Donald Brashear (born January 7, 1972) is an American-born Canadian former professional hockey player. He played for five organizations in the National Hockey League (NHL) over a 16-year career, in which he played the role of an enforcer.

He was among the NHL leaders in penalty minutes for six seasons, while finishing his career 15th all-time in penalty minutes. He remains the Vancouver Canucks' all-time single-season leader in penalty minutes, which he set in the 1997–98 season.

He was involved in one of the most publicized incidents of on-ice violence in NHL history during the 1999–2000 season, when he was slashed in the head by Marty McSorley.

Brashear was born in Bedford, Indiana, but moved to Val-Bélair, Quebec, his mother's family city, as a child.

Brashear is the youngest of three children born to an American father, Johnny Brashear, and Nicole Gauthier, who was mainly of French-Canadian descent, in Bedford, Indiana. His father was an alcoholic who relentlessly abused his family, including slashing Donald with belts and electrical cords. On one occasion, when Donald was only six months old, he picked him up and hurled him through a window. Nicole, afraid that Johnny might kill her, left the family and returned to Canada. Later, she came back to take the children but left Donald to live with his father for another four years, until Donald's paternal grandmother sent him to Canada. Nicole later stated that she left him behind because her future husband was prejudiced and wanted to avoid having another mixed-race child in the house.

Brashear eventually moved in with his mother and stepfather in Loretteville, Quebec. Because of his stepfather's racist attitude, he suffered further abuse in his new surroundings; for instance, he was forced to sleep with a garbage bag tied around his waist to keep him from wetting the bed and was verbally berated for not being able to tie his shoes. His mother finally decided to give him up to foster care, due in part because of what she called "mental problems" from the abuse he had suffered, and because he did not accept her as his mother. Brashear lived in two different foster homes that sent him away since the families believed he was a "little too much to handle."

At the age of eight, Brashear moved to Val-Bélair, Quebec, and settled into a new foster home. Once there, he began playing hockey with his new siblings. To help pay for hockey, Brashear sold baked bread and garbage bags door-to-door, and later became a paper boy. He played in the 1984, 1985 and 1986 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with three separate minor ice hockey teams from Quebec City.

Brashear was signed as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in 1992. He spent parts of three seasons with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Fredericton Canadiens, before becoming a regular with Montreal at the NHL level. During the 1993–94 AHL season, he registered professional career highs of 38 goals and 66 points, along with 250 Penalty Minutes (PIMs) in 62 games. His 38 goals tied him for the team lead and the 250 PIMs led Fredericton. Brashear made his NHL debut on November 15, 1993, against the Ottawa Senators. He registered an assist in the contest, his first career NHL point. Two days later, he scored his first NHL goal in a game against the Edmonton Oilers. After playing parts of four seasons with the Canadiens, his time in Montreal ended following a heated verbal exchange with head coach Mario Tremblay during a team practice on November 9, 1996. Four days later, Brashear was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Jassen Cullimore. Brashear finished the year with 13 points and 245 penalty minutes. Those penalty minutes were the seventh-highest in the NHL.