The player who ranks No. 25 on the Chicago Wolves Top 40 Countdown, presented by Jewel-Osco, showed an aptitude for scoring goals at a young age — as he piled up 413 goals in one season as a 10-year-old.
When Brian Wiseman was nine years old, he became known throughout Canada as the young man who broke Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record. Gretzky scored 378 goals as a novice, but Wiseman shattered that mark during a ridiculous season that included one game where he tallied 17 times. He excelled throughout his childhood and even had his No. 9 retired by the Western Ontario Hockey League’s Chatham MicMacs.
After a stellar four-year career at the University of Michigan — which he concluded in 1994 by being named an All-American as well as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award — Wiseman signed with the Chicago Wolves for their inaugural season.
Wiseman wasted little time adjusting to the professional game. The slick playmaker led the first Wolves squad with 55 assists and trailed only Steve Maltais in scoring with his 72 points in 75 games.
In his second year with the Wolves, Wiseman joined forces with Maltais and Rob Brown to form the “BMW” Line — one of the most electric trios in International Hockey League history. Wiseman stacked up 32 goals and 52 assists in 73 games, but broke his leg with four games remaining in the regular season to conclude his Wolves tenure.
He played four more seasons — and won the IHL’s MVP Award in 1998-99 while leading the Houston Aeros to the Turner Cup title — before retiring. He turned to coaching and spent seven seasons as a University of Michigan assistant before joining the Edmonton Oilers as an assistant prior to the 2019-20 season.
Want to enjoy more of the countdown?
No. 40: Gage Quinney
No. 39: Tim Breslin
No. 38: Nathan Oystrick
No. 37: Ben Simon
No. 36: Curtis McKenzie
No. 35: Kamil Piros
No. 34: Mark Mancari
No. 33: Simon Gamache
No. 32: Guy Larose
No. 31: Wade Megan
No. 30: Shane Harper
No. 29: Michael Davies
No. 28: Karl Stewart
No. 27: Cory Larose
No. 26: Pat Cannone
