Emily Brown

Emily Brown (born December 30, 1998) is an American ice hockey player who is a defender for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL), where she serves as an alternate captain. She previously played for the Boston Fleet of the PWHL and was part of their Walter Cup finals appearance during the league's inaugural season.

Early life Born and raised in Blaine, Minnesota, Brown is one of four children of Deb and Brian Brown. During her high school career at Blaine High School, Brown was a standout three-sport athlete, earning 12 varsity letters across ice hockey, soccer, and track and field. She served as captain for all three sports during her senior year. She was named a finalist for the 2017 Ms. Hockey Award, presented to the top senior girls' high school hockey player in Minnesota. She received the Herb Brooks Award in 2017, honoring her as the "most qualified player" at that year's Minnesota Girls' AA state ice hockey tournament. The Gophers posted a 32-6-1 record and allowed just 69 goals for the season, with Brown forming part of the team's top defensive pairing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was among three players who accepted an additional year of eligibility to return for the 2021-22 season. Despite not being the largest defender, she was praised by head coach Brad Frost for her physicality, using her body effectively to separate players from the puck, and for her excellent stick work in deflecting passes and shots. balancing a rigorous engineering curriculum with her hockey commitments. She was recognized as a WCHA Scholar-Athlete, WCHA All-Academic Team member, and Academic All-Big Ten honoree for each of her final four years at the University of Minnesota.

Professional Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (2022–2023) Following her graduation from the University of Minnesota in 2022, Brown joined the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), an organization established to advocate for a sustainable professional women's ice hockey league in North America. She was assigned to Team Sonnet for the 2022-23 season, which competed in the organization's Secret Dream Gap Tour showcases across North America. The team was coached by Laura McIntosh, with Rebecca Michael serving as general manager. The season culminated with Team Sonnet winning the PWHPA championship in March 2023.

In addition to her regular season duties, Brown was selected to represent the PWHPA at the 2023 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic in Norfolk, Virginia on January 16, 2023, alongside Team Sonnet teammate Samantha Cogan. The three-on-three showcase format featured players from the PWHPA, Premier Hockey Federation, and ECHL, aimed at promoting women's professional hockey. During the 2023–24 season she recorded one goal and three assists in 24 regular season games and two assists in eight playoff games during the Walter Cup. On June 20, 2024, she signed a two-year contract extension with Boston.

During the 2024-25 PWHL season, Brown established herself as a reliable defensive presence. She recorded one goal and one assist through the early portion of the season but maintained strong defensive metrics, including a team-leading 6.9 hits per 60 minutes among defenders while accumulating only four penalty minutes. She was one of three players selected from the Boston Fleet in the expansion draft, alongside forwards Hannah Bilka and Jamie Lee Rattray.

On November 20, 2025, Brown was named one of two alternate captains for the Torrent's inaugural season, serving alongside Alex Carpenter under captain Hilary Knight.

The Torrent opened their inaugural 2025-26 Seattle Torrent season on November 22, 2025, against Vancouver in a sold-out game at Pacific Coliseum that drew 14,958 fans, though Seattle fell 4–3 in overtime. The team's home opener took place on November 28, 2025, at Climate Pledge Arena against the Minnesota Frost, setting a record for the largest crowd for a women's hockey game in a U.S. arena with 16,014 fans in attendance. Brown was part of a defensive corps that included fellow expansion draft selections Aneta Tejralová, Megan Carter, and Anna Wilgren, as well as Cayla Barnes, who was signed during the exclusive signing window. On January 20, 2026, Brown recorded an assist in Seattle's 6–4 victory over Toronto. The Torrent's six goals set a franchise record and matched the season high for any PWHL team.

International play Brown was a member of the United States national under-18 ice hockey team in 2015 and 2016, winning the gold medal in the 2016 IIHF U18 Women's World Championship. She also skated for the United States U-22 team in the 2019 series against Canada, and for the United States national team in the 2022–23 Rivalry Series. She also attended USA Hockey Development Camps and the 2016 USA Hockey Women's National Festival. The United States defeated Canada to win the gold medal at the 2016 tournament, She was one of five players making their senior national team debut for the final two games of the series, held February 20 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and February 22 in Laval, Quebec. She joined fellow Boston Fleet players Hilary Knight, Taylor Girard, Megan Keller, and Aerin Frankel on the roster.

Personal life Outside of hockey, Brown pursued a career in mechanical engineering. During her college years, she completed internships that included work at Boston Scientific, where she contributed to process improvements and efficiency initiatives. She discussed in interviews how she balanced her engineering studies with her hockey career, noting the challenge of avoiding overthinking technical aspects like coefficient of friction while on the ice.

According to her USA Hockey profile, Brown's favorite food is raspberries.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2013–14 Blaine Bengals 25 4 17 21 10 3 0 2 2 0 2014–15 Blaine Bengals MNHS 25 4 14 18 12 6 2 5 7 4 2015–16 Blaine Bengals MNHS 21 6 22 28 12 2 0 2 2 2 2016–17 Blaine Bengals MNHS 25 14 26 40 14 5 2 3 5 0 2017–18 University of Minnesota WCHA 38 4 8 12 18 — — — — — 2018–19 University of Minnesota WCHA 39 4 23 27 20 — — — — — 2019–20 University of Minnesota WCHA 36 5 15 20 18 — — — — — 2020–21 University of Minnesota WCHA 20 3 9 12 8 — — — — — 2021–22 University of Minnesota WCHA 34 4 11 15 12 — — — — — 2022–23 Team Sonnet PWHPA 20 0 1 1 12 — — — — — 2023–24 PWHL Boston PWHL 24 1 3 4 12 8 0 2 2 0 2024–25 Boston Fleet PWHL 29 1 3 4 16 — — — — — 2025–26 Seattle Torrent PWHL 30 0 4 4 12 — — — — — PWHPA totals 20 0 1 1 12 — — — — — PWHL totals 83 2 10 12 40 8 0 2 2 0