In 2017, Nikolas Brouillard decided to leave professional hockey to return to school. At the dawn of 2023, here he is at 27 years old with a bachelor’s degree in his pocket… and back in the pros, in the American League, where he is one of the most productive defenders.
To tell the story of the atypical career of Nikolas Brouillard, we have to go back to the fall of 2016. At 21, the Quebecer showed up at the Toronto Marlies training camp with his first professional contract in the American League. After a successful junior career, he hoped to make his place within the Maple Leafs school club.
“I thought I had the talent for it and that I was going to be able to, but I arrived in a team like the Marlies who were really packed,” he told The Press live from San Diego, where he is currently playing with the Anaheim Ducks school club.
The hockey player made his place in the training, but did not play for the first two weeks, then was demoted in the ECHL, in Orlando. The leaders of the Marlies then told him that they intended to call him back after a few games. It didn’t happen.
That season, Brouillard only played one game in the American League, on January 25, 2017. An injury then kept him sidelined for two and a half months, the rest of the season. It was there that he began to consider going to play at the university level in Quebec. Former teammates who now played with the McGill Redbirds tried to convince him to join them.
While he was thinking, Brouillard received an invitation to attend Vegas Golden Knights camp in the fall of 2017, which he did. The formation of Nevada, convinced, offered him a new contract with a component. The defender took time to reflect.
“I was looking at the signatures and I was the 16e defender. The other 15 before me were on a National League contract,” he recalls.
The year before [en 2016-2017], I saw guys aged 28, 29 or 30 who were still in the ECHL. They didn’t go to school and didn’t really have a plan other than hockey. I didn’t want to be that guy, at that age. It scared me a little.
Nikolas Fog
So he turned down the Knights’ offer and turned to the college ranks. At the same time, he “dismissed” the dream of the NHL. But that of the American League was still present. Only postponed…
Back to school
Brouillard has never regretted his decision. By studying at McGill, the native of Saint-Hyacinthe was able to rub shoulders with his friends and family for the first time in more than six years.
PHOTO FROM MCGILL UNIVERSITY WEBSITE
In three seasons and 57 games with the McGill University Redbirds, Nikolas Brouillard tallied 49 points.
“It made me feel good and I’m glad I did. Going to university opened my horizons. It allowed me to put my attention on something else, ”he says.
In 3 years and 57 games with the Redbirds, he collected 49 points. And in his final season, in 2019-20, he was named U Sports Defenseman of the Year.
I don’t know where I would be today if I had continued to play professional [à l’époque]but my years at McGill were among the best of my life.
Nikolas Fog
In 2020-21, when the college season was canceled due to the pandemic, Brouillard asked his agent to try to find him a place to play. Since he only had two distance courses left to complete to obtain his bachelor’s degree in economics and management, he was ready to move.
This is where the opportunity presented itself with the San Diego Gulls. In January 2021, he signed a one-way, one-year contract in the American League. And then, just like that, he was back in the pros.
Due to COVID-19, the team kept more players on extra, including Brouillard. He was left out for a few games, then “there were injuries, recalls, sick guys, so [il a] started playing. In 29 games, Brouillard had 14 points, earning him a new one-year contract with an option year.
PHOTO FROM SAN DIEGO GULLS TWITTER ACCOUNT
Nikolas Brouillard has 26 points in 32 games this season, third among defensemen in the American League.
Last year, due to COVID-19, he had to split his time between attack and defence; he scored 39 points in 66 games. “It’s been a good year for me, for my confidence,” he recalls.
A “reanimated” dream
If the Gulls are currently in last place in the general standings, Brouillard is third in scoring among American League defensemen. And his National League dream is suddenly “reanimated”.
The next step is to sign a two-way National League contract.
Nikolas Fog
It could be with the Ducks or another team. He could also decide to play in Europe; he has already received several tempting offers.
Whatever happens, Nikolas Brouillard can always be proud of having listened to himself. To have taken the risk of opting for a different path. And never to have given up.
“I’m really happy with the journey I’ve made, to still have a chance to be so close to the NHL at that age. I think it’s even cooler after the course I had. If it can give hope to other guys who play [au niveau] university…”