Josh Brown

Joshua Brown (born January 21, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Brown was selected in the sixth round, 152nd overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Before joining Edmonton, Brown played for the Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Arizona Coyotes.

Playing career

Junior Brown played as a youth locally in his hometown of London, Ontario at the midget level with the London Jr. Knights before he was selected by the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the third round, 44th overall in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection.

As a 16 year old in 2010–11, he played in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Whitby Fury. He began his four-year major junior career with the Generals in the OHL in 2011–12. Using his large frame as a physical, defensive defenceman, Brown remained with the Generals throughout his junior career, captaining the club for two seasons and capturing the Memorial Cup in his final junior season in 2014–15.

Professional Selected by the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the sixth round, 152nd overall, of the 2013 NHL entry draft, Brown later signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team on April 10, 2015. He appeared in ten games with the Pirates, registering one assist and played in 54 games with the Monarchs, totaling 12 points, and appearing in their first-round playoff series.

In his first full campaign in the AHL, Brown spent the 2016–17 season with the Panthers' new affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In the Thunderbirds' inaugural season, he notched a career best three goals and 13 points from the blueline in 72 games. He followed that up the next season with one goal and ten points in 66 games with Springfield. As an impending restricted free agent, Brown agreed to a two-year, two-way contract extension to remain within the Panthers organization on May 31, 2018. Recalled due to an injury to fellow defenceman, MacKenzie Weegar, and with the Panthers needing a physical presence, Brown made his NHL debut in a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on January 19. He registered his first NHL goal and point in a 6–1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on March 10. He finished the season having appeared in 37 games with the Panthers, registering the one goal and two points and 22 games with Springfield, scoring three goals. He made his NHL playoff debut in the pandemic-delayed 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs in the Panthers series versus the New York Islanders. He was inserted into the lineup for Game 3 of the best-of-five series on August 5, which the Panthers won 3–2. He appeared in two games, going scoreless, as the Islanders eliminated the Panthers in the next game.

In need of a new contract Brown was traded in the following off-season by the Panthers to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round draft pick on October 2, 2020. As a restricted free agent, Brown signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Senators on October 5. During the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Brown made his Senators debut in the team's opening night 5–3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 15, 2021. He notched his first point for the Senators assisting on Colin White's first period goal in a 4–2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. He finished the season making 26 appearances for the Senators, registering just the one assist. On November 26, Brown suffered an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup until January 13, 2022. Brown played 46 games with Ottawa, recording six assists.

On March 21, 2022, Brown was traded by the Senators, along with a 2022 conditional seventh-round selection, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for forward Zachary Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. He finished the 2021–22 season with a combined six points in 52 games played with the Senators and Bruins.

On July 13, 2022, having left the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent, Brown was signed to a two-year, $2.55 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes. He appeared in only 51 games with the Coyotes in the 2023–24 season, scoring three goals and ten points.

Brown became an unrestricted free agent again at the end of his Coyotes contract. On July 1, 2024, he signed a three-year, $3 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers. He was recalled by Edmonton on November 17 after defenceman Darnell Nurse suffered an injury and made his Oilers debut on November 18 against the Montreal Canadiens. He played in two games before being returned to Bakersfield on November 20. He was recalled again on November 21 along with Drake Caggiula.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2010–11 Whitby Fury OJHL 35 6 4 10 59 — — — — — 2011–12 Oshawa Generals OHL 46 0 4 4 49 2 0 0 0 0 2012–13 Oshawa Generals OHL 68 0 16 16 79 9 1 4 5 11 2013–14 Oshawa Generals OHL 56 2 10 12 83 9 0 0 0 18 2014–15 Oshawa Generals OHL 60 4 17 21 92 21 2 2 4 30 2015–16 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 54 1 11 12 80 5 0 0 0 4 2015–16 Portland Pirates AHL 10 0 1 1 7 — — — — — 2016–17 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 72 3 10 13 96 — — — — — 2017–18 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 66 1 9 10 67 — — — — — 2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 22 3 0 3 34 — — — — — 2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 37 1 1 2 28 — — — — — 2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 56 3 5 8 39 2 0 0 0 0 2020–21 Ottawa Senators NHL 26 0 1 1 30 — — — — — 2021–22 Ottawa Senators NHL 46 0 6 6 32 — — — — — 2021–22 Boston Bruins NHL 6 0 0 0 5 1 0 0 0 0 2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 68 4 3 7 87 — — — — — 2023–24 Arizona Coyotes NHL 51 3 7 10 75 — — — — — 2024–25 Bakersfield Condors AHL 39 0 4 4 77 — — — — — 2024–25 Edmonton Oilers NHL 10 0 1 1 11 1 0 0 0 0 2025–26 Bakersfield Condors AHL 57 2 11 13 78 3 0 2 2 6 NHL totals 300 11 24 35 307 4 0 0 0 0

Awards and honours Award Year RefCHL Memorial Cup champion 2015