Bryan Allen (ice hockey)

Playing career

Allen was the fourth overall selection in the 1998 NHL entry draft to the Vancouver Canucks. A big, bruising defender with a mean streak, he earned comparisons to Derian Hatcher at the time of his selection. He made the Canucks at age 18 in his first camp, but was unable to reach a contract with the team's management and returned to the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)'s Oshawa Generals, his junior team. Despite being limited to 37 out of his team's 66 games, his strong leadership style of play earned him OHL First All-Star Team honours. He was also selected to represent Canada at the 1999 World Junior Championships. After missing substantial parts of the two previous seasons due to injury, he missed virtually all of the 1999–00 campaign following surgery.

Allen played most of his first two professional seasons in minor-pro before earning a regular roster spot in the 2002–03 season, appearing in 48 games and scoring 5 goals. With the departure of Murray Baron in the summer of 2003, Allen became a regular for the Canucks and did a fine job of replacing Baron's size and physical play. He was especially a standout on the penalty kill, logging heavy minutes as the Canucks finished near the top of the NHL in that category. On November 5, Allen was suspended for two games following an incident on November 3 in which he slashed Detroit Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg, breaking his leg.