Josh Brown (ice hockey)

Josh Brown
Josh Brown playing with the Coyotes in 2022 (Quintin Soloviev).jpg
Brown with the Arizona Coyotes in 2022
Born (1994-01-21) January 21, 1994 (age 30)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams
Edmonton Oilers
Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Florida Panthers
Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins
Arizona Coyotes
NHL draft 152nd overall, 2013
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2015–present

Joshua Brown (born January 21, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 152nd overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Before joining Edmonton, Brown played for the Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and the Arizona Coyotes.

Playing career

Junior

Brown played as a youth locally in his hometown of London, Ontario at the midget level with the London Jr. Knights[1] before he was selected by the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the third round, 44th overall in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection.[2]

As a 16 year old in 2010–11, he played in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Whitby Fury. He began his four-year major junior career with the Generals in the OHL in 2011–12. Using his large frame as a physical, defensive defenceman, Brown remained with the Generals throughout his junior career, captaining the club for two seasons[3] and capturing the Memorial Cup in his final junior season in 2014–15.[4]

Professional

Selected by the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the sixth round, 152nd overall, of the 2013 NHL entry draft, Brown later signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team on April 10, 2015.[3] In his first professional season, Brown split the 2015–16 season, between the Panthers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates, and the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL.[5] He appeared in ten games with the Pirates, registering one assist and played in 54 games with the Monarchs, totaling 12 points, and appearing in their first-round playoff series.[6]

In his first full campaign in the AHL, Brown spent the 2016–17 season with the Panthers' new affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.[7] In the Thunderbirds' inaugural season, he notched a career best three goals and 13 points from the blueline in 72 games. He followed that up the next season with one goal and ten points in 66 games with Springfield.[8] As an impending restricted free agent, Brown agreed to a two-year, two-way contract extension to remain within the Panthers organization on May 31, 2018.[8] In the 2018–19 season, Brown returned to the Thunderbirds for his third year with the club. After adding three goals in 19 games, Brown received his first call-up to the NHL by the Panthers on January 18, 2019.[9] Recalled due to an injury to fellow defenceman, MacKenzie Weegar, and with the Panthers needing a physical presence, Brown made his NHL debut in a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on January 19.[10] He registered his first NHL goal and point in a 6–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on March 10.[11] He finished the season having appeared in 37 games with the Panthers, registering the one goal and two points and 22 games with Springfield, scoring three goals.[6]

In his first full season with the Panthers in 2019–20, Brown appeared in 56 games, posting three goals and eight points,[6] before the NHL suspended the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 12, 2020.[12] He made his NHL playoff debut in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in the Panthers series versus the New York Islanders. He was inserted into the lineup for Game 3 of the best-of-five series on August 5, which the Panthers won 3–2.[13] He appeared in two games, going scoreless, as the Islanders eliminated the Panthers in the next game.[6][14]

In need of a new contract Brown was traded in the following off-season by the Panthers to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round draft pick on October 2, 2020.[15] As a restricted free agent, Brown signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Senators on October 5.[16] During the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Brown made his Senators debut in the team's opening night 5–3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 15, 2021.[17] He notched his first point for the Senators assisting on Colin White's first period goal in a 4–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.[18] He finished the season making 26 appearances for the Senators, registering just the one assist.[6] In the 2021–22 season, he was placed in COVID-19 protocol on November 10, and returned to the lineup on November 20.[19] On November 26, Brown suffered an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup until January 13, 2022.[20] Brown played 46 games with Ottawa, recording six assists.[21]

On March 21, 2022, Brown was traded by the Senators, along with a 2022 conditional seventh-round selection, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Zachary Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick.[21] He made his Bruins debut on March 31 in a 8–1 win over the New Jersey Devils.[22] He finished the 2021–22 season with a combined six points in 52 games played with the Senators and Bruins.[23]

On July 13, 2022, having left the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent, Brown was signed to a two-year, $2.55 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes.[23] In his first season with the Coyotes, Brown was a mainstay on their blueline. In his second season with the Coyotes, Brown was in and out of the lineup, as the team's defensive depth improved. This pushed Brown down the depth chart into the seventh defenceman position and often led to him being scratched.[24] He appeared in only 51 games with the Coyotes in the 2023–24 season, scoring three goals and ten points.[25]

