| Rob Brown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Brown in 2010 | |||
| Born | (1968-04-10)April 10, 1968 (age 57) Kingston, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Pittsburgh Penguins Hartford Whalers Chicago Blackhawks Dallas Stars Los Angeles Kings | ||
| NHL draft | 67th overall,1986 Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| Playing career | 1987–2003 | ||
Robert William Brown (born April 10, 1968) is a Canadian formerprofessionalice hockeyright winger.
He is best known for his time spent playing for thePittsburgh Penguins from his debut in1987 until1990, and then again from1997 until2000. Between and following these stints, Brown shuffled between minor league teams in theInternational Hockey League (IHL) and other NHL teams, including theHartford Whalers,Chicago Blackhawks,Dallas Stars, andLos Angeles Kings.
As a youth, he played in the 1981Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with aminor ice hockey team fromOshawa.[1]
Brown was a prolific scorer at the junior level, averaging over two points per game during his junior career. In particular, Brown flourished in1986-87 winning multiple awards including Most Valuable Player (West), Top Scorer (West), and the inauguralWHL Plus-Minus Award. Brown also set the currentWestern Hockey League records for both assists and points with 136 and 212 respectively. He was also namedCHL Player of the Year for the 1986-87 season. Brown won a gold medal as a member of Team Canada at the1988 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[2][3]
Brown was drafted 67th overall by thePittsburgh Penguins in the1986 NHL Entry Draft. His best statistical NHL season was the1988–89 season, when he played on a line withMario Lemieux; placing fifth in league scoring, he set career highs with 49 goals, 66 assists, 115 points, 24 power play goals, 6 game-winning goals, and a +27 plus/minus rating. He was also the starting right winger for the40th National Hockey League All-Star Game. The next season, he scored at a point-per-game average, registering 80 points in 80 games. Brown was traded on December 21, 1990 to theHartford Whalers forScott Young. In parts of two seasons, Brown had 73 points in 86 games for the Whalers before being traded on January 24, 1992 to theChicago Blackhawks in exchange forSteve Konroyd. Brown finished the 1991-92 season playing 25 games for Chicago registering 16 points. In 1992-93, Brown split time with the Chicago Blackhawks and their minor league team theIndianapolis Ice. During the next few years, Brown would sign contracts with the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings, but mostly played in the IHL. Brown led the IHL in scoring for three years and was awarded theJames Gatschene Memorial Trophy for league MVP in 1993-94. His scoring production at the IHL level did not go unnoticed and on October 1, 1997 Brown returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins, signing a contract as a free agent. Brown played the next three seasons there, playing a total of 190 games while contributing 87 points. Brown then returned to the minors, ending his career with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL in 2003.[citation needed]
Brown served as a colour commentator for the Edmonton Oilers pay-per-view,[4] and currently is an analyst on880 CHED for Edmonton Oilers games.[5] In addition to his work on 880 CHED, Brown is also a regular contributor to the Got Yer Back podcast, which is co-hosted by former Oilers defencemanJason Strudwick and sports journalistRyan Rishaug.[6] He also became a hockey instructor with the St. Albert Sports Academy, St. Francis Xavier Hockey Academy, and NAX Hockey Academy.[5][7]
Brown was born inKingston, Ontario, but grew up inSt. Albert, Alberta. Rob also spent some early years in Oshawa and Kitchener, Ontario.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1982–83 | St. Albert Sabres | AMHL | 61 | 137 | 122 | 259 | 200 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | St. Albert Saints | AJHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Kamloops Junior Oilers | WHL | 50 | 16 | 42 | 58 | 80 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17 | ||
| 1983–84 | Kamloops Junior Oilers | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1984–85 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 60 | 29 | 50 | 79 | 95 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 28 | ||
| 1985–86 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 69 | 58 | 115 | 173 | 171 | 16 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 14 | ||
| 1985–86 | Kamloops Blazers | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 20 | ||
| 1986–87 | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 63 | 76 | 136 | 212 | 101 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 6 | ||
| 1987–88 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 51 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 68 | 49 | 66 | 115 | 118 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 22 | ||
| 1989–90 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 80 | 33 | 47 | 80 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 25 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 44 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 101 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 1991–92 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 42 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 25 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Indianapolis Ice | IHL | 19 | 14 | 19 | 33 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 79 | 42 | 113 | 155 | 188 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | ||
| 1993–94 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 69 | 34 | 73 | 107 | 135 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 79 | 52 | 91 | 143 | 100 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 76 | 37 | 80 | 117 | 98 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 16 | ||
| 1997–98 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 82 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 59 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 58 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 50 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 75 | 24 | 53 | 77 | 99 | 16 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 26 | ||
| 2001–02 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 80 | 29 | 54 | 83 | 103 | 25 | 7 | 26 | 33 | 34 | ||
| 2002–03 | Chicago Wolves | AHL | 59 | 15 | 48 | 63 | 83 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 543 | 190 | 248 | 438 | 599 | 54 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 45 | ||||
| IHL totals | 397 | 203 | 429 | 632 | 652 | 45 | 15 | 44 | 59 | 56 | ||||
| AHL totals | 139 | 44 | 102 | 146 | 186 | 34 | 8 | 32 | 40 | 40 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men'sice hockey | ||
Representing Canada | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 | 1988 Soviet Union | |
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 |
the retired forward was saying over the phone from Edmonton, where he handles colour commentary on Oiler pay-per-view telecasts.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | WHL West Player of the Year 1986,1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | CHL Player of the Year 1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | James Gatschene Memorial Trophy 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy 1994 1996, 1997 | Succeeded by |