Brooks Orpik was born in the Golden State on America in the hills of San Francisco on September 26, 1980. San Francisco is not a city known for its hockey talent but its mere football culture. It was a surprise for the big athlete to join the hockey community, but he managed to succeed in a competitive state such as California. However, his family were hockey fans. Orpik was named Brooks from the great late American coach, Herb Brooks--who was famous for the U.S. hockey team's "Miracle on Ice" during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. He was born on ice from day one. http://www.hockeyfights.com/players/601/fightcard/reg2009

After his minor league career playing for high schools, he played for Boston College for three seasons. During his stay at Boston College, they won the Hockey East post-season championship in 1999 and 2001, and the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship in 2001. He was destined to become a National Hockey League (NHL) professional player. He finished his career with BC with 119 games played, scoring 41 points and 324 penalty minutes. He was a hitter and a gate keeper for his team.

Orpik was drafted 18th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins needed some big bodies for some defensive pressure and Orpik was positioned for that type of gameplay. The next season he played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins farm system. He played exceptionally well by helping his team reach post-season play in 2003. He played in the NHL for the Penguins in 2003, but only for six games; and after his improved play, he received a starting spot in 2004. He spent most of his time in the penalty box, intimidating his opponents and looking for blood. However, as the seasons progressed, his penalty minutes diminished, stapling him as a productive defensive defenseman that avoided placing his team short-handed against their strong opponents. He developed into one of the best defenseman in the NHL.

This was one season that Brooks Orpik did not look for fights. It was a change in this players day by day agenda, since he focused more on the puck then the irritator that he had to protect his scoring teammates from.

Orpik was looking for a repeating Stanley Cup Championship, but it wasn't going to come cheap. The Penguins had a slow start with injuries from their top forwards, but Orpik worked hard to keep the puck out of their net. He even avoided the penalty box to help his team focus on scoring even strength--it was not an easy task.

After playing 73 games, he scored 25 points and committed to only 64 penalty minutes, Orpik and his teammates finished in fourth place again. They were facing familiar faces in the Ottawa Senators and he knew who he had to watch out for. They beat the Senators and moved on to the eighth seed Montreal Canadiens, a quick and powerful scoring club that were hidden in the shadows. Orpik pushed the Canadiens forward but had no luck since they lost in game seven to the inspiring Canadiens squad.

Brooks Orpik witnessed a milestone in his life, a dream that only some experience--he won the Stanley Cup Championship. The group of kids he joined in 2003, during their rebuilding phase, cooperated from years of chemistry to win the cup. He was an important piece to their championship puzzle with his great defensive presence.

He did not highlight the season with a large number of points or even penalty minutes, he just played a solid game that supported his forwards when they couldn't score. They fended off the meanest and ugliest in the league and it was no easy task. He was their to fight the Detroit Red Wings in a rematch for the cup, where this time, he wasn't going to lose again. He was set to shadow Red Wings' forwards Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg, but it was a challenging job to cover such goal scorers and play makers. However it came to an end in game seven when the Penguins won, including the last seconds when Red Wing defenseman Nicolas Lidtsrom set up the final shot and Penguins' goalie Marc-Andre Fluery stopped the puck in a mere second. Orpik held his breathe to only see the final second to clock down. It was a moment to remember.

He finished the season with 79 game played, 19 points and 73 penalty minutes. His post-season statistics were comparable to his regular season statistics. He finished the playoff journey with only four points and 22 penalty minutes.