Yevgeni Nabakov was the Rookie of the Year during the 1999-2000 season when Sudbury native Dave Brisebois made his debut as an NHL linesman.

(Nabakov was a goalie with the San Jose Sharks and a couple of other teams before retiring following the 2014-2015 season – for those who might need a helpful hint)

Alexander Ovechkin first laced up the skates as a member of the Washington Capitals five years later.

Talk about enjoying a healthy perspective on the incredible career (to date) of the now 48 year old northern product who celebrated both his 25th year of service and well as his 1500th game during the 2023-2024 campaign.

Yet as he made his way home this week, there’s no resting on his laurels for the man who worked the Stanley Cup finals in 2021 in addition to a pair of outdoor games (2015 & 2016) and an all-star game (2017), accumulating the second most tenure of current NHL officials (behind only Brad Kovachik).

In much the same manner as the players, the off-season is still about the work.

“I think I am smarter now with the way I work out,” suggested Brisebois, discussing his summer regimen. “I used to go to the gym five days a week but I probably go a little less now, with lots of yoga and stretching in between. My muscles don’t recover quite as quick as they used to.”

Truth be told, the motivation to stay fit is seldom hard to fine.

“You go into training camp (early September) and there’s that pride factor,” said Brisebois. “I don’t want to go in to training camp having done this for 25 years and then get beat by one of the young guys. I want to make sure I am in top shape.”

Interestingly enough, the routine does not necessarily differ dramatically from the young guns still looking to make their mark in the best league in the world. “They have a hockey group at the gym I go to (in Guelph), training maybe ten to twelve hockey players,” noted Brisebois.

“My workout is exactly the same, just toned down a little bit. I’ll do the same exercises, just not quite as intense as they do – but they’re twenty years old.”

“You work on your power, your speed and your endurance to be able to keep up with the young kids – and not get injured.”

In the end, the payoff comes when that puck drops in each and every outing that Brisebois and three of his co-horts tackle the difficult task that is to officiate the top athletes in a sport that only becomes more skilled and moves faster with every passing year.

“It’s a great lifestyle,” he said. “The travel gets to you, being away from home gets to you, all that sort of stuff gets to you – but when you step on the ice at 7:00 p.m., there’s no better feeling than being out there with the best players in the world.”

“It’s a challenge – but it’s a pretty cool job.”

For as much as outstanding skating ability is every bit as important for the fellows donning the stripes as it is for the players, Dave Brisebois never wavered in his understanding about where he best fit in the professional hockey puzzle.

“I was never a good enough player – never had the hands for it,” he opined of the possibility he might have pursued a career on the flipside of this on-ice coin. “There’s way more than just skating. It’s what these guys do at full speed with their hands and their bodies that is crazy to see.”

“And then just being able to see all of the other players on the ice while moving at that speed is impressive.”

In his particularly realm, Brisebois is equally as impressive, having garnered the knowledge of the aspects of his job that provide very little margin for error – aspects such as all of those key faceoffs in critical situations.

“You’re never going to have a perfect faceoff,” he said. “What you’re worried about is a fair faceoff: feet behind the lines; sticks on the ice.”

The need to strive for perfection, however, is no different than it is for the players who pride themselves on leading the league in faceoff percentage pretty much every year. “We have video that we can watch now with the centers, learning their tendencies,” stated Brisebois.

“It’s both ways. Players are studying us and we’re studying them to know what they do on faceoffs.”

“The biggest thing, and this comes with experience, is communication with the players,” he added. “It’s something I’ve had to work on. I’m a quiet guy to begin with. That’s been one of my biggest challenges, being more verbal out there.”

“It’s also one of the neat things about the job, that even after doing it for this long, I am still finding out things I can do to make it better.”

While the trigger points might be different, the notion of a pre-season excitement beginning to build is also inherent in officials like Dave Brisebois. This particular fall, there’s an added opportunity that has clearly caught his eye.

“That game coming up in Sudbury (NHL exhibition game on Sept 29th between Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators – awarded to Elliot Lake as part of Hockeyville 2024 but moved to Sudbury) is something that I am pumped for,” said Brisebois.

“I’ve never been able to work an NHL game in Sudbury. I’ve done a few (Foligno) charity games there. I think if I get it, that would be awesome.”

Dave Brisebois has enjoyed a few such moments of late.

The March 30th (2024) matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres represented a very special threshold for the father of two girls. “That was a big deal,” he recalled. “When you get to 1500 games, you know that you’ve had a pretty good career.”

“We had a great night in Buffalo,” Brisebois continued. “It was neat for our families to come and see that.”

Moving forward, there’s a vastly different lens for the linesman who dropped his first NHL regular season puck on October 11th (1999) as the Sabres played host to the Phoenix Coyotes.

“I’m hoping to get to 52, 53 years old, another five or six years,” he said.

“For all of the senior guys, you really want to be a good teammate. The younger guys out there, you want to make sure you are giving them your wisdom, your experience – just like the more senior guys gave you when you first started.”

Hard to believe that is now almost a quarter century ago now for NHL linesman Dave Brisebois.