Brooks Orpik (born September 26, 1980 in San
Francisco, California) is a Jewish American
ice-hockey defenseman.
Orpik attended the Nichols School, in Buffalo, NY
and Thayer Academy in Braintree, Massachusetts. He
played three seasons for Boston College, winning the
Hockey East post-season championship in 1999 and
2001, and the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship in
2001.
He was the first round pick of the Pittsburgh
Penguins (18th overall) in the 2000 NHL entry draft.
Orpik began playing professionally with the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American
Hockey League during the 2001-02 AHL season. He made
his NHL debut during the 2002-03 season, playing in
6 games, but recording no points. After earning a
permanent roster spot on the team next year, Orpik
contributed in 79 games, tallying 1 goal, 9 assists,
and 127 penalty minutes.
On March 4, 2006, Orpik roughly checked Erik Cole of
the Carolina Hurricanes from behind and into the
boards during the third period. Cole suffered a
fractured C5 vertebra in his neck and was out for
the rest of the season. Orpik was suspended for 3
games.
