by Blain Potvin, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine
HALIFAX, NS. — Centre depth. It has been an organizational need for the Montreal Canadiens for decades. Only in the last five years has this been addressed in any serious fashion. The addition of Alex Galchenyuk, Mike McCarron and Lars Eller are examples of the few, yet important moves that have been made to address a need for size and skill at the centre position.
McCarron was drafted as a right wing yet a happy coincidence during his junior career moved him to center. And while left-handed defense is an organizational need as well, the glaring hole at center from top to bottom in the system calls for action. That is one reason that in my opinion Logan Brown could be a very likely target for the Canadiens at Draft time.
Logan Brown, C, Windsor (OHL)
6-6, 222 lbs., Shoots L, United States | @21LBrown
2015-’16: 59 GP, 21 G, 53 A, 74 PTS (Windsor Spitfires)CSB: No. 7 | ISS: No. 7 | THN: No. 15 | HP: No. 16 | FC: No. 14
Brown has the five ‘S’s’ scouts search for: size, skill, skating, speed and smarts. The quality that Marc Bergevin covets most with skill is size. And, at 6 feet 6 inches, 222 pounds, Brown is already larger than many NHL players. He has used his size effectively at every level he has played. He uses his long, smooth stride effectively to generate deceptively high end speed.
Brown has an innate ability to use his size and extended reach to gain and retain puck possession. He excels below the hash marks playing a pro-style cycle game where he can use his size effectively to win board battles.
Brown also uses his stride and large wing span to cover the entire playing surface effectively adding a valuable two-way game. This is likely why the Windsor Spitfires offered six draft picks, including three second round picks to land the Niagara Ice Dogs 2014 sixth overall pick in the OHL Bantam Draft after he refused to report to Niagara for personal reasons.
At each level that he has played, Brown has been capable of producing offensively while still providing a solid defensive style. Even in his rookie OHL season at 16 years old, despite the Windsor Spitfires having a difficult season where they finished in the Western Conference basement, he was a responsible defensive player playing in a top six role. He finished his rookie season with 17 goals and 43 points.
Brown also competed for Team Canada in the Under 17’s World Championships finishing with four points in the five games played for Team Red in a fourth place finish. Some may wonder about Logan Brown’s international status given that he played for Canada then for team USA at the 2016 Under 18 World Hockey Championship (U18). The U18’s are the first International Ice Hockey Federation officially sanctioned tournament. Brown’s choice to play for the USA at that tournament means he will play for them for the remainder of his career.
In his second OHL season, he earned the role as top line center, scoring 21 goals and 74 points finishing second in ream scoring behind only Christian Fisher. His play improved as the season wore on getting 38 of his 74 points in the last 24 games played. Brown played a key role in all situations in helping his team to improve from 24 wins the season before to 40 wins and a first round loss to the Kitchener Rangers. It was a series where Brown’s consistent two way play and six points was simply not enough against a more experienced and deeper Rangers squad.
Brown continued to improve as the intensity increased. This was on full display as his play was instrumental in Team USA’s Under 18 World Hockey Championship (U18) run to a bronze medal win over Canada. He scored three goals and 12 points in his seven games played.
Brown was able to showcase his ability to drive the net and disrupt opposing goaltenders and defensemen on an international stage. He also exhibited an underrated playmaking ability distributing the puck effectively to his teammates. The larger ice surface and increased space to generate speed normally hurts bigger players, yet Brown was not only able to keep pace with the speediest of players in the tournament, he was capable of pushing the pace as well. Brown also used his physical tools to create the time and space they needed to produce offensively.
The same tools that have been making scouts drool are being improved continually thanks to Logan Brown’s tireless work ethic. It is a quality that he comes by honestly as the son of former NHL’er Jeff Brown. The younger Brown has seen how his father approached his career on a daily basis, and has benefited from the firsthand experience. He had also taken advantage of the advice and coaching of his father (who is now the head coach of the Ottawa 67’s) during his minor hockey years.
Logan Brown has made large strides in his development on and off the ice, strides that have not gone unnoticed by professional scouts.
Logan Brown answered some character concerns at the U-18..going to be tough not to consider him for the top 6. Teams love big C's w/ upside.
— Grant McCagg (@grantmccagg) April 25, 2016
Brown’s game still has a few flaws, but ones that can be corrected with practice, experience and coaching. For a player his size, you would expect more aggression searching out the physicality of the game. While he does finish his checks with authority, he uses his size more to generate leverage along the boards. His longer reach is used to break up plays defensively, win races to the puck and distribute the puck to his line mates. His skating is very good, but not quite to NHL standards yet. He will need one or two seasons to develop his skating and speed before he can step into his projected NHL role as a second line, two-way center.
Need to catch up on potential draftees? You will find the All Habs draft archive here or use the quick links below to check out our most recent articles on the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
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