OTTAWA – Ottawa Senators’ right wing Connor Brown enters the team’s league-mandated week-long break as its hottest player. Brown notched a goal and an assist in each of the Senators’ past three contests, giving him 31 points on the season in 48 games.
With 21 helpers so far, the 26-year old’s next assist will be a NHL career high. In addition, Brown will assuredly soon surpass his career-high 36-point total achieved in his rookie campaign (2016-17) with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Brown isn’t the most exciting player — he won’t bring you out of your seat or make a jaw-dropping play — and he probably holds the unofficial club lead for being stopped on breakaways this season. What the Toronto native brings to the Senators is his ability to make subtle plays, find the open player (Brown leads the team in assists), and score the odd goal.
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Most of all, Brown is the consummate teammate and coach’s dream – one who displays a strong hockey acumen — while also being reliable. Brown is Senators’ head coach D.J. Smith go-to in any situation, be it on the penalty kill or power play, and he’s someone Smith utilizes on the ice in the final moments of a game or period.
To that extent, the 6-foot, 186-pound Brown leads all Senators’ forwards in time-on-ice per game (20:03) by a nearly full minute (Jean-Gabriel Pageau is next with 19:07). Brown also leads the team in PK TOI, averaging 2:34.
Smith’s familiarity with Brown was entrenched since their time in the Ontario Hockey League. As the head coach of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals, the current Senators’ bench boss faced Brown’s Erie Otters in 2013-14, a team which included a 16-year old duo of Connor McDavid and Dylan Strome.
Brown's monster final campaign with Erie, in which he compiled 128 points (45 goals, 83 assists) to top the entire Canadian Hockey League in scoring and claimed Most Outstanding OHL player honors for his efforts, surely made an impact on the future Sens boss..
In addition, Smith has been behind the bench for all of Brown’s 321 NHL regular season and playoff appearances — first as an assistant in Toronto and now as head coach with Ottawa.
“He’s been one of our best players all year. He’s certainly had an increased role here, coming from Toronto. He’s been very responsible,” said Smith after Brown played his 300th regular season NHL game Thursday at home against Vegas.
A relative bargain earning $2.1 million, Brown is a pending restricted free agent at season’s end, and is one year shy of unrestricted free agency. Smith appears hopeful Brown will remain a Senator long term.
“I think he’ll be a big part of this going forward," the coach said. "He works every day. He’s a good professional. He elevates. He’s going to help in the development of these kids.”
Brown himself understands the club is in the midst of a rebuild, and it's a season of learning for the Senators’ youngsters.
“When you’re a young team, when you learn how to win, a lot of these games could’ve been won easily. Especially, the three prior games that went into OT. I thought we played pretty good games. A lot of this comes with maturity and learning," Brown said prior to the team breaking its nine-game winless skid Saturday versus the Calgary Flames. "So we’re learning how to play with a lead, play from behind – obviously, it’s important for us not get discouraged– try to stay as positive as possible, focus on the process it is.”
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Back on July 1, Senators’ general manager Pierre Dorion said of all the players acquired via trade and free agency from the Maple Leafs, “Brown was the most excited to be here.”
On a 2018-19 Maple Leafs team which was loaded offensively, Brown saw his ice time dwindle from 15:01 to 13:48 per game, so a move to a rebuilding team that would allow for more playing time was seemingly welcomed by Brown.
“At the end of the year, we knew they (Toronto) were going to have to do something (due to salary cap reasons), we inquired about Brown. I can’t say they were actively shopping him. I can’t speak for them on their behalf. Our pro scouts feel about the year Brown had as a rookie, and our amateur scouts saw the player that led the CHL in scoring, we feel that he hasn’t reached his offensive upside,” Dorion commented at the time.
For his part, Brown already appears to be proving Dorion and the Sens' scouting staff right.
“Three hundred games is something I feel I can be proud of," Brown said after his milestone night last week. "I’ve worked, and I’ll continue to work hard, try to put together 300 more.”
Judging by Brown’s play this season, ideally his Senators’ teammates would like him spend his next 300 games by their side.