Donald Brashear - Playing Style

Playing Style

Brashear was an enforcer; his role was to protect his teammates if an opponent is going beyond what is considered acceptable physical play to "dirty" play or taking "cheap shots". Brashear was a tenacious forechecker, who could create momentum by playing aggressive and delivering body checks, while possessing an underrated shot. When fighting he uses a combination of balance and upper body strength while taking his time trying to control his opponents before landing punches. Although left handed by nature, he became adept at using either hand during fights. He was considered one of the toughest players in the NHL as well as one most feared.

In the January 2010 issue of The Hockey News, Brashear was named enforcer of the decade, noting that although he did not lead the NHL in number of fights, during the decade, he would have been involved in more if "he wasn't so feared". Hockey analyst Bill Clement states that "Brashear has a great sense of when his fighting skills are necessary and he picks his spots before dropping the gloves. He’s excellent at understanding when a bit of pugilism might well provide the push or nudge to get some momentum going for his team." The Hockey News also assessed his skills by saying he possessed one of the most intimidating packages in the league, had a decent skating stride and was one of the best pugilists in the NHL. He was a bit too deliberate when handling and passing the puck, and fought much less as he got older, while slowly breaking down over time.