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Yzerman thinks BriseBois will have ‘long and outstanding career’ as NHL GM

Julien_Brisesbois

He’s only 37 years old, but age isn’t keeping Julien BriseBois’s name off the list of potential new general managers in Pittsburgh and Washington.

BriseBois, currently an assistant GM in Tampa Bay, already has the endorsement of his Lightning boss, Steve Yzerman.

“He’s got tremendous experience at all facets and responsibilities of a general manager,” Yzerman said, per the Tampa Bay Times. “He’s going to have a long and outstanding career as a GM.”

Per the Lightning’s website, BriseBois assists Yzerman “in all aspects of player personnel decisions, contract preparation and negotiation, and salary arbitration for the Lightning and the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, for whom he also serves as general manager.”

But BriseBois isn’t your typical NHL executive. He never played hockey at a high level, so you won’t find his name at hockeydb.com. Armed with a law degree and MBA, his first NHL job was in the legal department of the Montreal Canadiens.

Whether that unique career trajectory hurts his chances of one day becoming an NHL GM, we’ll have to wait and see. Most of the current GMs have at least some high-level playing experience, and scouting and player development seem to be areas that teams are focusing heavily on now.

Then again, there will be areas of the job where BriseBois will have the superior qualifications.

And besides, at 37, he’s got plenty of time to add to his résumé.

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