WARREN PERSEVERING THROUGH ‘HARDCORE’ SEASON

Apr 16, 2024

By Andrew Mossbrooks | @Mossbrooks48

 

Amerks forward Brendan Warren takes nothing for granted, especially his smile.

 

Grinning from ear to ear, the player aptly referred to by his teammates as War Dog has amassed five goals, one assist, six points….and two pucks to the face during the 2023-24 season.

 

“This year, I’ve faced the most adversity for sure,” said Warren when talking about his injuries. “I've been pretty fortunate most of my career from college and juniors and up to pro to not really be injured very often. And if I was, it was minor things; a little separated shoulder here and there. You know, just the usual stuff.”

 

Just your ‘usual’ separated shoulder. No big deal.

 

This season, the 26-year-old and soon to be 27-year-old (May 7) has dealt with much scarier injuries.

 

“This year, the stuff that I've gone through has been a little more hardcore and a little more challenging to overcome.”

 

 

Believe it or not, taking a puck to the face wasn’t the first time Warren experienced a big scare along his hockey journey. Most people can say they’ve been scared plenty in their lifetime, and odds are a Halloween prank or trick can be reflected on as one of those instances. Warren shares that experience, though his doesn’t come from fear of goblins, ghosts, or ghouls. It comes from the fear that his pro hockey career could have ended before it even began.

 

The Carleton, Michigan, native had just wrapped up his collegiate career at the University of Michigan following the 2018-19 season. Warren would go on to skate in ECHL-Indy’s training camp, looking to break through and crack a roster spot. He would fail to do so and was cut from the team.

 

Warren then got to work, calling friends, coaches, and his agent, but his efforts were to no avail. When the pro hockey season began that October, he remained unsigned.

 

“I was home over Halloween, which is when the season started and teams were gearing up to play in the regular season. I was just sitting at home not knowing where to play or if I would play.”

 

With his career on the line, a call came through. By word of mouth, the Jacksonville Icemen, now Rochester’s current ECHL affiliate, decided to sign Warren and allow the rookie to join their team. His debut came on Nov. 2, 2019. Warren scored his first professional goal.

 

 

Warren’s progress continued as the season went along, earning him All-Star honors from the league. With 14 goals and 28 points through 47 games, things looked like they’d be just fine for Warren. He even began to hear murmurs that he may earn an AHL call-up. Then, a global pandemic put a halt to things.

 

Once again, Warren was forced to stare into the face of adversity, but the Great Lakes State native pushed through, returning to Jacksonville the following year and earning a call-up late in the season to join the Rochester Americans.

 

“Rochester called and I got lucky. I think a lot of players on ECHL contracts get called up and they're rental players. They go and play in a game or don't play at all and then they're right back down. Here, because of COVID, they were having so many call-ups to Buffalo. I got to be here for a whole five or six weeks and play the last 10 games of the year. Not many people get that kind of opportunity for that first look.”

 

That was 2021. Fast forward three years later and Warren has skated in nearly 150 games for the Amerks, including 12 over the last two seasons in the Calder Cup Playoffs. This year, however, has been the most challenging. Warren can finish the regular season with no more than 36 games under his belt. It would be the fewest games played of his five-year professional career. This comes largely as a result of an injury sustained back Oct. 28 in Utica when he took a puck to the face.

 

“I kind of remember the play developing but I didn't really ever see the puck coming because I was getting screened by one of our guys who ended up ducking right before it,” laughed Warren. “He didn’t want what I got.”

 

“Blood started coming out of my mouth, so I just leaned over and I thought my teeth were all messed up because I felt a little something with my teeth. They felt weird.”

 

 

Warren would eventually find out some good news: his teeth were all still there.

 

The bad news: he suffered a broken jaw.

 

The result: eating through a straw for the next two months.

 

“It was really all protein shakes and smoothies and I had it like five times a day. Then I started blending those chunky soup with some extra broth to make it thinner. Those are pretty good. And then one of my go-tos was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with milk that was blended.”

 

Eventually, Warren tried to satisfy some food cravings.

 

“I started making, just for a little happiness, some chocolate chip cookies and I would blend them in milk. Those were pretty good. Then when I was getting a little desperate, I started getting creative and I tried making spaghetti. That was just disgusting.”

 

 

On Dec. 20, Warren returned to the lineup. While he wasn’t going on a full buffet, he was able to eat normally again. His first meal: mac and cheese.

 

“Liquid gold,” he said.

 

Then, on March 10 after scoring a goal against Utica, Warren was labelled with a puck to the face for a second time. Something about those Comets.

 

“This one was a little different. The last thing I remember was (Jiri) Kulich winning a face-off. The next thing I remember is getting up and a pool of blood pouring out of my face.”

 

Warren was rushed back to the trainer’s room for further evaluation. Miraculously, he got stitched up and was good to go just two weeks later. Oh, and once again, Warren was all smiles. Two pucks to the face. No missing teeth.

 

“I guess I’m a bit lucky even though I was unlucky.”

 

Warren’s perseverance is noteworthy throughout his career. His adaptability is, too. A once 30-goal scorer in AAA hockey transformed his game as he grew to compliment the style of which was needed for longevity wherever he went. An attribute like ‘ultimate team player’ can easily be attached to his resume.

 

“He’s just become one of our warrior-type guys,” said Amerks head coach Seth Appert. “He’s going to block shots for his teammates. He’ll fight. He’s going to take hits and give hits. He’s carved out a really nice niche in this organization. We don’t have as much of that. He’s turned into a forechecking menace, and he arrives at you with some violence at times. He’s become a really important player for us.”

 

Warren is about to turn 27. He was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015. It’s been nine years since an NHL team called his name, but he hasn’t given up on pursuing that ultimate goal.

 

“I think that's probably the only reason I'm still doing this. That's been the dream my entire life. With the way last year ended, I felt like I was doing really well. I think I’m close. You just never know. There's a chance that maybe something happens for you.

 

And if it doesn’t?

 

“I mean, this place; I don't want to play anywhere else because of what I've seen here. The culture, the staff, the coaches. The way we're treated here by management and the owners and the staff is incredible. There’s lots of players that have great AHL careers. The main goal is still hopefully to make the NHL in some way, but there's always Rochester. I love it here.”