2014 NHL Draft: Christopher Brown talks about being selected by the Buffalo Sabres
By Robert Bondy –
NHL pedigree is simply in Christopher Brown’s blood.
Son of former Detroit Red Wings forward Doug Brown, Christopher has been close the game his whole life and now he will have the opportunity to turn the game he loves into a career just like his father did.
Brown was selected in the sixth round (151th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2014 NHL Draft. The Bloomfield Hills native was watching the draft on TV at home with family, but actually heard of his potential new NHL home when his name came up on NHL.com on his phone.
“I was watching the draft live, but I actually found out on my phone before the TV when I saw that my name popped up on NHL.com,” Brown said. “I was completely honored and proud to be drafted by such a great organization with so much young talent.”
Coming out of Cranbrook Kingswood, Brown didn’t consider himself a sure bet to be drafted, but admitted he had a good feeling about Buffalo. The 6-foot-0, 179-pound center said the Sabres were the last team he had heard from before the draft, and was keeping an eye on them throughout the day.
“I actually filled out a survey with them and they were the last team that contacted me before the draft so they were fresh in my mind,” Brown said. “I was looking for them and a few other teams, but I didn’t know they would take me.”
Brown added that he had a family connection with the upstate New York franchise, since his uncle Greg Brown was drafted by Buffalo in the second round of the 1986 NHL Draft.
To get to where he is today, Brown had plenty of success on the ice for Belle Tire AAA and Cranbrook Kingswood prominent high school program. Brown was one of many 2014 NHL draftees that played under head coach Joe Smaza at Belle Tire, and from there went on to play four years of varsity hockey with Cranbrook. Brown helped continue a prestigious tradition of winning at CK, capturing the 2013 Division 3 state championship with the Cranes.
It was under head coach Andy Weidenbach at Cranbrook that Brown said he learned the importance of coming to the rink ready to play each and every day.
“We were always one of the top ranked teams in the state so if we didn’t bring our ‘A’ game it would be a (rough) night,” said Brown, who served as the team’s captain this past season.
It was also at Cranbrook that Brown was able to develop strong relationships with his linemates Sam Miletic and Austin Alger, both of whom Brown wanted to give a special thanks to on his recent career milestone.
Outside of strong leadership qualities, Buffalo will be getting a prospect in Brown who is both an offensive force and reliable defensively. He considers his style of play a mixture of Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux and Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler by playing solid hockey on both ends.
Next up for Brown will be time at the Buffalo Sabres’ development camp, which begins later this week. From there he will take a couple stops along the hockey career path before hopefully heading back to Buffalo. Brown is planning to play for the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League next season, before attending Boston College to compete at the NCAA Division 1 level in 2015-16. Brown’s father and older brother Patrick both played for Boston College (Patrick is now in the Carolina Hurricanes’ system), and his aforementioned uncle is an associate head coach with the Eagles’ hockey program currently.