before landing punches. Although left handed by nature, he became adept at using either hand during fights. During his career in the NHL, Brashear was considered one of the toughest players in the League as well as one most feared. In the January 2010 issue of The Hockey News, Brashear was named Enforcer of the Decade, noting that although he did not lead the NHL in number of fights, during the decade, he would have been involved in more if "he wasn't so feared." Hockey analyst Bill Clement states that "Brashear has a great sense of when his fighting skills are necessary and he picks his spots before dropping the gloves. He's excellent at understanding when a bit of pugilism might well provide the push or nudge to get some momentum going for his team." The Hockey News also assessed his skills by saying he possessed one of the most intimidating packages in the League, had a decent skating stride and was one of the best pugilists in the NHL. He was a bit too deliberate when handling and passing the puck, and fought much less as he got older, while slowly breaking down over time. Mixed martial arts In April 2011, Brashear signed a three-fight contract with the mixed martial arts promoter Ringside MMA. Brashear's first fight occurred on June 4, 2011, against Mathieu Bergeron at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City. In the fight, Brashear immediately charged Bergeron, knocking him down with a right hook. After knocking him down, he continued to hit him with hammer fists, forcing the referee to stop the fight after only 21 seconds. Brashear was officially awarded the win by TKO. Personal Brashear has two sons, Jordan and Jaxxson. He separated from their mother, Gabrielle Desgagne, his common-law wife, in 2007. Aside from a half-brother, he does not speak to his birth family. He credits the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father as a child for this. In 2000, Brashear was charged with assault following an altercation with a neighbour in the weight room of their townhouse complex in Vancouver. According to court documents, Brashear grabbed the neighbor around the throat and pushed him after the man had complained about Brashear's infant son Jordan crawling on the exercise equipment. "That's no way to show my boys how to solve their problems", Brashear said after the guilty verdict, also lamenting the