Cardiac Cane takes a look at players from the Carolina Hurricanes past
Ok, you may be saying, “Hey that’s a picture of Pavel Datsyuk. What is he doing up there?” Well apparently there are no pictures of Pavel Brendl, and this was the first picture that pulled up when I typed in Pavel. Deal with it *lowers shades*. Now that’s out of the way, let’s move on and look at the less than illustrious career of former Carolina Hurricanes’ player Pavel Brendl.
Pavel Brendl didn’t spend a lot of time with the Carolina Hurricanes. In fact, he only played 26 games for the Canes during his short stay with the team. Brendl’s history in the NHL is an unusual one. Brendl played an impressive season in the WHL with 134 points in 68 games his last season before the draft. The New York Rangers drafted Brendl with the fourth overall pick of the 1999 entry draft. However, Brendl would never play a single game for the Rangers and they traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the deal that sent Eric Lindros to the Rangers.
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With the Flyers, Brendl cracked the NHL squad but never fulfilled his goal scoring potential he was drafted for. In fifty games with the Flyers, Brendl scored five goals and seven assists for thirteen points. Brendl’s lack of production led to the Flyers also wanting to ship Brendl out of town as well. Eventually, the Flyers traded Brendl to the Carolina for winger Sami Kapanen in the 2003 season (Interestingly enough in that article they mention Joni Pitkanen a future Hurricanes player as well).
Time in Carolina
Like in Philadelphia, Brendl spent the majority of his time switching between the AHL and the NHL club. Brendl spent even less time in the NHL with the Canes than he did with the Flyers. Coaches and the media began to question his commitment to the team. His effort on the ice was questioned along with his diet. It appeared that Brendl put on some weight while he was with the Hurricanes. Several Canes fans noted that he was also a regular at certain donut shops in north Raleigh, leading to the nickname “Krispy Kreme.”
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During his brief stint with the Carolina Hurricanes, Brendl racked up a whopping nine points with five goals and four assists. The Hurricanes traded Brendl to the Coyotes in December of 2005 during the lockout for Krystofer Kolanos. Brendl played two more games in the 2006 season for the Coyotes. Those games would be the last two games of Brendl’s NHL career.
Life After the NHL
Brendl left American hockey to return to Europe after the 2006 seasons. He first went to the Swedish Elite League and jumped ship after two years to play in the KHL. Brendl did not stick around for long no matter where he played in Europe. As of last year, Brendl played with the Slovak league team Zvolen HKm where he was traded from Skalica HK 36. There is no record yet if Brendl is playing with another team, but he is not listed on Zvolen’s roster for this season. At thirty-four, Pavel Brendl could be looking at retirement from professional hockey. An ignominious end to a player who entered the league with so much talent.