Brian Finley

Brian Finley (born July 13, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played for the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League.

Brian Finley
Finley with the Providence Bruins in 2006
Born (1981-07-13) July 13, 1981
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Right
Played for Nashville Predators
Boston Bruins
NHL Draft 6th overall, 1999
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2002–2007

Playing career

Finley was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. As a youth, he played in the 1995 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie.[1] Finley was a standout junior goaltender played most of his junior hockey with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). In 1999, Finley won the OHL Goaltender of the Year.[2] He was among the leaders of the Colts that won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as champions of the OHL and went on to the 2000 Memorial Cup Finals where they lost to the Rimouski Océanic 6–3.[3] Finley was a member of Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships in 1999 where he won a silver medal and 2000, where he won a bronze medal. He was invited to try out a third time for the 2001 tournament.[4]

As a top-rated goaltender Finley was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the first round, sixth overall of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year contract with the Predators, including a sizeable signing bonus. He was invited to the 2000–01 Predators training camp and started in four games. He was sent back to the Colts following the camp as Mike Dunham's contract holdout had been resolved. However, after playing 20 games, Finley suffered a serious groin injury that required surgery.[2] The Colts traded Finley to the Brampton Battalion at the trade deadline for three players and two draft picks.[5]

Finley joined the Predators the following year and spent the next few years with Nashville's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. He made his NHL debut on January 1, 2003 in relief of the injured Tomáš Vokoun, allowing three goals.[2] He won the Calder Cup with the Admirals in 2004. On November 28, 2005, Finley was named AHL player of the week.[6] He was named AHL Goaltender of the Month for November on December 1, 2005.[7]

Finley was an unrestricted free agent following the 2005–06 season. He signed with the Boston Bruins on July 17, 2006.[8] During the 2006–07 season he played ten games for Boston's AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, and two games for Boston. In his first appearance for Boston, he replaced Tim Thomas in net, giving up two goals in a 6–4 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[9] This would be his last professional season, as after the 2006–07 season Finley chose to retire after appearing in four NHL games.[2]

Personal

Following his retirement from professional hockey, Finley became a police officer with York Regional Police since 2009.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPWLTOTLMINGASOGAASV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1997–98 Barrie Colts OHL 41 23 14 1 — 2154 105 3 2.92 .917 5 1 3 260 13 0 3.00 .918
1998–99 Barrie Colts OHL 52 36 10 4 — 3063 136 3 2.66 .920 5 4 1 323 15 0 2.79 .917
1999–2000 Barrie Colts OHL 47 24 12 6 — 2540 130 2 3.07 .916 23 14 8 1353 58 1 2.57 .923
2000–01 Barrie Colts OHL 16 5 8 0 — 818 42 0 3.08 .912 — — — — — — — —
2000–01 Brampton Battalion OHL 11 7 3 1 — 631 31 0 2.95 .900 9 5 4 503 26 1 3.10 .916
2002–03 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 0 0 — 47 3 0 3.86 .769 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 22 7 11 2 — 1207 59 2 2.93 .898 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Toledo Storm ECHL 7 4 2 0 — 305 12 0 2.36 .918 1 0 1 60 4 0 4.00 .889
2003–04 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 43 23 15 4 — 2561 100 2 2.34 .918 1 0 1 59 2 0 2.05 .917
2004–05 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 64 36 22 — 4 3642 139 7 2.29 .921 7 3 4 458 20 1 2.62 .913
2005–06 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 32 18 7 — 2 1708 77 4 2.70 .908 8 3 2 415 20 0 2.89 .892
2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 1 — 0 60 7 0 7.00 .829 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 1 — 0 59 3 0 3.04 .909 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Providence Bruins AHL 10 6 3 — 0 576 29 1 3.02 .893 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 4 0 2 0 0 166 13 0 4.70 .851 — — — — — — — —
AHL totals 171 90 58 6 6 9,694 404 16 2.50 .913 16 6 7 932 42 1 2.70 .904

International
Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1999 Canada WJC 1 0 0 0 20 2 0 6.00 .667
2000 Canada WJC 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .921
Junior totals 2 1 0 0 80 5 0 3.75 —

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-10.
  2. Feschuk, Dave (May 21, 2007). "Ex-goalie Finley finds peace after arrested development: Feschuk". Toronto Star. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  3. "Memorial Cup run of 2000 had Barrie buzzing". Barrie Advance. March 18, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2023 – via Simcoe.com.
  4. "Team Canada names selection camp roster". CBC Sports. December 4, 2000. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  5. "Troops acquire Brian Finley at trade deadline". Canadian Hockey League. January 9, 2001. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  6. "Finley earns AHL weekly honor". American Hockey League. November 28, 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  7. "Milwaukee's Finley named Koho/AHL Goaltender of the Month" (Press release). American Hockey League. December 1, 2005. Retrieved September 20, 2023 – via oursportscentral.com.
  8. "Bruins sign six free agents". Sun Journal. Associated Press. July 18, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  9. "Boston Bruins send goalie Brian Finley to Providence after a loss in debut". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. November 12, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
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