I sat down with Brandon Segal for a podcast interview for The Broadway Hat Podcast this week. Brandon played 5 seasons in the NHL suiting up for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars, and New York Rangers. Brandon played over 652 games in the American Hockey League and also played four seasons in Germany for Nürnberg Ice Tigers. In total Brandon played 16 professional seasons and shared some great stories from his long career.
WHL Superstar
Segal played parts of five seasons with the Calgary Hitmen. With the Hitmen Segal scored 110 goals which is 5th all time in franchise history. His breakout season was 2001-02. Segal scored 43 goals and finished top 10 in the WHL in scoring. That same season he played in the CHL Top Prospect Game, an All-Star game for the top draft eligible Canadian junior players. While he was with the Hitmen he played with future NHL stars Ryan Getzlaf, Johnny Boychuk, and Andrew Ladd.
Draft and First Calder Cup
Following his breakout season with Calgary in 2001-02 Segal was drafted in the 4th Round, 102nd overall, by the Nashville Predators. Segal would play 4 seasons in the Nashville organization playing mostly for the Milwaukee Admirals. His 259 games are 12th All-Time in Milwaukee history. Segal helped lead the Admirals to the 2003-04 Calder Cup Championship. Segal was part of the youth movement within the Nashville organization which lead to their success in the late 2000s and 2010s. Some of the players that Segal played with were Pekka Rinne, Scottie Upshall, Ryan Suter, Kevin Klein, and Shea Weber.
NHL Debut
After 7 seasons and over 400 games in the American Hockey League, Segal made his NHL debut March 3rd, 2009, for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Segal would play two games for the Lightning that season. Segal had a great year in the AHL that season. He was named to the AHL All-Star game and scored a career high 26 goals.
First NHL Goal/Dallas Stars
Segal signed with the Los Angeles Kings for the 2009-10 seasons. He scored his first NHL goal with LA against the St. Louis Blues. He scored the goal against former teammate Chris Mason. Segal would play 25 games with the Kings before getting claimed by the Dallas Stars.
Following getting claimed by the Stars Segal made an immediate impact scoring the game winning goal and assisting on another in his Stars debut. Segal would play parts of two seasons with Dallas. Playing in 65 games, while producing 10 goals and 10 assists.
Return to Tampa Bay and Second Calder Cup Championship
Segal signed with the Chicago Blackhawks after his two seasons with Dallas. He was assigned to Rockford following training camp where he was named team Captain. Just before the trade deadline he was traded to Tampa Bay. He would play 10 games for the Lightning and was assigned to Norfolk for the Calder Cup playoffs. Playing for Jon Cooper, Segal helped lead Norfolk to a Calder Cup Championship, the second of his career.
Signing with the Rangers
Segal signed with the New York Rangers for the 2012-13 season. He would make the team out of training camp, but the season opener would be his only NHL action that year. Segal tells a great story about getting sent down following that game by John Tortorella in the shower.
Great clip from this weeks episode with @BrandonSegal26 of him talking about being sent down by John Tortorella in the shower following a game.
— The Broadway Hat Podcast (@Broadwayhatpod) April 13, 2022
Check out the full interview with Brandon here⬇️https://t.co/WAUcTEm8tg#NYR #HockeyTwitter #NHLTwitter@4EverBlueshirts @BellyUpSports pic.twitter.com/TQtuF8DzYz
Segal would lead Hartford in scoring that season with 24 goals. He was recalled by the Rangers as a black ace for their playoff run but never saw any game time. His lone game with the Rangers would be his last NHL game.
Jumping Overseas and playing for Nürnberg Ice Tigers
Following 11 professional season in North America Segal made the jump overseas. He played one season in the KHL with Medveščak Zagreb. He then went on to play four seasons with Nürnberg Ice Tigers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. With the Ice Tigers he became a fan favorite and a top player in the DEL. Segal is still the 8th All-Time leading scorer in Ice Tigers history.
Segal would end his playing career after 16 professional seasons. When you combine his regular season and playoff games, he tallied over 1,000 pro games played. He also played in two Spengler Cups while he was playing overseas. Following his great playing career, Segal in now a fireman in British Columbia.
Be sure to bookmark our hockey page for hockey coverage and follow Belly Up Hockey on Twitter: @BellyUpHockey. Follow me on Twitter for more takes on the New York Rangers and USA Hockey: @KHallNY. You can also listen to my NY Rangers podcast The Broadway Hat Podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify for Rangers news and interviews with past and current players.
