He played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals, Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers and the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Brouwer spent his major junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Moose Jaw Warriors.

In his final year with the Warriors in 2005–06, he was named team captain and led Moose Jaw with a team-high 49 goals and 53 assists.

As a Blackhawk, Brouwer joined three of his previous minor hockey teammates, Colin Fraser, Brent Seabrook and Andrew Ladd from his Vancouver team, the Pacific Vipers.

Although his production dropped to 54 points in 75 games, he scored a franchise-record 25 power play goals, just two shy of the league record.

[citation needed] Recalled by the Blackhawks for a short two-game stint, Brouwer recorded his first NHL point, an assist on March 23, 2008, against the St. Louis Blues.

During the 2017-18 season, Brouwer’s performance hit an even bigger decline, and recorded a career low 6 goals and 22 points in 76 games.

On September 4, 2019, as an unsigned free agent over the summer, Brouwer agreed to attend the Panthers' training camp on a professional tryout.