September 23, 2016
Heading into this past summer, T.J. Brennan was coming off his second Eddie Shore Award in three seasons, annually given to the AHL’s best defenseman. He was one of the best players on a stacked Toronto Marlies team that blitzed through the regular season, finishing 56-15-5.
But the 27-year-old Moorestown native felt that from the perspective of finding a better work-life balance, his next move was kind of a no-brainer. So here he is, playing 10 miles from home, for the hockey team he grew up rooting for.
“It seemed like things were not so-called ‘meant to be,’ but it was definitely the only choice in my mind, especially as the summer went on,” Brennan said of signing with the Flyers. “I feel very lucky and appreciative to have an opportunity here and get a contract, and now it’s time to start climbing the mountain.”
Let’s begin with that mountain: Brennan will likely start the season back in the AHL with Lehigh Valley. As we wrote about a little in the 23-man roster preview, the Flyers already have seven defenseman on one-way contracts, not including Ivan Provorov.
Brennan, who inked a two-year, two-way contract, is already well traveled for 27. He has played for three NHL teams (Buffalo, Florida, Toronto) in addition to making multiple AHL stops since being selected 31st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Now, after all of those pit stops, he’s back home.
“It humbles you,” Brennan said. “If someone told me when I was 10 years old that at 17, I’d be going up to St. John’s, Newfoundland to further my career and give me more of an opportunity to get closer to the NHL, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. It’s funny how things come full circle.”
At 6-foot-1, 216 pounds, Brennan is a skilled player. He ranks fifth in AHL history among defensemen with 319 points (113 goals, 206 assists), submitting 68 in 69 games played for the Marlies last season. If Brennan is sent down at some point in the preseason, he should make a Phantoms blue line that figures to feature Sam Morin and Travis Sanheim more formidable.
And even if Dave Hakstol isn’t likely to be Brennan’s coach, he noticed his strengths on the first day of training camp.
“Connecting with the people in [Philadelphia] and having that chemistry and building something great because this team really gets behind something really positive.”
“It’s always different when you’re on the ice with a player,” Hakstol said. “You can watch as much as you want or listen to the scouting reports or things like that, but T.J. is one of the guys out there, his puck skills are very evident.”
Brennan said that one of the aspects that drew him to the Flyers was the relationship that the players have with the area, something he used to witness from the other end.
“Growing up, watching guys like Ron Hextall play and perform, I think that’s really what this city is about,” Brennan said. “Connecting with the people in it and having that chemistry and building something great because this team really gets behind something really positive.”
If experiencing that relationship from the player's perspective is the mountain, Brennan started his climb on Friday.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
