Jeremy Brodeur seeking to blaze own trail as NHL goalie, thanks to 3ICE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- One of the unique characteristics of the 3ICE professional tournament is its big names.

Ray Bourque, Guy Carbonneau, Ken Daneyko, Grant Fuhr, John LeClair, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Pierre Turgeon and Craig Patrick are all part of the 3-on-3 tournament, which completed its third of a five-week run at Baptist Health IcePlex, the Florida Panthers' training facility, on Thursday.

But those familiar names the 3ICE boasts are either coaches, or in Patrick’s case, the league commissioner.

There was a noticeable buzz Thursday when the 3ICE Dallas goalie was announced to the crowd.

Jeremy Brodeur is used to it.

Brodeur, the 28-year-old son of Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur, is about to start his ninth professional season.

He is well traveled, with games in Fort Lauderdale on a humid July evening just one of the odd stops in a career he feels may be just getting started.

He has a contract for this season with Utica of the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, with whom his father played 21 of his 22 NHL seasons and became the winningest goalie in League history with 691 victories.

“I feel that my game is on the incline,” the younger Brodeur said. “I feel that I have been getting better and better every year, and that is positive. It keeps me motivated. I’ll be in the same spot for a third year, so I am excited for that.’’

Brodeur has played in the ECHL, AHL and Southern Professional Hockey League, and played in Hungary and England as well.

But the past two seasons have been spent closer to home; he has split time with Utica and Adirondack of the ECHL.

Brodeur will be returning to the Devils organization this season with plans to attend training camp with the team his father helped win the Stanley Cup three times.

Being part of the Devils obviously means something to Brodeur, who was sporting a black New Jersey ball cap Thursday.

Besides having the most wins, the elder Brodeur is also the NHL's all-time leader in games played by a goalie (1,266) and shutouts (125).

Martin Brodeur is also New Jersey’s executive vice president, hockey operations.

“I am, by default, a Devils fan,” Jeremy Brodeur said. “Doing the training camps and things like that in Jersey is always cool, looking up and seeing his name up in the rafters. And since he still works in the organization, that’s pretty awesome. It is really fun, and a true honor to be able to play for the Devils organization. I'm excited for this next year.”

And, Jeremy Brodeur knows, that is his last name hanging in those Newark rafters as well.

“I definitely get a couple more eyeballs on me when they see my last name,’’ he said. “But I'm just trying to do my thing: Work on my game and improve every day.’’

On Thursday, Brodeur may have played his final 3ICE game of the summer despite his best efforts.

The top four of the eight teams in the 3ICE standings will advance to the championship round on Aug. 14 in Fort Lauderdale. The two games 3ICE Dallas played Thursday were crucial in its hopes of making it to the final night.

In the opener, Brodeur made 16 saves in regulation, then stopped all three shootout attempts to help his team to a 5-4 win over 3ICE Tennessee.

Brodeur made 14 saves in the final game of the evening against 3ICE Minnesota and stopped seven straight shootout attempts in overtime, but 3ICE Minnesota’s Issac Johnson beat Brodeur with the game-winner in Round 8 and gave his team a 2-1 win.

If Brodeur and his team make it to the playoff round, he will return to Fort Lauderdale in two weeks.

If not, training camp is not far away.

“This is my third year doing it, and I just love it,” Brodeur said of 3ICE. “I have not been on the winning side of it yet, but it's just so much fun. And it’s great summer work. You see Grade A [chance] after Grade A. I mean, it may not be the most fun work for a goalie, [but] it's super fun to meet players and people from all over the place. The hockey world is so small, but things like this make it even smaller.”