Connor Brown Leading Devils On & Off The Ice

Connor Brown lifted his stick in the air as he skated behind Linus Ullmark‘s goal and over to Simon Nemec to celebrate the New Jersey Devils' first goal on Tuesday night at Canadian Tire Centre. 

After receiving the puck from Areseny Gritsyuk at the Devils’ blue line, Brown skated through the neutral zone into the Ottawa Senators’ zone. Near the circle, he found Nemec and passed the puck to his defenseman, who blasted it past Ullmark to tie the game at 1-1. 
It marked the first of two primary assists Brown would collect in the opening period. He and his linemates, Gritsyuk and Cody Glass, combined for five points in the first 20 minutes. 
Brown knew that eventually his line would be rewarded, as things had been trending in the right direction for the trio.

“Last game, I thought we played great,” Brown toldThe Hockey Newson Monday. “[..]  We had a ton of looks. One breakdown, and it was in the back of our net, so you've got to build off it. I think we had a really good game in Boston, and we just continue to get better.”
The line set the stage for depth scoring to break through with Gritsyuk, Paul Cotter, and Glass also scoring in New Jersey’s 4-3 victory over Ottawa. After sixty minutes, Brown and his linemates combined for eight points, leading their team to its first win since Nov. 28. 
“Just tremendous,” head coach Sheldon Keefe told NJD.TV of the Glass Line. “I thought they were great in all three zones. Glass had a lot of great individual puck battles, and got us through the neutral zone. He competed in the face-off, and all three made plays. Obviously, (Gritsyuk) and Glass get the goals. But (Brown), I thought he was a real catalyst on the line, too. Huge block at the end of the game. Those three guys really stepped up.”
Brown is arguably one of the general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s best offseason signings, as he has proven he can be impactful on the ice as well as off it. 

After signing a four-year, $12 million contract this past summer, Brown entered the Devils’ locker room and almost immediately became one of the team’s vocal leaders, joining Brenden Dillon, Jake Allen, and Jacob Markstrom. 

“For me, it is honestly a big part of my game, kind of always has been,” he said. “It is a big way I make sure I am getting myself going, just talking and being loud. I kind of understood that it was something that I would be dependent on here. I think (we are) a team that has a lot of skill and wants to get to the next step. (I was not) not stepping into a really big veteran team, so that just kind of made sense.”

Being loud and vocal in the locker room came naturally to Brown, who said he had those qualities even as a kid.

Describing himself as “demanding,” Brown has been the perfect addition to New Jersey’s locker room as they look to not only make the postseason, but string together a run. The 31-year-old has the right character and on-ice skillset to be an impactful player for the Devils as they look to take another step forward. 

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