Florida Panthers: Get to Know Rookie Defenseman Josh Brown

In the wake of MacKenzie Weegar sustaining a devastating concussion, the Florida Panthers recalled big-body defenseman Josh Brown from their AHL affiliate, Springfield Thunderbirds.

Let’s dive directly into Josh Brown’s history as a professional hockey player, and his path traveled to the NHL.

The 6’5” defenseman began his OHL career with the Oshawa Generals, making his debut during the 2011-2012 OHL campaign. Brown concluded his rookie season with 4 points in 46 games played, along with 49 penalty minutes.

Essentially, Brown isn’t known for his offensive abilities as a defenseman, but he occasionally produces adequate results offensively.

Brown is largely known as a premier defensive-defenseman, a physical presence like an Erik Gudbranson, for comparison.

Brown experienced greater success in his sophomore season as a General, recording 16 points and a plus/minus of +17 in 68 games played.

He also produced 5 points in the 9 playoff games that Oshawa played in during the 2012-13 OHL season. Ultimately, following the season’s end, Brown would declare for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The Florida Panthers would wind up selecting D Josh Brown from the Oshawa Generals of the OHL with the 152nd overall selection in the 6th round. The right-handed shooting Brown would spend the following two seasons as the Captain of the Oshawa Generals.

During the 2013-14 OHL season, Brown recorded 12 points, 83 penalty minutes, and a plus/minus rating of +7 in only 56 games played, 12 games fewer than the previous OHL season.

However, the Generals would be eliminated in the second round of the OHL playoffs for the second consecutive season.

But, 2014-15 was a complete dominant, breakout campaign for the Oshawa Captain. The Panther prospect would establish career-high statistics in practically every single category, experiencing a memorable finale in the OHL.

In 60 regular season contests, the intimidating Brown recorded a career-high 21 points, 92 penalty minutes, and a whopping plus/minus rating of +49.

Brown’s sensational season resulted in a playoff berth for the Oshawa Generals. He played exceptionally well in Oshawa’s historic playoff run.

In 21 playoff matches, Brown recorded 4 points and 30 penalty minutes, helping the Generals claim the Memorial Cup.

The 2015-16 hockey season was a difficult year for Brown, splitting time between the AHL and ECHL.

Although, he would earn himself a full-time starting spot on the Springfield Thunderbirds during the 2016-17 AHL season.

In 72 AHL games played, the fierce Brown recorded 13 points and an astounding 96 penalty minutes.

However, Brown’s play was rather inconsistent, as the Canadian native regressed tremendously the following year.

During the 2017-18 AHL campaign, Josh Brown only recorded 10 points and 67 penalty minutes, while participating in 66 AHL regular-season contests.

He was victimized quite frequently on the defensive end, as evidenced by his unimpressive plus/minus rating of -10 on the season for the T-Birds.

But, the 2018-19 pro-hockey season was essentially a rebound season for Josh Brown. The durable defenseman notched 3 goals in 19 AHL games, while also racking up 34 penalty minutes in the process.