Ottawa Senators Report Cards: Connor Brown
By Daniel Bruce
Brown’s meteoric rise was one of the better stories of the Senators season
In a Covid shortened 2020-21 season, Connor Brown still found a way to break multiple personal records and even set a franchise record in the process.
The 8-game goal streak was a treat to watch, seemingly every puck he put on the net went in, and the fact it happened while the competitive forward was snakebitten to the amount of becoming a meme.
It didn’t just stop after Brown’s goal streak eventually came to an end, in his final 20 games he had an absurd 14 goals and 19 points. The crazy thing about this sudden sniper mentality is the fact that he didn’t produce much of anything on the power-play, the majority of his production came at 5v5.
His 21 goals led all Senators players and also eclipsed his career-high of 20 goals he scored in 2017 with Toronto, with this season only being 56 games it makes his totals that much more impressive.
2020-21 Stats
56P, 21G-14A-35P, 123 shots, 22 hits, 18:15 TOI/GP
82-game pace: 31G-21A-52P, 180 shots, 32 hits
At the beginning of the season, I don’t know if anyone would’ve expected the 27-year-old forward to score at a 30-goal pace. Watching Brown’s confidence level with the puck skyrocket after his goal streak was a treat to watch, his tireless motor created plenty of issues for the North Division in the second half of the season.
What should never be slept on is Brown’s penalty killing. It’s outstanding. The Toronto native led all NHL players with 5 shorthanded goals and his penalty-killing tandem alongside Nick Paul was quite opportunistic when given the chance.
How Brown fared analytically this past season:
- 50.46 CF% (3rd)
- 24.89 xGF (8th)
- 46.53 xGF% (14th)
- 41.41 HDCF% (19th)
The tenacious forward’s numbers are never going to stand out analytically due to his heavy defensive deployment but he was able to boast a solid Corsi-for percentage as he drove play a lot better as the season progressed.
Brown also showed an affinity for taking the puck away, his 56 takeaways were 2nd in the NHL to the best thief in the NHL – Mark Stone. His +27 takeaway/giveaway ratio was also 2nd to Stone, this shouldn’t surprise anybody as they are likely the top-two defensive wingers in the game.
RW. Ottawa Senators. CONNOR BROWN. A. This had to be an A. If there’s any player who’s improved their game the most during the 2020-21 season it’s likely Brown. <p>His career-high 21 goals in just 56 games in addition to the defensive responsibilities that he takes on every night, makes Brown’s sudden offensive outburst all the more impressive. His 5 shorthanded goals were especially impressive too, it seemed like on every penalty kill the Senators were finding ways to create offensive chances, and Brown was usually at the forefront.</p> <p>All of this doesn’t even highlight the fact that Brown is a great leader for the young guys in the locker room and like Brady Tkachuk, he brings players into the battle. A player that D.J. Smith can trust in any situation, we can all be happy that Pierre Dorion was able to pry Brown away from Toronto</p> <p> </p>
All metrics via Natural Stat Trick