Brandon Dubinsky

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Dubinsky was born to a Russian American family, in Anchorage, Alaska. He played minor ice hockey in Anchorage and Seattle through Sno-King Amateur Hockey Association, and graduated from Service High School in 2004. As a youth, he played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Alaska All-Stars. He spent his junior career with Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for four years, and was a two-time Western Conference second team All-Star before being drafted in the second round of the 2004 NHL Draft by the New York Rangers. Dubinsky played for the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) for most of the 2006–07 season. He first played for the New York Rangers on March 8, 2007, against the New York Islanders. Dubinsky scored his first NHL goal against Marc-André Fleury on November 8, 2007, in a 4–2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was the 3rd star of the game. He spent much of the season centering the Rangers' first forward line with Jaromír Jágr and Sean Avery. He was one of sixteen rookies selected to participate in the 2008 YoungStars competition at the 56th NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta. He scored two goals and one assist and was named YoungStars Most Valuable Player. Dubinsky scored his first career playoff goal in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the New Jersey Devils on April 13, 2008. His successful rookie season was marked on April 4, 2008, when Dubinsky was awarded the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award for the 2007–08 season and 'Rookie of the Year' for the Rangers as voted by his teammates. On May 12, 2008, Dubinsky scored a hat trick in his first World Championships, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, against Norway. Team USA went on to win the game 9–1. On November 24, 2008, Dubinsky scored a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Phoenix Coyotes. He squared off against the Coyotes' tough guy Daniel Carcillo protecting the Rangers' netminder Henrik Lundqvist at 2:58 into the first, taking a five-minute major penalty for fighting. He then scored a wraparound goal 1 minute 15 seconds into the second period (which ended up being the game winner). Dubinsky then finished the 'Gordie' with an assist to Dan Girardi, who scored a power play goal from the blue line at 7:37 into the third period. The Rangers won the game 4–1 and Dubinsky along with Lundqvist and Zherdev were named the three sta

In Their Own Story

On October 8, 2015, Dubinsky was named an alternate captain of the Blue Jackets, taking on a leadership role within the organization. However, his tenure with the 'A' ended abruptly in October 2017 when head coach John Tortorella stripped him of the designation and awarded it to defenceman Jack Johnson. The following month, on December 12, 2017, Dubinsky suffered a severe injury during a fight with Zack Kassian of the Edmonton Oilers. He fractured his orbital bone in the altercation and was subsequently placed on long-term injured reserve, marking a difficult turning point in his final seasons with the team.

Reader's Guide

Brandon Dubinsky played for the New York Rangers from 2006 to 2012 and for the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2012 to 2019. He was drafted 60th overall in 2004 by the Rangers. He was an alternate captain for the Blue Jackets from 2015 until October 2017.

Did You Know?

• Dubinsky scored a Gordie Howe hat trick against the Phoenix Coyotes on November 24, 2008.
• He was named YoungStars Most Valuable Player at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game.
• Dubinsky was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 23, 2012, along with Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a first round draft pick in 2013, for Rick Nash, minor leaguer Steven Delisle and a conditional third round pi