He's skated under the midnight sun in Alaska, and basked under the tropic sun in Florida. He's been a Senator, a Hurricane, an Admiral, a River Rat, a Penguin, a Moose, and at least three species of bear.
He's spent 14 seasons in pro hockey, with 16 different teams, in five professional leagues.
Yes, Wade Brookbank is the epitome of a journeyman. And though he wouldn't trade his experiences for anything, at 33, the Lanigan native feels he has travelled quite enough. He's got a family now, and it's time he set down some roots.
Illinois is where he's making his stand.
Brookbank has been suiting up this season with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League (AHL). It's another stop on a long road that's given him exposure to the ups and downs of pro hockey life at all levels.
This stop could also be his last.
The 6'4," 225 lb. defenceman and sometime-winger has certainly earned the title of "grizzled veteran." Brookbank has played nearly 750 games of pro hockey in his career, about half of that in the AHL. He also has 127 games of NHL experience, with stints in Nashville, Vancouver, Boston and Carolina. His last time in "The Show" was with the Hurricanes in 2008-09.
Wherever he has gone, Brookbank has been lauded for his physical, defensive-minded play, his work ethic, and his leadership. He's also something of a legend with his fists, a pugilist par excellence. And he's shown versatility and a team-first attitude in moving up to play forward whenever asked.
Yet for some reason, he has never stuck around very long with any one team.
"I never felt so comfortable in any place with where I was (as a player)," he told the Humboldt Journal. "Every place I've been, it's been one-year deals, so you never get to settle in, get comfortable with your surroundings. I was just worried about playing with whatever team I was with at the time, and hoped everything else would take care of itself."
Indeed, throughout his career, Brookbank has never enjoyed the luxury of knowing where he might play next. He has never played in the same city for two full seasons in a row. Even when he toiled for the Carolina Hurricanes during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, he couldn't unpack his suitcases for long.
During his first year in Carolina, he split time between the 'Canes and their AHL affiliate, the Albany (N.Y.) River Rats. The next year saw him traded not long before the deadline, and he spent the rest of the season with Tampa Bay's top farm club, the Norfolk (Va.) Admirals.
"I played a fair bit at the start of the year (in Carolina), but there was a coaching change at Christmastime," he noted. "After that, I only played two more games before they traded me in February."
Brookbank's busiest season by far was 2003-04, when he saw action with no fewer than five teams. With NHL stints in Nashville and Vancouver, and AHL stops in Milwaukee, Binghamton (N.Y.) and Manitoba, Brookbank racked up more frequent flyer miles than a stork delivering babies.
"I did a lot of handshaking that year," he recalled. "You've got to introduce yourself to every guy on every team. I had a lot of names to remember."
Brookbank said early in his career, travel was part of the attraction. He loved the year he spent in the wilds of Alaska (1998-99), playing with the Anchorage Aces of the now-defunct West Coast Hockey League - even though the team's road trips were murder. Likewise, during the year and a half he played with the Orlando Solar Bears (1999-2001) of the now-defunct International Hockey League, he found the warm rays of the Florida sunshine a welcome change from the harsh winters he experienced as a kid on the Prairies - even if that constant warm weather was a bit of a distraction.
"It's hard to think about hockey when it's 85 or 90 degrees," he agreed. "Plus going from the rink to weather like that outside. A Prairie boy like myself, I wasn't used to that kind of heat."
Still, for a time at least, the life of a vagabond athlete was quite an adventure.
"Living in different cities and all that, at first it's kind of exciting because it's all new," he said. "You get to visit all these places you've only heard about growing up in Saskatchewan. You eat at different restaurants, you go out and have a good time, and it's a lot of fun.
"But after a while, as the years have gone on, to me every hotel, every city, everything, feels exactly the same. You don't even really notice that you're in a different place anymore. You do the same thing. You want to eat, go back to your hotel room, and then you go to the hockey rink. Everything now just kind of blends together.
"It's not nearly as exciting or special as it once was, traveling from city to city. Change the name of the city you're in, but you're still (sleeping) in a hotel, eating in a restaurant."
At every stop along the way, Brookbank has delivered his trademark brand of physical, defensive-minded hockey. The more than 2,800 career penalty minutes he's amassed are testimony to the style he plays.
Of course, he's been known to mix it up with his fists. YouTube abounds with footage of Brookbank's tilts with NHL tough guys past and present, from Brad May, Donald Brashear and Georges Laraque to George Parros and Jody Shelley.
"I don't really think about that (playing the "enforcer" role) too much," he stressed. "I just play the style of game that I've played for most of my life. I don't think I'm an over-the-top enforcer, or doing crazy things, but I do tend to take care of my teammates.
"I definitely don't have as many fights as I used to, but there's the odd young guy who wants to get things going. Some of these guys are 20 years old, born in 1990 or '91. It feels kind of funny, messing with these young kids."
As he's gotten older, Brookbank has also taken on a greater leadership role, both in the locker room and on the ice. As one of the more experienced players on the IceHogs, he said he's glad to serve as a mentor to younger players hoping to make the jump someday to the NHL.
"If there's any way I can help, I will," he said. "I don't try to be forceful or anything with my messages or my advice, but if somebody asks for help, I'll always help them in whatever way I can, as much as I can."
Family man
Away from the rink, Brookbank loses the tough demeanor that has characterized his hockey career. At home, his leadership is more valued than ever, but it is a different kind of leadership: that of a husband, a father and a caregiver, rather than a battle-hardened warrior.
Wade and Betsy Brookbank met nine years ago, when Wade was toiling for the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Griffins, and Betsy was a professional volleyball player there. They married in 2006, and now have two young daughters. Addie is three and a half, while Calla is two years younger.
As a former pro athlete herself, Betsy Brookbank is well aware of the toll that life on the road can take. Now with kids in the mix, things are that much tougher.
Wade takes one look at his beautiful daughters, and he knows that a life on the road must be part of his past.
After so many teams, and after so many nights living out of a suitcase, he's determined that family is now his number-one priority. Hockey must come second.
Family was behind his decision to sign with Rockford in the first place. So home base now is the Chicago area, where Betsy Brookbank grew up. The Brookbanks reside in Barrington, a suburb of Chicago not far from Betsy's parents. Wade makes a one-hour commute each day to the Rockford MetroCentre, where the IceHogs play He relishes being at home with Betsy and the kids when the team isn't travelling.
But free agency looms again at the end of this season, and Brookbank isn't sure whether Rockford is interested in signing him on for another year.
There are two other AHL teams within commuting distance of Barrington, with the Chicago Wolves in a nearby suburb, and the Milwaukee Admirals about 75 minutes north on Interstate 94.
Beyond that, however, Brookbank is reluctant to entertain many options. For him, options that would keep him away from home and loved ones are no options at all.
"I really don't know what to think right now," he said of the future.
"I know what those other teams (Chicago and Milwaukee) were thinking last season, and I don't know if they've changed their minds, or if anything is different now. But I'm not going to worry about that right now.
"I'm just going to finish out this season, and wait and see what my options might be after that."
No matter, and no worry. Brookbank knows where his priorities lie.
Whatever the future may hold for him, two things are now certain.
He has a home, and it's in Chicago.
And from this point on, Team Brookbank will always come first.
