‘No doubt’ Brown playing his best hockey
by Peter Ruicci (Independent Media) | Photo by Bob Davies
It’s pretty obvious what Christopher Brown needed to do to begin to gain validation as a first-round draft choice.
It was vital for the second-year centre/winger to gain size and strength, while adding proficiency along the boards and in front of the opposition goal.
The Toronto native admits it didn’t come quickly.
But as the Soo Greyhounds move closer to completing the regular season, and gearing up for a playoff run, Brown is surely playing his best hockey.
“No doubt, no doubt,” said the five-foot-11, 175-pounder, taken No. 16 overall in the 2022 Priority Selections draft. “I feel like over this last stretch I’ve been smarter with how I use my body. I’ve been hungrier for the puck and hanging onto it more.”
“He’s been on a run here where he’s been exceptional,” added Hounds head coach John Dean, whose club begins the week with a Wednesday clash in Flint (7 p.m.). “Something has triggered in his game and he’s been an impact player and a driver of play.”
Especially in recent weeks, Brown has woven himself into the Greyhounds fabric.
Over his last nine games, the 2006-birth-year player, who turned 18 in late January, has two goals and seven assists.
For the season, he’s scored six times, helped set up 23 others and posted a plus-minus of plus-12 in 60 games.
His recent maturation has Dean willing to use Brown in almost any situation.
“He’s stronger on his stick and learning how to get through hands,” Dean added. “And he’s learning how to use his body to win battles.”
Brown arrived here with a reputation as a high IQ player.
Even then, Dean said his intelligence was “so obvious.”
Brown admits his rookie season, which featured a 5-9-14 stat line, wasn’t easy.
Moving away from home for the first time was difficult, he said.
This season also began without a lot of fanfare. And Brown spoke of one thing in particular that seemed to be holding him back.
“I’m not so much in my head now,” he said. “Earlier in the season everything was about getting points and impressing people in my draft year. But now, I’m not worrying about that.”
Instead, Brown said his focus is on enjoying the game and helping the team win.
When asked, he agreed he was also trying to do too much in his rookie campaign.
“I was trying to make up for all of the guys we lost,” he said, looking back to the 2022-23 season. “I was trying to be something I wasn’t, instead of just building myself as a player throughout the year.”
In recent weeks, Brown’s ability to create scoring chances for teammates has popped.
He calls it the favourite part of his game.
“His creativity with the puck and his IQ with and without the puck is off the charts,” said Dean, whose club carries a 42-16-3-1 record into Flint.
With 88 points and six regular season games remaining, the Soo is six points back of both Saginaw and London in the Western Conference race.
Both the Spirit and Knights have five games remaining.
“He’s driving inside the dots with the puck and getting to the dirty areas with the puck,” Dean added. “And he’s super smart with his stick.”
But Dean isn’t the only one who marvels at Brown’s hockey IQ.
“He’s one of the smartest guys in the OHL,” said winger Justin Cloutier, who has enjoyed his stints skating on Brown’s line. “The plays he makes, he makes them look so easy. Sometimes he’ll make plays you don’t really see are there. But you see them afterwards and you realize ‘Oh, that’s what he was thinking.’”
Told of Cloutier’s comments, Brown said they mean so much to him.
“Especially coming from a player like him. Justin was one of the first guys I looked at and thought that I’d like to adapt his approach,” Brown said. “I’d like to use his motor as my motor.”
While his focus is on contributing to a championship run, Brown spoke of how he’d continue to work on size and strength this summer.
Dean said the second-year player “can be exceptional next season. Yes, he needs to continue to get bigger and stronger, but his intelligence when it comes to playing the game, that stuff can’t be taught.”
Following the Flint clash, the Greyhounds are set to visit London on Friday and Owen Sound on Saturday. Both are 7 p.m. starts.
The game with the Attack is the Soo’s final road contest of the regular season.
Injured winger Travis Hayes will not play in Flint, but Dean said Marco Mignosa and/or Owen Allard could return on Wednesday. All three have been sidelined with upper-body injuries.