Brown became an unrestricted free agent again at the end of his Coyotes contract. On July 1, 2024, he signed a three-year, $3 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.[25] One of the final cuts at Oilers training camp, Brown was placed on waivers and after going unclaimed, was assigned to Edmonton's AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, for the 2024–25 season.[26] He was recalled by Edmonton on November 17 after defenceman Darnell Nurse suffered an injury and made his Oilers debut on November 18 against the Montreal Canadiens.[27][28] He played in two games before being returned to Bakersfield on November 20.[29] He was recalled again on November 21 along with Drake Caggiula.[28]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Whitby Fury OJHL 35 6 4 10 59
2011–12 Oshawa Generals OHL 46 0 4 4 49 2 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Oshawa Generals OHL 68 0 16 16 79 9 1 4 5 11
2013–14 Oshawa Generals OHL 56 2 10 12 83 9 0 0 0 18
2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 60 4 17 21 92 21 2 2 4 30
2015–16 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 54 1 11 12 80 5 0 0 0 4
2015–16 Portland Pirates AHL 10 0 1 1 7
2016–17 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 72 3 10 13 96
2017–18 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 66 1 9 10 67
2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 22 3 0 3 34
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 37 1 1 2 28
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 56 3 5 8 39 2 0 0 0 0
2020–21 Ottawa Senators NHL 26 0 1 1 30
2021–22 Ottawa Senators NHL 46 0 6 6 32
2021–22 Boston Bruins NHL 6 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0
2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 68 4 3 7 87
2023–24 Arizona Coyotes NHL 51 3 7 10 75
NHL totals 290 11 23 34 296 3 0 0 0 0

Awards and honours

Award Year Ref
CHL
Memorial Cup champion 2015 [4]

References

  1. ^ "Josh Brown Drafted by the Florida Panthers". London Jr. Knights. July 3, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "Brown Selected by Florida". Ontario Junior Hockey League. June 29, 2013. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Panthers agree to terms with D Josh Brown". Florida Panthers. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Parente, Chrissy (June 1, 2015). "Oshawa Captain Josh Brown Wins 2015 Memorial Cup". Florida Panthers. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  5. ^ Brown, Patrick (December 14, 2022). "Josh Brown Making Presence Felt in First Season with the Coyotes". Arizona Coyotes. Retrieved March 3, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Josh Brown (b. 1994)". hockeydb.com. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  7. ^ "Florida Panthers assign 8 players to Thunderbirds roster". Masslive.com. October 3, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  8. ^ a b "Panthers extend contracts with Josh Brown and Ludwig Bystrom". Florida Panthers. June 1, 2018. Retrieved June 1, 2018 – via NHL.com.
  9. ^ "Panthers recall defenseman Josh Brown from Springfield". Florida Panthers. January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019 – via NHL.com.
  10. ^ "Trocheck helps Panthers end 7-game losing streak". Miami Herald. January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "Panthers start fast, rout Red Wings 6-1". ESPN. Associated Press. March 10, 2019. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  12. ^ Gatto, Tom (August 14, 2020). "NHL bubble, explained: A guide to the hub city rules, teams & schedule for Edmonton, Toronto". The Sporting News. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  13. ^ "New York Islanders 2 – 3 Florida Panthers". NHL.com. National Hockey League. August 5, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "Beauvillier scores twice as Islanders eliminate Panthers in 4 games". CBC Sports. Associated Press. August 7, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "Senators acquire defenseman Josh Brown from Florida". Ottawa Senators. October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020 – via NHL.com.
  16. ^ "Sens sign D Brown to two-year deal". TSN. October 5, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  17. ^ Fraser, Callum (January 15, 2021). "Senators surge past Maple Leafs, win season opener". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  18. ^ Woodley, Kevin (April 25, 2021). "Pearson propels Canucks past Senators for third win since return". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  19. ^ "Senators place defenceman Josh Brown in NHL COVID-19 protocol". Sportsnet. November 10, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Tidcombe, Matt (January 13, 2022). "Brown returns from injury as Sabourin draws into lineup". Ottawa Senators. Retrieved February 27, 2023 – via NHL.com.
  21. ^ a b "Bruins acquire Josh Brown from Senators". Boston Bruins. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  22. ^ Donnelly, Patrick (March 31, 2022). "Bruins score six in second, eliminate Devils from playoff contention". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  23. ^ a b "Coyotes sign Brown to two-year contract". Arizona Coyotes. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022 – via NHL.com.
  24. ^ Lale, Brent (February 16, 2024). "Next Level: Josh Brown". CTV News. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  25. ^ a b "Release: Oilers sign Josh Brown to three-year contract". Edmonton Oilers. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  26. ^ Marceau, Finn (October 6, 2024). "Josh Brown, Noah Philp Among Oilers Final Cuts". The Hockey News. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  27. ^ Marceau, Finn (November 17, 2024). "Oilers Call Up Polarizing Defenceman From Minors". The Hockey News. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Release: Oilers recall Caggiula & Brown from Condors". Edmonton Oilers. November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024 – via NHL.com.
  29. ^ "Oilers loan defenceman Josh Brown to AHL affiliate". Sportsnet. November 20, 2024. Retrieved November 28, 2024.