Brad Richards

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size = 230px
position = Centre
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 198
team = Dallas Stars
former_teams = Tampa Bay Lightning
league = NHL
nationality = Canada
birth_date = birth date and age|1980|5|2
birth_place = Murray Harbour, PEI, CAN
career_start = 2000
draft = 64th overall]
draft_year = 1998
draft_team = Tampa Bay Lightning

Bradley Glenn Richards (born May 2, 1980, in Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League.

Early career

Brad has been friends with Vincent Lecavalier since the age of 14, when they met at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame, a boarding school with an excellent hockey program in Saskatchewan, Canada. They were roommates and soon became good friends as they were both the youngest players on their hockey team. Since then they have gone on to being teammates in the Rimouski Oceanic and Tampa Bay Lightning. Lecavalier was also responsible for suggesting to the Lightning management after they had drafted him to draft Richards. Richards currently resides on Tampa's Davis Island.

Playing career

Richards was drafted in the 3rd round (64th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the same draft that produced future teammate and first overall pick, Vincent Lecavalier. He won the Conn Smythe and the Lady Byng Trophies in 2004. He also won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004. Later that same year, he won the World Cup of Hockey Championship playing on Team Canada. Richards holds the record for game winning goals in a single playoff season with 7 in 2004, overtaking Joe Sakic's and Joe Nieuwendyk's record of 6. Joe Sakic was his favorite player growing up.

Richards played in the Russian Super League during the 2004–05 NHL lockout on a team with fellow NHL'ers Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Kovalev, Vincent Lecavalier, Michael Nylander, Alexei Zhitnik, Dany Heatley, and Nikolai Khabibulin.

Richards played for Team Canada in the 2006 Olympics.

After the team was eliminated from the 2006 playoffs, Richards signed a 5-year contract with the Lightning worth $39 million (US).

On February 26, 2008, roughly 3 hours before the NHL trade deadline, Richards was traded to the Dallas Stars in a blockbuster deal along with goaltender Johan Holmqvist for goalie Mike Smith, centre Jeff Halpern, winger Jussi Jokinen and a 2009 4th round draft pick. Richards set a career high and made Stars franchise history by recording five assists in his first game as a Star. The Stars defeated the Blackhawks 7–4, and Richards was named the number one star of the game.

In the 2008 Playoffs, Richards tied an NHL record by scoring four points in a single period in game 2 against the San Jose Sharks.

Awards

*1999–00: CHL Player of the Year
*1999–00: CHL Leading Scorer
*1999–00: CHL Plus/Minus Award Winner
*1999–00: CHL First All-Star Team
*1999–00: QMJHL Michel Brière Memorial Trophy (Most Valuable Player)
*1999–00: QMJHL Jean Béliveau Trophy (Leading scorer)
*1999–00: QMJHL Plus/Minus Award Winner
*1999–00: QMJHL Guy Lafleur Trophy (Playoff MVP)
*1999–00: QMJHL First All-Star Team
*1999–00: Memorial Cup Stafford Memorial Trophy (MVP)
*1999–00: Memorial Cup All-Star Team
*2000–01: NHL All-Rookie Team
*2001–02: NHL YoungStars Game Participant
*2003–04: NHL Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP)
*2003–04: NHL Lady Byng Trophy (Sportsmanship)

Career statistics

International play

Played for Canada in:
*2000 World Junior Championships (bronze medal)
*2001 World Championships
*2004 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
*2006 Winter Olympics (failed to medal)

International statistics

External links

* [http://www.bradrichardsfoundation.org Official Website]
*hockeydb|35725