 As a free agent the following summer, Brookbank returned to North America, signing a professional try-out with defending Calder Cup champions, the Cleveland Monsters on October 13, 2016.In the 2016–17 season, in adding depth cover to the Monsters blueline, Brookbank registered one assist in six games before he was released at the conclusion of his trial period on December 12, 2016.On June 14, 2017, it was announced that Brookbank had been hired as the assistant coach of the Rockford Ice Hogs, the minor league affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks.