Brett Festerling

Playing career

Brett Festerling was a stay-at-home defenseman who made his mark in junior hockey before a brief NHL career. He started in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans, playing three games in 2001-02 after being selected fifth overall by the team in the 2001 WHL Bantam Draft. A broken wrist during his draft-eligible year slowed him down, and midway through the 2004-05 season, the Americans traded him and forward Ryan Costanzo to the Vancouver Giants for forward Shaun Vey and defenseman Mike McDonald. With the Giants, Festerling won the President's Cup as WHL champions in 2006 and played in the Memorial Cup. He was named team captain for the 2006-07 season, posting a junior career-high 21 points in 70 games. That year, the Giants lost the WHL finals in seven games to the Medicine Hat Tigers. As hosts of the 2007 Memorial Cup, the Giants faced the Tigers again in the final and won 3-1, capturing the franchise's first CHL title.

Despite going undrafted by any NHL team, Festerling earned an invitation to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim's training camp before the 2005-06 season and signed a three-year entry-level contract. After his Memorial Cup win, he was sent to Anaheim's AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, for the 2007-08 season, where he recorded 14 points in his first pro year. He began the 2008-09 season with the Iowa Chops. When Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin went on long-term injured reserve with a knee injury, Festerling got called up. He made his NHL debut on November 16, 2008, in a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings, logging 17 minutes of ice time while paired with Scott Niedermayer. Over his rookie NHL season, he played 40 games and notched five assists. On August 20, 2009, he signed a two-year contract extension with Anaheim.

On October 14, 2010, Festerling was sent down to the Ducks' new AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. After starting the 2010-11 season there, he was traded on December 31, 2010, along with Anaheim's fifth-round pick in the 2012 NHL draft, to the Montreal Canadiens for Maxim Lapierre. He was immediately assigned to Montreal's AHL team, the Hamilton Bulldogs. On February 28, 2011, he was traded again, this time to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for goaltender Drew MacIntyre.