STEPPING BACK
Brown keeps GM role with 67’s
Jeff Brown is taking a break from the coaching part of his job because of health issues.
But the plan is for him to return to his post behind the Ottawa 67’s bench this season.
“For sure,” said 67’s president Jeff Hunt. “Maybe a few weeks, a month ... we’ll see.”
Brown, also the team’s general manager, will carry on with those duties while assistant coaches Mike Eastwood and Brad Brown take over the reins for games and practices.
The team’s top hockey man recently learned “his blood pressure is a little high,” said Hunt, who added the condition “just sort of came out of nowhere.”
“It’s a good chance for him to kind of step back,” Hunt said of the 50year old Brown. “He is coach and GM, and not a lot of guys in the league take those two major jobs on. It’s a lot of work and a lot of stress.
“For him to take a break, and let Eastie and Brownie and the guys kind of take on the coaching side of things … Jeff can do a couple of things. He can make sure he does everything he can to get his health under control, and it gives him a little more time to do some scouting at this busy time of year, when there’s lots of tournaments.
“I think it’s going to be a good thing for him. Hopefully it won’t be too long.”
Brown, a standout NHL defenceman for 14 seasons and the father of Senators first-round pick Logan Brown, took over the 67’s job in 2014. He guided the team to two winning seasons while in a rebuilding mode. The 67’s were riding a four-game win streak heading into Friday’s game in St. Catharines against the Niagara IceDogs and were fourth in the OHL’s Eastern Conference with a 10-10-2 record.
Hunt says Brown has been an invaluable hire, citing a number of players who have benefitted from this tutelage — starting with 19-year-old Philadelphia Flyers rookie Travis Konecny.
“He came in here and he was a first overall pick, but he dramatically improved certain aspects of his game, especially under Jeff,” said Hunt. “I think he would even say he’s playing in the NHL today because in part of the coaching of Jeff Brown. That’s what you want to do in junior hockey. Take guys that have that raw talent and make them into a pro. Players are developing and they’re having success.
“I think there’s a lot of good things Jeff Brown has brought to the Ottawa 67’s, and now he’s just got to be good to himself.”
The 67’s lost 5-3 to the Niagara IceDogs in St. Catharines on Friday. dbrennan@postmedia.com Twitter: @SunDoniB