Curtis Brown (ice hockey) explained

Curtis Brown
Birth Date:12 February 1976
Birth Place:Unity, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:200
Position:Forward
Shoots:Left
Played For:Buffalo Sabres
San Jose Sharks
Chicago Blackhawks
Kloten Flyers
EHC Biel
Ntl Team:CAN
Draft:43rd overall
Draft Year:1994
Draft Team:Buffalo Sabres
Career Start:1994
Career End:2011

Curtis Dean Brown (born February 12, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the second round (43rd overall) of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Over his National Hockey League (NHL) career, he played for the Sabres, San Jose Sharks, and Chicago Blackhawks.

Brown served as a Sharks pregame and postgame analyst on NBC Sports California until 2023 when he moved to Nebraska to accept a position with the Lincoln Stars. As of 2024, Brown is the head coach and general manager of the Lincoln Stars AAA team.

Playing career

Brown was drafted in the second round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. After finishing the 1994–95 WHL season with the Moose Jaw Warriors, he debuted with the Sabres on May 3, 1995 against the New Jersey Devils and scored a goal and an assist.

Brown returned to the WHL for 1995–96 and was traded from Moose Jaw to the Prince Albert Raiders before finishing out the season with Buffalo.

By 1997–98, Brown became a full-time player for the Sabres, usually on the third line.

In March 2004, Brown was traded to the San Jose Sharks in a three-way trade that saw Buffalo acquire Jeff Jillson from Boston while they received Brad Boyes and Andy Delmore. Brown played only 12 games for San Jose, however, and spent the 2004 NHL lockout season in the ECHL with the San Diego Gulls.

On July 2, 2004, Brown signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, only to be bought out after only one NHL season. Brown was the first player ever to have his contract bought out.

Brown signed with San Jose as an unrestricted free agent in July 2006. The two-year deal was worth just $1.4 million, with Brown stating that he signed for such a relatively low salary because he had already received money from Chicago's buy-out.

On July 17, 2008, Brown completed his NHL career and signed with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss Nationalliga A where he played for one season. He then switched to defense and played the final two seasons of his career with EHC Biel before retiring.

Personal life

Brown, of Christian faith, has a wife, Ami. The couple had a daughter, Aubri who died in late 2005 of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The death of their daughter inspired them to create The Aubri Brown Foundation, a foundation that helps parents going through the loss of their children.[1] They have three sons, Gage, Garrett, and Griffin.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
1991–92Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL1 0 0 0 0
1992–93Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL71 13 16 29 30
1993–94Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL72 27 38 65 82
1994–95Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL70 51 53 104 6310 8 7 15 20
1994–95Buffalo SabresNHL1 1 1 2 2
1995–96Moose Jaw WarriorsWHL25 20 18 38 30
1995–96Prince Albert RaidersWHL19 12 21 33 818 10 15 25 18
1995–96Buffalo SabresNHL4 0 0 0 0
1995–96Rochester AmericansAHL12 0 1 1 2
1996–97Rochester AmericansAHL51 22 21 43 3010 4 6 10 4
1996–97Buffalo SabresNHL28 4 3 7 18
1997–98Buffalo SabresNHL63 12 12 24 3413 1 2 3 10
1998–99Buffalo SabresNHL78 16 31 47 5621 7 6 13 10
1999–00Buffalo SabresNHL74 22 29 51 425 1 3 4 6
2000–01Buffalo SabresNHL70 10 22 32 3413 5 0 5 8
2001–02Buffalo SabresNHL82 20 17 37 32
2002–03Buffalo SabresNHL74 15 16 31 40
2003–04Buffalo SabresNHL68 9 12 21 30
2003–04San Jose SharksNHL12 2 2 4 617 0 2 2 18
2004–05San Diego GullsECHL47 9 29 38 24
2005–06Chicago BlackhawksNHL71 5 10 15 38
2006–07San Jose SharksNHL78 8 12 20 5611 0 2 2 2
2007–08San Jose SharksNHL33 5 4 9 107 0 0 0 4
2008–09Kloten FlyersNLA44 10 13 23 2615 4 5 9 20
2009–10EHC BielNLA49 9 17 26 24
2010–11EHC BielNLA29 3 5 8 20
NHL totals736 129 171 300 39887 14 15 29 58
AHL totals51222143302247116
NLA totals12222355770

International

YearTeamEventGP G A Pts PIM
1996CanadaWJC5 0 1 1 2
2000CanadaWC9 1 3 4 8
Junior totals5 0 1 1 2
Senior totals9 1 3 4 8

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About The Aubri Brown Club. 2021-05-25. en-US.
  2. Web site: Curtis Brown: Strength of Character . https://web.archive.org/web/20110704184753/http://216.103.111.115/perl/topshelf/index.cgi?StoryId=21 . dead . 2011-07-04 . Top Shelf Hockey . 2007-03-13 . 2011-03-13 .