For Connor Brown, showing up for the first day of work with the Edmonton Oilers last season was kind of like showing up for a swim meet in a weighted vest.
He sunk like a hockey puck and spent his first few months here watching bubbles of frustration float to the surface of the pool.
“I was expecting to be at a better state than I was when I came in (last year),” said the 30-year-old winger, whose slow and rather unsteady comeback from major knee surgery tested every ounce of his resilience.
“But any time you face adversity it strengthens you. I’m definitely stronger for having gone through what I went through at the beginning of last season.”
Fast forward 12 months and the guy who looked like a colossal bust (Brown didn’t score his first goal as an Oiler until the 64th game of the season) is shaping up to be a key ingredient in Edmonton’s plans.
Down the stretch and into the playoffs last year he started to look like the real Connor Brown, not the guy whose confidence took a savage beating in those first few months, and fully expects to pick up right where he left off.
“This summer I was able to train and focus on power and do things you would typically do in an offseason,” he said. “It was night and day to the summer prior.”
Everyone expected Brown would be slow out of the gate last year. He missed the final 78 games of the 2022-23 season in Washington after blowing out his knee and hadn’t played hockey in nearly a year when he signed his free agent deal with the Oilers.
What people didn’t expect was that the gate would be open and he wouldn’t come out at all. Even Aaron Rogers thought it was a rough debut with a new team.
“When you feel you’re not at 100 per cent coming into a new environment and trying to make an impact it can be tough,” said Brown. “And it was tough.”
But, as Brown’s knee grew stronger over the course of the season, so did his game. He, Mattias Janmark and Adam Henrique developed into a difference-making third line and his work on the penalty kill (which closed out the playoffs at a staggering 98.6 per cent) is a big reason Edmonton advanced to the final.
If he’s that same player again, only better now that he’s had a full summer to train, it’s big for the Oilers. And him.
“It’s encouraging and exciting to be able to hit the ground running from a physical standpoint. I know how I feel and it’s nice to have the concrete evidence (from fitness testing) to see where you’re at. It’s definitely encouraging.”
On a team that’s flush with superstars and offensive firepower, Brown is carving himself a niche that’s perfect for him. It’s also an element that every Stanley Cup contending team needs.
“I feel I really fit this team well as far as what I bring as a player. This team has so many dynamic players and a power play, but the things I really pride myself on, positional play at five-on-five, the penalty kill, defensive play five-on-five, those types of roles can really be utilized on a team like this. It’s a great fit for me.”
He isn’t skating on one and half legs and he isn’t trying to feel his way around a new organization. That makes a big difference.
“It’s a lot more comfortable, that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “This year I feel good physically and I”m comfortable with the environment, the staff, the guys. I’m just excited to get it going.”
As for a penalty killing until that almost outshone the power play last spring, Brown admits some of the departures (Cody Ceci and Vincent Desharnais were first and third in shorthanded minutes last year) might take time to fill, but nobody knows better than he does how patience and determination can pay off in the long run.
“It’s hard to say how long it’s going to take. I’m sure there will be some type of adjustment period with new guys. But I think communication is the biggest thing that’s going to get us over the hump — being open and honest about what we expect from one another. Holding ourselves to a high standard like we did last year on the penalty kill.”
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