Playing career

Undrafted to the NHL, Pothier played collegiate hockey with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After his senior year he was signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers on March 27, 2000. After two seasons with the Thrashers he was moved to the Ottawa Senators prior to the 2002-03 season in a trade for Shawn McEachern, and was later signed by the Washington Capitals as a free agent in the summer of 2006.

On January 3, 2008, Pothier was injured suffering a concussion, possibly when Boston Bruins right winger Milan Lucic hit him hard into the boards, resulting in the fourth reported concussion of his career which sidelined Brian for the next fourteen months. Pothier later attributed his post-concussion symptoms and long recovery period to an undiagnosed astigmatism resulting from his latest concussion. He stated that he had recovered from the concussion two to three months after the injury, but his astigmatism led to the symptoms previously thought to be post-concussion syndrome until it was properly diagnosed in December 2008.

On December 17, 2008, he practiced in full gear for the first time since the injury. On March 4, 2009, Pothier was assigned to the Capitals American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, for conditioning and to see if he experienced any post-concussion symptoms. After successfully completing his conditioning stint, Pothier was recalled back to the Capitals and made his return to the ice on March 16, 2009, fourteen months after the initial injury. He then scored his first goal since his injury on March 31, 2009 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In the 2009-10 season after scoring 11 points in 41 games with the Capitals, Brian was traded along with prospect Oskar Osala to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defensemen Joe Corvo on March 3, 2010.

On July 27, 2010, Pothier ended his North American career and signed a two-year contract with European team Genève-Servette HC of the Swiss NLA.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996-97	R.P.I.	NCAA		34	1	11	12	42		—	—	—	—	—
1997-98	R.P.I.	NCAA		35	2	9	11	28		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	R.P.I.	NCAA		37	5	13	18	36		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	R.P.I.	NCAA		36	9	24	33	44		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	Orlando Solar Bears	IHL		76	12	29	41	69		16	3	5	8	11
2000-01	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		3	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		33	3	6	9	22		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Chicago Wolves	AHL		39	6	13	19	30		—	—	—	—	—
2002-03	Binghamton Senators	AHL		68	7	40	47	58		8	2	8	10	4
2002-03	Ottawa Senators	NHL		14	2	4	6	6		1	0	0	0	2
2003-04	Ottawa Senators	NHL		52	2	6	8	24		7	0	0	0	6
2004-05	Binghamton Senators	AHL		77	12	36	48	64		6	0	1	1	6
2005-06	Ottawa Senators	NHL		77	5	30	35	59		8	2	1	3	2
2006-07	Washington Capitals	NHL		72	3	25	28	44		—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Washington Capitals	NHL		38	5	9	14	20		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Washington Capitals	NHL		9	1	2	3	4		13	0	2	2	8
2008-09	Hershey Bears	AHL		4	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Washington Capitals	NHL		41	4	7	11	10		—	—	—	—	—
2009-10	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		20	1	3	4	11		—	—	—	—	—
2010-11	Geneve-Servette HC	NLA		44	8	25	33	26		6	2	4	6	10
NHL totals				362	26	92	118	202		29	2	3	5	18

International

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2007	United States	WC	7	0	1	1	4
Senior int'l totals			7	0	1	1	4

Transactions

• March 27, 2000 - Signed as a free agent by the Atlanta Thrashers
• June 29, 2002 - Traded to the Ottawa Senators for Shawn McEachern and a sixth round selection in 2004.
• July 1, 2006 - Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals
• March 3, 2010 - Traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, along with Oskar Osala and second round selection in 2011 for Joe Corvo

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team	1999-00
AHCA East Second-Team All-American	1999-00
ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team	2000

[ Source: Wikipedia ]