Trip to Ottawa well worth the wait for Brown family
Jeff Brown spent all day Wednesday in airports while making the trek to Ottawa.
The first flight out of St. Louis was delayed, the family missed a connection in Chicago and instead of having dinner at The Keg on Wednesday night with Ottawa Senators centre Logan Brown before his NHL debut against the Washington Capitals Thursday, they didn’t land here until after 10 p.m. That’s OK, the trip was worth it. Jeff, a 51-year-old Ottawa native who started his NHL career as a defenceman with Quebec Nordiques in 1985 with stops in St. Louis, Vancouver, Hartford/Carolina, Toronto and Washington before retiring in 1998, was thrilled to see his 19-year-old son suit up for the Senators. The family wouldn’t have missed it.
Accompanied by his wife Laina, Logan’s sister Jenna-Rose and Logan’s brother Caden, Jeff could not hide his excitement and pride.
“Oh my God, I’m extremely proud of him,” said Jeff, who spent three seasons behind the Ottawa 67’s bench before leaving the job earlier this year. “I coached (Logan) and all his buddies growing up. I say this all the time: No coach is going to get you to the NHL. I certainly gave them my knowledge and kind of showed them the way and the path and all of that.
“But at the end of the day, each of those kids made it individually. They make it and they decide that they always want to go to the rink and they never say no and that’s their first choice. Every opportunity they get, they take advantage of it. Logan was always the first on and the last off. He never said no to extra ice time.
“It’s a long road and a lot of sacrifice and I’m really proud of where he is in his life at 19 years old and hopefully this is the beginning of maybe playing more than I did. There’s nothing more I would want than that.”
The six-foot-six Logan, selected by the Senators in Round 1 of the 2016 NHL draft, had a tough year in 2016-17 with the Windsor Spitfires. He spent part of the season in Ottawa recovering from injuries and suited up for only 35 games. But he put in the hard work in the off-season to get ready for camp.
“He’s earned it,” Jeff said. “He worked really, really hard this summer and he went in to camp with a great attitude. He’s done everything they’ve asked of him and I feel like he’s ready.
“All summer, everything he did, what he (ate), how he trained, how he slept and how he just took care of himself, he was determined he was going to make it. Everything he’s done for the last couple of months has been with one goal in mind, and that’s sticking this year. Just a lot of hard work.”
Jeff said when he looked at the club’s depth chart in the off-season he was hopeful Logan could come to camp with the opportunity to make the team. The reality is he got a good opportunity to show what he could do in the pre-season because Derick Brassard didn’t play and Colin White got injured in the first game.
“I was hopeful,” Jeff said. “I felt like he was in a good spot mentally, he had confidence and he did everything he could do in the summer to prepare. I was confident.
“When things happened with Brassard down and White down and, all of a sudden, there’s the door, and you get your chance and there’s a fine line between making it and not making it. Certainly, when you get the opportunity, you make the best of it and so far he has. Hopefully that will continue.”
Logan switched to the No. 21 his dad wore throughout his career and Jeff couldn’t have been more pleased.
“It’s really special for me because my career was cut short and there’s barely a day that goes by that I don’t miss and I had to stop playing at 32,” Jeff Brown said. “For my son to experience playing in the best league in the world is pretty special. I’m really proud and appreciative.”