Bruins acquire Brad Isbister



The Bruins acquired Brad Isbister (above right) from the Edmonton Oilers for a
fourth round draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
The Boston Bruins have acquired left wing Brad Isbister from the Edmonton Oilers
in exchange for a fourth round draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, it was
announced today by Bruins General Manager Mike O'Connell.

"Brad is a solid winger who brings good size to our forward lines," said
O'Connell. "We're happy to have him on our team."

Isbister, 28, was originally drafted by Winnipeg as their fourth pick, 67th
overall, in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played four seasons of junior hockey
with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League where he had
83-92=175 totals and 397 penalty minutes in 226 career junior games and earned a
WHL Second Team All-Star berth in 1996-97. He turned pro in 1997 at the
conclusion of his junior career, joining Springfield (AHL) for the final seven
games of the 1996-97 season and playoffs.

"Initially I was surprised?I didn't really see it coming," said Isbister of the
trade to Boston. "But then it was quickly followed by excitement. I know Boston
is a great hockey city, and I'm just excited to now be a part of that. It was a
surprise, but it was an exciting surprise."

The 6'4", 231 lb. native of Edmonton, Alberta split his first three pro seasons
between Phoenix and their AHL affiliate in Springfield. He was traded to the NY
Islanders for Robert Reichel and draft choices in March, 1999 and broke into the
NHL to stay with the Islanders in 1999-2000. He enjoyed his best offensive NHL
seasons with the Islanders, including a 22-goal, 42-point season in 1999-2000
and played three-plus seasons in New York until a March, 2003 multi-player trade
to Edmonton.

"I know Boston is a great city, an Original Six city and a big hockey city,"
said Isbister. "It should be a great place to play hockey. We'll see what
happens over the next few days to see what kind of players we have on the
roster, but it should be really exciting."

Isbister played the last two NHL seasons with the Oilers. He had ten goals and
eight assists for 18 points with 54 penalty minutes in 51 games with Edmonton in
2003-04, missing 26 contests with neck, back and ankle injuries. He played 11
games in 2004-05 with Innsbruck in Austria with 7-4=11 totals and 41 PIM in
those 11 contests.

He has scored 10-or-more goals in each of his last five NHL seasons and his
career NHL totals are 93 goals and 90 assists for 183 points with 517 penalty
minutes in 409 career games.