Meeting the New Guys: Brian Fahey

When you look at the current roster on the Capitals website, you can’t help but notice that it looks like one guy snuck himself in. That guy is defenseman Brian Fahey. On July 7^th, 2010, it was quietly announced that he had signed a one year, two-way contract with Washington. He didn’t even get his own announcement; it was split with the signing of forward Kyle Greentree.

Name: Brian Fahey
Birthdate: March 2, 1981
Hometown: Glenview, IL
Drafted: 4^th round, 119th overall by the Colorado Avalanche
Height: 6’1
Weight: 216 lbs
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right

I have to admit that my bleeding heart wants him to get a call-up this season. At 29 years old, he’s an established AHL veteran but he has yet to play a game in the NHL. Last season, he was called up by the Colorado Avalanche in November but was sent back down two weeks later without dressing for a single game. He was called up again for depth during playoffs but the Avalanche were eliminated before he was needed.

Hershey lost a few veterans this off-season and will probably lose their prodigies, Karl Alzner and John Carlson. I think he’ll be an excellent addition to Hershey. He adds to the defense and brings years of experience to the team. He helped lead the Chicago Wolves to a Calder Cup Championship in 2008, getting ten points in the post-season. CapGeek.com lists him as making $500,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL. As John Walton says, “Hershey doesn’t rebuild, they reload.”

However, Fahey isn’t new to Hershey but he is new to Washington. He played 12 games for the Bears in 2002-2003 while they were still Colorado’s affiliate. In those 12 games, he had no goals and one assist. That same season, he spent most of his time playing in the ECHL for the (now defunct) Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. Fahey was named to both the WCHA and the ECHL All-Rookie Team during his career.

Fahey also brings the kind of attitude teams like to see in their veterans. During the 2006-2007 season with the Chicago Wolves, he was awarded the “Tim Breslin Unsung Hero Award.” This award is given to the player on the Chicago Wolves “who best typifies Breslin’s on-ice spirit and team-first attitude.” In Lake Erie, he wore an ‘A.’ Coaches seem to feel comfortable giving him a bit of responsibility and he seems to feel more comfortable having that responsibility.

The University of Wisconsin graduate played with the Lake Erie Monsters last season. He finished with 11 goals and 14 assists in 71 games. He got a lot of time on Lake Erie’s power play unit: 6 of his 11 goals were power play goals. While not a fighter, he does seem to have a bit of a physical playing style. He accumulated 97 penalty minutes in the last season.

As always, I end this with a video. It’s good to know that literacy is important to Fahey.