Former Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik has been selected to the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame for the fall of 2021.

Orpik was known on the Boston College team and in the NHL as a shutdown defenseman. He was an integral part of the Eagles’ 2001 national championship team and also helped lead BC to a pair of Hockey East playoff titles in 1999 and 2001. Orpik played in 119 games across three seasons for the Eagles and amassed 39 career assists.

He was drafted after his sophomore season in the first round (18th overall) in 2000 by the Pittsburgh Penguins and signed a year later, embarking on a 17-year NHL career, winning Stanley Cup titles with Pittsburgh in 2009 and with Washington in 2018. Orpik would score a key goal for the Capitals in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final against the Vegas Knights.

Orpik played five seasons in Washington, a total of 332 games, including his 1,000th career game in the NHL. The team honored the veteran blueliner on January 18, 2019 with a four-minute video tribute, which featured congratulations by former Pittsburgh Penguins (with whom Orpik played 11 seasons) teammates Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Deryk Engelland (the latter two now with the Vegas Golden Knights), Orpik’s college Head Coach Jerry Brown, Trotz, Capitals Head Coach Todd Reirden, several of his current teammates, former Capitals teammate Jay Beagle, and his two daughters, Harlow and Brooklyn, among others.

A fitting salute to an amazing player and even better person.

Congrats on 1,000 games, Brooks!#ALLCAPS #Orp1k pic.twitter.com/LuRK0cAzb8

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 19, 2019

Orpik would end up playing 1,035 career games in the NHL.

In international competition, Orpik competed for the United States in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, winning a silver medal in 2010.

By Jon Sorensen