Bob Brooke played college hockey at Yale, playing for the US at the 1980 World Junior Championships. He was a center known for his penalty killing ability. Brooke was drafted in 1980 by the St. Louis Blues in the fourth round of the NHL draft, but he never played for them. Brooke spent seven years in the NHL, starting with the New York Rangers, then playing parts of four years with the Minnesota North Stars and playing half of his final season with the New Jersey Devils. Brooke also skated for the US at the 1984 and 1987 World Championships and Canada Cup.