BROWN BETTER AS A FRIEND THAN A FIEND
ANTAGONIST FROM LAST YEAR’S FINALS NOW on WOLVES’ SIDE
The Wolves got to know forward Patrick Brown pretty well during last season’s Calder Cup Finals. As captain of the Charlotte Checkers, Brown hoisted the Cup after the Checkers eliminated the Wolves. He also was a key part of the fracas that ended Game 2, cross-checking Keegan Kolesar and sparking a brawl that resulted in a one-game suspension for Wolves forward Curtis McKenzie.
Four months later, the Wolves who remain are becoming familiar with Brown in a different way — as a teammate.
“First off, I was like, ‘Well, now I get to get him back for that hit from behind in Game 2, that’s for sure,’ ” Kolesar joked. “I’ve been plotting that for a while now. I’m just going to let anticipation eat him alive inside.”
All kidding aside, the Wolves know what they can expect from Brown, who signed with the NHL’s Golden Knights on July 1 and was assigned to the AHL during training camp.
Already, he has shown he can play in all three zones and in any situation. It’s why he appeared in eight Stanley Cup playoff games for the Hurricanes last spring and is viewed as a locker-room leader for the Wolves, who lost to the Rampage 3-0 on Friday night in San Antonio.
“It’s good,” Kolesar said. “Whenever you can add players of his caliber and his pedigree to a team, it not only makes everyone better, [but] you can learn from it.”
It doesn’t hurt that Kolesar, Brown and the Wolves have a sense of humor and understanding of how things work in the hockey world. Kolesar said when he first saw Brown after his arrival, he joked that his back still hurt and that he was owed lunch. The two roomed together during training camp, and there aren’t any hard feelings.
“Hockey players, for the most part, are really good guys,” Brown said. “Just good people all around. We got our jokes out of the way Day 1. I think everyone’s probably cracked a few jokes so far, but it’s been great. I get to go to war with these guys, and it’s been great.”
Although it’s early, coach Rocky Thompson is already impressed with Brown. He described him as a hard worker who takes care of himself, is focused on winning and whose effort in practice is reflected in games.
“Whenever you can add players of his caliber and his pedigree to a team, it not only makes everyone better, [but] you can learn from it.” Keegan Kolesar, wolves right wing
“It’s a good leadership example of the harder the work, the more you’ll reap,” Thompson said. “He’s good. We knew that. [When] we played against him last year, he was an engine for the opposition, and you can see that he’s already an engine right now on our team.”
Brown wants to be a player the Wolves can count on every game and in any situation.
And there’s little thought about last season’s Finals and how he and the Checkers got the best of the Wolves.
“It’s a hockey series,” Brown said. “There’s not much more I can say than obviously they wanted to win and obviously our team wanted to win, but that’s in the past. I’m [with the Wolves] now, and I’m here to help these guys win.” ✶