Brandon Carlo Bio
Brandon Mitchell Carlo is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Boston Bruins selected him in the second round, 37th overall, of the 2015 NHL entry draft. He played the first nine seasons of his career with the Bruins until his trade to the Maple Leafs in 2025. Born and raised in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Carlo did not follow his older brothers into American football but instead played ice and street hockey with his neighbor. He spent five years of minor ice hockey with the Colorado Thunderbirds before joining the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the end of the 2012–13 season. After receiving praise from coach Jim Hiller during the 2013–14 season, Carlo was an assistant captain for the Americans over the next two seasons. When the 2015–16 season came to an end, he began his professional career with a brief stint for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League.
Early Life and Background
Carlo was born on November 26, 1996, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the youngest child of Angie and Lenny Carlo. The Carlos’ neighbors were an ice hockey family, and Brandon frequently played both ice and street hockey with their son. Always tall for his age, Carlo was a defenseman for his youth hockey teams. Carlo’s older brothers played American football, and Carlo spent some time as a running back for a local team, but he preferred hockey. His hometown National Hockey League (NHL) team was the Colorado Avalanche, and Carlo’s favorite player was Rob Blake. Carlo played minor ice hockey with the Colorado Thunderbirds, who played an hour outside of Colorado Springs in Denver. In 2009, he participated in the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Thunderbirds. Carlo spent five years with the Thunderbirds and served as the team’s captain during his last year, the 2012–13 season. That season, Carlo was Colorado’s top-scoring defenseman: in 41 games, he had 10 goals and 47 points, as well as 58 penalty minutes. He also spent two seasons playing for his local team at Pine Creek High School while simultaneously commuting to Denver to play for the Thunderbirds.
Path to Hockey
The Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL) selected Carlo in the 10th round, 214th overall, of the 2011 WHL Bantam Draft. He joined the Americans for the end of the 2012–13 season, as he was limited to only six games with his junior ice hockey team. He made his WHL debut in the first game of the 2013 playoffs, scoring his first goal against the Spokane Chiefs. He appeared in all five playoff games for the Americans, who were eliminated by the Chiefs in the first round. Carlo returned to the Americans for a full rookie season in 2013–14. He was paired with several veteran defensemen throughout the first half of the season, and by the midway mark, he had two goals and two assists in 35 WHL games. In the second half of the season, he was paired predominantly with Mitch Topping and spent time on the Americans’ penalty kill unit. He did not significantly contribute offensively, providing only three goals and 10 assists in 71 regular season games, but coach Jim Hiller praised Carlo’s defensive abilities. In the 2014 WHL playoffs, Carlo contributed one assist in the Americans’ first-round series against the Kelowna Rockets, which the Americans lost in five games. Going into the 2014–15 season, Carlo was named one of three assistant captains for the Americans. After recording one goal, 10 points, and a +2 plus–minus rating through the first 23 games of the season, the NHL Central Scouting Bureau gave Carlo an “A” prospect rating in November, suggesting that he might be taken in the first round of the 2015 NHL entry draft. Shortly after, Carlo, who had already set career highs with 17 assists and 20 points through 41 games, was ranked the No. 16 prospect among all draft-eligible North American skaters. Carlo completed the 2014–15 season with a career-high 25 points (four goals and 21 assists) in 63 games, and the Boston Bruins ultimately selected Carlo in the second round, 37th overall, of the 2015 NHL entry draft.
Brandon Carlo Career
Early Career (2016–2017)
Once his time with the Americans came to an end, Carlo began his professional career, joining the Providence Bruins, Boston’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for the remainder of their 2015–16 season. He played in seven games at the end of their regular season, recording one assist and a +3 rating in the process. After a strong showing in training camp, Carlo made the Bruins’ opening night roster for the 2016–17 season. He recorded his first NHL point in his debut, assisting on a goal in the Bruins’ 6–3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 13, 2016. Four days later, Carlo scored his first NHL goal in Boston’s 4–1 win against the Winnipeg Jets. Carlo’s first defensive partner in the NHL was Bruins captain Zdeno Chára, who was nearly 20 years his senior. Playing primarily on the first defensive pairing, Carlo received an average of 20 minutes and 48 seconds of ice time per game, and he contributed six goals and 16 points in 82 regular season games. The Bruins clinched a berth in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, but Carlo was prevented from making his postseason debut after suffering a concussion during Boston’s regular season finale.
Breakthrough (2018–2025)
Entering the 2017–18 season, the Bruins paired Chára with another rookie defenseman, Charlie McAvoy, and Carlo was in turn partnered with Torey Krug. On the new pairing, Carlo’s defensive performance was uneven, most notably during a February game against the Vancouver Canucks in which Carlo finished the night with a −4 rating. Overall, however, he finished the season with a +10 rating. On March 31, 2018, Carlo suffered a season-ending ankle fracture while battling for a puck in the Bruins’ game against the Florida Panthers, keeping him out of postseason contention for the second year in a row. Carlo entered the 2018–19 season on a defensive pairing with the newly acquired John Moore, allowing Carlo to increase his offensive presence on the ice. He missed three weeks in November with a collarbone injury, returning on December 1 for the Bruins’ 4–2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Carlo scored his first goal in 116 games on December 14, 2018, providing a goal for the first time since March 4, 2017. In 72 regular season games, Carlo had two goals, 10 points, and a +22 rating. Carlo made his playoff debut for the Bruins in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although he did not score on the Bruins’ path to the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, Carlo contributed two assists in 17 postseason games and was +6 with 21 blocked shots through the Eastern Conference finals. Carlo finally scored in game 4 of the Stanley Finals with a short-handed goal, but the Bruins lost the championship series in seven games to the St. Louis Blues. A restricted free agent following the 2018–19 season, Carlo agreed to a two-year, $5.7 million contract with the Bruins on September 17, 2019. He began the 2019–20 season on the second defensive pairing with Krug, and he showed an offensive improvement in the first part of the season. By the time that the NHL suspended the 2019–20 season on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Carlo had four goals, 19 points, and a +16 rating. Carlo was personally unhappy with his performance in the bubble during the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, saying he “didn’t feel good with his game at that point”. With both Chára and Krug leaving the Bruins before the 2020–21 season, Carlo was paired with newcomer Matt Grzelcyk on the second defensive line to start the year. Carlo signed a six-year, $24.6 million contract extension with the Bruins on July 14, 2021. Carlo was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 7, 2025, in exchange for Fraser Minten, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick.
Brandon Carlo Family
Brandon Carlo is married to Mayson Corbett. The couple has two children, a daughter born in 2021 and a son born in 2024.
Personal Life
Carlo was raised in a non-denominational Christian household. He has a tattoo on his right forearm of 2 Corinthians 5:7, “Live by faith not by sight.”
