborah, Lemieux was a childhood friend of Wayne Gretzky's children.

Lemieux was a competitive child and began playing ice hockey and baseball at a young age.

Claude tried to steer his son away from hockey, worried that it would be difficult for a second-generation player to follow his successful father, especially considering Claude's reputation as a Pest and enforcer, but he relented upon seeing Brendan's early skill at the sport.

In both 2008 and 2009, Lemieux participated in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Lemieux Academy team of Phoenix, Arizona.

The following year, he played minor ice hockey with the Toronto Red Wings of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL), which was coached by his father.

In addition to playing on these minor hockey teams, Lemieux also attended The Hill Academy, an independent Ontario-based high school for student athletes.

He agreed to spend two years with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League before attending the University of North Dakota, but abandoned both commitments after being drafted by the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2012.

Upon the conclusion of his minor hockey career, Lemieux agreed to play for two years with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), beginning in the 2012–13 season, before attending the University of North Dakota and playing college ice hockey for the Fighting Hawks, starting in 2014.

Instead, when the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected Lemieux in the fourth round, 69th overall, of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection, he forwent his commitment to UND and left Green Bay after only 11 games in order to pursue a junior ice hockey career in the OHL.

At the time of his departure, Lemieux had recorded one goal and one assist apiece for Green Bay, as well as 34 penalty minutes.

In addition to beginning the OHL season late, Lemieux received an eight-game suspension in December for an illegal check on Roland McKeown of the Kingston Frontenacs.

The hit, which caused McKeown to suffer a separated shoulder and jeopardized his chances at playing in the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, was not initially penalized, a decision criticized by Frontenacs coach Todd Gill.

Playing in 42 games during his rookie OHL season, Lemieux scored six goals and 14 points while recording 52 penalty minutes.

He added an additional two goals in 21 playoff games before the Colts were eliminated by the Belleville Bulls in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals of the J. Ross Robertson Cup.

Going into the 2013–14 season, as well as his NHL draft year, Lemieux was promoted to a top-six role as a winger for Barrie.

He recorded his first hat-trick on November 13, 2013, in a 7–1 win over the Sudbury Wolves.

The Buffalo Sabres selected Lemieux in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

He previously played for the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers.

The son of former NHL player Claude Lemieux, Lemieux began playing hockey at a young age despite his father's wishes, and spent his minor ice hockey career in the Greater Toronto Hockey League and The Hill Academy.

Lemieux's strong performance during his second year of junior ice hockey made him an attractive prospect going into the 2014 NHL draft, and his family was disappointed that he was not taken in the first round.

That winter, Lemieux and Aaron Ekblad were the two Colts selected for the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, where they played for Team Orr.

In his second full season in Barrie, Lemieux scored 27 goals and 53 points while registering 145 penalty minutes in 65 regular season games.

He also had seven goals and 10 points in 11 postseason games, including the game-winning goal in Game 4 against the Bulls, before the Colts were eliminated by the North Bay Battalion in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Over the course of the year, Lemieux jumped from No. 35 on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's list of North American hockey prospects to No. 25 in the final rankings.

Both Lemieux and his father were disappointed when Lemieux was not a first-round selection in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft – instead, he was the first pick of the second round, taken 31st overall by the Buffalo Sabres.

Although he practiced with Buffalo during their 2014 training camp, the Sabres returned Lemieux to Barrie for the 2014–15 season, where he served as one of four alternate captains.

While still playing with Barrie, Lemieux was traded to Winnipeg, with which he signed a contract in July 2015.

He finished his junior hockey career with the Windsor Spitfires after a midseason trade during the 2015–16 OHL season.

On February 11, 2015, Lemieux was part of a massive trade that saw him, Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, and a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft go to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Kasdorf.

He was thrilled by the trade, which meant a reunion with former Barrie teammate and mentor Mark Scheifele, who had mentored Lemieux when the latter was a rookie.

After scoring 41 goals and 60 points in 57 regular season OHL games, Lemieux signed a three-year, $3.375 million entry-level contract with the Jets on July 3, 2015.

Although he missed several games, Lemieux also set a franchise record with 25 power play goals, one more than previous record holder Ryan Hamilton.

After he skated with Winnipeg during their training camp, the Jets returned Lemieux to Barrie for the 2015–16 season, his final year of junior hockey eligibility.

On December 10, 2015, the Windsor Spitfires traded Anthony Stefano to Barrie in exchange for Lemieux; a number of picks in future OHL drafts were also exchanged.

Lemieux began his professional hockey career with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League during the 2016–17 AHL season.

He was selected to Winnipeg's NHL roster for the season, but received only limited ice time, and was traded to the Rangers that February for Kevin Hayes.

His development during the season was impeded by a fractured hand and the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the season, Lemieux was traded to the Kings, where he followed his father into becoming a Pest and agitator on the lower offensive lines.