As he enters his fifth year since being drafted 11th overall in 2016, Brown used the extra time off due to the Covid-19 pandemic to better himself.
"It was the most dedicated summer I had," he said. "Nine months is a long time to be off. I got healthy, worked on everything in my game and on the things I was lacking to play in the NHL.
"I feel confident I've excelled in those areas."
Brown knows it's time to demonstrate it. He's played in 29 career NHL games with the Sens, including his first career goal that he scored on Henrik Lundqvist. However, he's spent the majority of his professional career thus far with the AHL's Belleville Senators, where he has played at a nearly point-per-game pace with 70 (21 goals) in 81 contests.
The 22-year-old is in a battle though for a spot in the team's line-up. The centre position is deep with Brown, Artem Anisimov, Josh Norris, Chris Tierney and Colin White up the middle.
Then add in the recently acquired Cedric Paquette and Derek Stepan and there's a lot of competition for just four spots in the line-up.
"We have a lot of good players here this year and a lot of young guys fighting for ice time," Brown said. "We're pushing each other to be a winning team this year."
But the competition is good for everyone.
"I think you've got to let them play for their spots," head coach D.J. Smith said. "The young guys are playing well and playing hard. Unfortunately, there's only so many spots and we're going to have to make some hard decisions, but guys are doing a good job making it hard on us."
Brown, a Memorial Cup champion in 2017 with Windsor, says he's mentally in a good place and admits he's done a lot of growing over the summer as a person and a player. And while the competition is tough, Brown is committed to permanently securing his spot as an everyday NHL player.
"All I can do right now is be hungry every day, push myself and win a spot. I hope I'm a part of it and that we can work together to bring this team to the playoffs."
