Dundas Blues name NHL veteran Kevin Brown as new head coach

Kevin Brown spent much of his 12-year hockey career playing for a variety of well-known coaches.

Paul Maurice, Barry Melrose, Ron Low, Claude Julien and Walt Kyle were all among those who ran the junior, AHL and NHL teams Brown played wing for. What he learned from those different personalities and strategists will certainly be a factor in how he leads the Dundas Blues as the junior hockey club’s new bench boss.

“At the end of the day, it's all about the same concept. It's all about work ethic. It's all about execution,” Brown said.

Blues general manager and director of hockey operations, Mike Spadafora, and team president Steve Aglor officially introduced Brown, 44, as the team’s new head coach this week. Brown takes over as the club prepares for a tryout camp June 23 and 24, and solidifies a new partnership with the Hamilton Huskies, where Spadafora also serves as GM.

Brown isn’t starting from scratch. He was behind the bench last season for the Hamilton Junior Bulldogs minor hockey bantam squad that swept Halton in the south-central playoffs to advance to the OMHA finals, finishing fourth among the top five bantam teams in the province.

Since retiring in 2004, Brown’s also worked as a consultant for minor hockey associations, pinpointing where teams can improve.

“I was a solution guy,” Brown said.

He said he likes to blend the “old style” and “new style” of hockey, using both speed and physical contact.

Brown pointed to the Winnipeg Jets style of play in the Stanley Cup playoffs under one of his former mentors, Paul Maurice, as the type of game he wants the Blues to play. Despite coming up a bit short, they made the most of that “old style.”

“Dump it in and crash the defence,” Brown said. “It’s fast hockey.”

Attitude and commitment are elements he expects from his players. Simple things like getting to games early and practicing — not hanging out at the concession stand or taking the team bus with the rest of squad to and from games, talking hockey — instead of everyone going their own separate ways.

He suggested he will have clear rules and expectations for his players.

“It’s important,” Brown said. “Execution is critical to me."

“We might not all get along … but you’re all pulling on the rope the same way. You don’t have to like everybody, but you have to respect everybody, and play for everybody.”

Camaraderie and respect among teammates is something Brown experienced over his career, including 64 NHL games in which he scored seven goals and 16 points. More than a third of those games were with the 1994-95 Los Angeles Kings, featuring Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Marty McSorley. He also saw action with Hartford, Carolina and Edmonton.

In junior, Brown scored 50 goals and 141 points in 62 games combined between Belleville Bulls and Detroit Junior Red Wings. He followed that with 54 goals and 135 points the following season in Detroit. The Kings drafted Brown in the fourth round of the 1992 entry draft.

Brown played parts of three seasons, between 1998 and 2002, with the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs. In 1999-2000 he had 21 goals and 59 points in 54 games. After a season split between pro teams in Britain, Phoenix and Anchorage, he returned to the Bulldogs and scored 28 goals and 64 points in 70 games.

Spadafora said that experience brings Brown credibility and respect.

He and Brown are both talking to possible additional members of the coaching staff. While Brown will rely on his assistants for important input and communication, he’s clear on who makes the final decisions.

“I want everyone on the same page as myself,” he said.

Spadafora said the rest of the staff will be announced at the same time.

“The coaches have to be a team off the ice, as much as the players,” Aglor said.

Spadafora said about 10 players are expected to return from last year’s team, including veteran leaders Jamieson Buck, Carter Franks and Chris Cudek.