Rob Brown

Robert William Brown (born April 10, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger.

He is best known for his time spent playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins from his debut in 1987 until 1990, and then again from 1997 until 2000. Between and following these stints, Brown shuffled between minor league teams in the International Hockey League (IHL) and other NHL teams, including the Hartford Whalers, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and Los Angeles Kings.

Playing career

As a youth, he played in the 1981 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Oshawa.

Brown was a prolific scorer at the junior level, averaging over two points per game during his junior career. In particular, Brown flourished in 1986-87 winning multiple awards including Most Valuable Player (West), Top Scorer (West), and the inaugural WHL Plus-Minus Award. Brown also set the current Western Hockey League records for both assists and points with 136 and 212 respectively. He was also named CHL Player of the Year for the 1986-87 season. Brown won a gold medal as a member of Team Canada at the 1988 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

Brown was drafted 67th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1986 NHL entry draft. His best statistical NHL season was the 1988–89 season, when he played on a line with Mario 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 the 40th 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 the Hartford Whalers for Scott Young. In parts of two seasons, Brown had 73 points in 86 games for the Whalers before being traded on January 24, 1992 to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Steve 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 the Indianapolis 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 the James 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.

Brown served as a colour commentator for the Edmonton Oilers pay-per-view, and currently is an analyst on 880 CHED for Edmonton Oilers games. 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 defenceman Jason Strudwick and sports journalist Ryan Rishaug. He also became a hockey instructor with the St. Albert Sports Academy, St. Francis Xavier Hockey Academy, and NAX Hockey Academy.

Personal life Brown was born in Kingston, Ontario, but grew up in St. Albert, Alberta. Rob also spent some early years in Oshawa and Kitchener, Ontario.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs 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

International

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1988 Canada WJC 7 6 2 8 2 Awards Bob Brownridge Memorial Trophy (WHL leading scorer) - 1986 WHL West First All-Star Team – 1986 & 1987