The Philadelphia Flyers announced on Saturday night that they have acquired 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman Braydon Coburn from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for defenseman Alexei Zhitnik.
“Braydon is a player who we have liked since his draft year (2003) and the chance to acquire him just came up a few days ago,” said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. “He is a big, young defenseman that skates very well. He will fit in nicely with our young group.”
Coburn, 21, posted four assists and 30 penalty minutes in 29 games for the Thrashers this season. He also appeared 15 games for the Thrashers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, recording a goal and 10 assists for 11 points and 36 penalty minutes.
Over the last two NHL seasons with Atlanta, Coburn has registered five assists and 34 penalty minutes in 38 regular season games. In parts of three AHL seasons (2004-05 through 2006-07), he has recorded seven goals and 31 assists for 38 points and 175 penalty minutes in 91 regular season games. He represented the Wolves at the 2006 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg.
A native of Calgary, Coburn posted an assist and 36 penalty minutes in 18 playoff games as the Wolves advanced to the 2005 Calder Cup Finals (losing to the Philadelphia Phantoms).
Coburn was drafted by the Thrashers in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Also on Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning acquired defenseman Shane O’Brien and a third-round selection at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for goaltender Gerald Coleman and Tampa Bay’s first-round selection in 2007
O’Brien, 23, spent the 2005-06 season with the AHL’s Portland Pirates and led all defensemen in playoff scoring with six goals and 22 points, while also leading the league in penalty minutes in the post-season with 81, helping the Pirates to within one win of the Calder Cup Finals. O’Brien played in 77 regular-season games and scored eight goals while adding 33 assists, leading all team defensemen in points and ranking third on the team in assists. He ranked sixth in the AHL in penalty minutes and was tied for 14th for points among defensemen.
During three seasons in the AHL, he collected 15 goals and 76 points with 769 penalty minutes in 214 regular-season games. O’Brien has spent all of this season with Anaheim, where he played 62 games and scored two goals and recorded 14 points with a plus-5 rating.
Coleman, 21, played 43 games with the Springfield Falcons in 2005-06, going 14-21-3 with two shutouts. In three AHL appearances with the Falcons this season, Coleman is 2-1-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.
