A few weeks ago during the rash of the flu and season ending injuries that grabbed a hold on the Hurricanes, one of the first Albany River Rats to be called up was Wade Brookbank. Not exactly known for his offensive prowess, his primary role on any hockey team he's with was to drop the gloves.
After the Dec. 26th NY Rangers game where Carolina was out gunned, out hustled and out hit, fans and media alike were clamoring for Jimmy Boy to bring in an enforcer. Enter Wadey Boy. We simply couldn't allow teams with the Sean Averys and Colton Orrs to come in and knock out the team's weapons (Cullen is STILL out with lingering effects from Orr's hit). He's seen one assist in 16 games with 32 penalty minutes. He always seems ready to go to blows even when he's fighting a guy 1/2 a foot taller than him. His attitude and grittiness have prompted some locals to start referring to him as "Wade Bloodbank".
What I like about the guy is that every fight we've seen him in, he's usually getting his face handed to him. I've seen a couple of draws but for the most part he's taking a beating for his team on any given night. He fought during the 1st period of the NJ game the other night hoping to spark any kind of fire under his slacker team mates.
Now, we've got someone on the team already who can, will and DOES win fights when he needs to, but considering his offensive presence and energy combined with his injury history, Scottie Walker has been told to refrain from fighting.
Drawing a fight may not always end up providing the spark you hoped for but at the very least he's giving the fans something to see. Even on nights when the rest of the Canes don't bother showing up.
