The lesser known NHL brothers

The Sutter Brothers. Credit: Sportsnet.ca

If we look back through the annals of NHL history, we can find many famous brother duos.

I first learned about how deep family can run through the book “Hockey dynasties: Blue Lines and Bloodlines” By: Jack Batten, which details some of the more famous NHL families. That was my first time learning about the Sutter’s, the Howe’s, etc.

For my generation, the Staal’s are the most famous NHL brothers, With Marc, Jordan, and Eric continuing to play to this day, while 4^th brother Jared last played in Scotland.

However, those 3 are all common knowledge to any passing hockey fan, and there’s many articles detailing their career’s much better than I ever could. What I find more interesting is the lesser known siblings, brothers who despite having long careers, almost nobody has ever heard of. While the Sutter sons are a good example of this, as only 1 of them (Brandon) has managed to make the NHL full time, I’m going even deeper. Here are a few of the lesser known NHL brothers.

Brian Sakic

If you were a fan of junior hockey in the 1990s or are familiar with WHL history, you might actually recognize this player. A native of Burnaby, British Columbia and brother of Colorado Avalanche legend Joe Sakic, Brian Sakic is the all-time leading scorer in WHL history, with 591 points over 343 games.

Yes, that’s right. Colorado Avalanche legend Joe Sakic’s brother is the all-time leading scorer in WHL history. Can you say obscure hockey trivia or what? Despite this, Sakic was short at 5’10 and 179 pounds, resulting in him having to wait until the 5^th round to be selected by the Washington Capitals. 

After starting his career in the ECHL with this Erie Panthers, this is the closest Sakic would get to the show, as he never wound up playing an AHL game, let alone an NHL game. In a career spent in the vast, winding landscape that was 90s minor league hockey, Sakic found his scoring touch again, also becoming the all-time leading scorer in the Colonial Hockey League’s history. Funnily enough, he actually had an upper deck card made of him and Joe, as they were only drafted 3 years apart.

Joe and Brian Sakic. Credit: Kronozio

Rob MacInnis

Anyone remember when roller hockey actually gained some notoriety?

In the mid 1990s, when the sunshine states started embracing the winter sport, roller hockey leagues started popping up everywhere, becoming a way for many AHL and even some NHL players to stay in shape during the summer. The most popular of these leagues was the RHI, which lasted from 1993 to 1999, and was the actually where former NHL players Glen Metropolit and Eric Messier got their start. It had multiple teams in both Canada and the US, and even an all-star game. (Seriously, here’s video of it.)

Playing in this game alongside NHLers like Daniel Shank though, was Rob MacInnis, brother of hockey hall of fame defenseman Al MacInnis. Unlike Brian Sakic, MacInnis actually spent a couple of years in the AHL and IHL after struggling to crack a junior lineup, gaining a reputation as a tough, offensive defenseman. However, by 1994, he found himself in the lower leagues, spending time, much like Sakic, in the ECHL, UHL, CoHL, and, as stated, RHI, where he once put up 49 points in 22 games for the Philadelphia Bulldogs. His best years on the ice were with the Utica Blizzard of the Colonial league, where he put up consecutive 60 point seasons in 1996 and 1997, while also registering over 150 penalty minutes.

Rob Macinnis with the Kitchener Rangers. Credit: Amazon.ca

Steve Chelios

The most interesting thing about this player is his actual likeness to his brother, former Chicago Blackhawks stalwart and workout fiend Chris Chelios. Aside from that, Steve Chelios’s career is of the usual lower minor league sort. He bounced around in the juniors, went undrafted, and the highest pro league he got to was the ECHL.

Chris Chelios left, Steve Chelios right. Credit: HockeyDB.com

He put together a few decent seasons with the Wichita Thunder of the CHL, also played a bit of roller hockey (though never for more than 8 games), and even played a season in the Sunshine Hockey League, which I have talked about previously on this blog. A true journeyman, Chelios only played a full season with a team once and retired in 2001 after playing 3 games with the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the WCHL.

Martin Kariya

Yes, surprisingly, there was another Kariya brother, even though he’s pretty unknown outside of Europe. All hockey pundits are aware of Anaheim Mighty Ducks legend Paul Kariya, and to a smaller degree his brother Steve, who achieved some attention with the Vancouver Canucks in the late 90s before bouncing around the AHL.

However, Martin Kariya only played 2 professional seasons, with the Portland Pirates, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and Peoria Rivermen of the AHL.

A very talented player in his own right, a 16 goal, 37 assist performance with the Rivermen attracted the attention of European teams, whom Martin chose over North America simply because of money. Finishing 5^th in scoring in the Swiss A league the next year with the Lagnau Tigers, Martin last played in 2011-12.

Martin Kariya with HC Ambri Piotta. Credit: Flickr.com

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