CAMP: Brown shares top line with McDavid to begin Camp 

EDMONTON, AB – The rekindling of ‘The Connor Connection’ appears to be well into its early stages at Oilers Training Camp.

Winger Connor Brown arrived in Edmonton this off-season with the familiarity of having played alongside Oilers captain Connor McDavid for two seasons as junior teammates, with the pair of forwards combining on the same line to produce 126 goals, 236 assists and 362 points with the OHL’s Erie Otters from 2012-14.

Flash forward to today, the first on-ice sessions of Training Camp, and the two former linemates look poised to renew that partnership and potentially begin racking up some more numbers together in the club’s top six to begin the 2023-24 NHL season.

The two Connors skated alongside one another with winger Evander Kane on the top line of Edmonton’s first group that took to the ice on Thursday for the first on-ice sessions of Training Camp at Rogers Place, working in the group comprising the large majority of NHL veterans who are part of the 57 players in attendance this week to begin Training Camp.

“It's nice to come in here, start on his line and get comfortable,” Brown said. “It's a long season. I'm sure I'll play on a ton of different lines, but we're all just trying to get the systems down as quickly as possible.”

“Lots has changed, but it's fun to be on his wing again and to be playing for the same team.”

Brown has enjoyed the extra runway of having been able to skate with McDavid and his new teammates for the past two weeks during Captain’s Skates, where he began rekindling his connection with No. 97 and adjusting some new team systems and structure.

The forward continues to work his way back to full fitness from an ACL tear that ended his season last October as a member of the Washington Capitals.

Despite being one of the newest Oilers this season, Brown comes in as one of the most-tenured players when it comes to understanding the intricacies that come with playing alongside McDavid – the game’s undisputed best player who ran away with the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award last season with an incredible 64 goals and 89 assists in all 82 games for Edmonton in ’22-23.

“He creates a lot of room with his speed and he draws a lot of guys to him, so it's a lot about finding soft ice, creating speed and timing. A lot of things go into it,” Brown said. “He's a fun guy to play with even throughout these scrimmages and stuff. It’s just fun to be out there with him.

Brown donned the ‘C’ for the Erie Otters over their two OHL seasons together from 2012-14, making him one of the few players to have been McDavid’s captain for any amount of time when you consider that McDavid's been the leader of his teams for the large majority of his junior and professional career.

The two forwards helped turn a 19-win season for Erie in 2012-13 into a 52-victory campaign the next year, as Brown finished with an impressive 128 points (45G, 83A) in 68 games. McDavid was limited to 56 games, but still concluded his second OHL season with 99 points while playing alongside his now-Oilers teammate.

McDavid assumed the Otters’ captaincy after Brown graduated from the OHL in 2014 and began his professional career with the Toronto Marlies the following year after being selected in the sixth round, 156^th overall by the Maple Leafs at the 2012 NHL Draft.

A lot of the characteristics that Brown first observed in McDavid early on in their careers are still recognizable he says, but the level to which he operates now as the de-facto pace-setter of the NHL is simply out of this world in his honest assessment.

“I think obviously, from the time when I played with him when he was 17 years old until now, it’s a world of difference,” he said. “His skill level, the pace he does everything at and just his overall ability has skyrocketed.”

Brown has observed the biggest changes to his own game over that span come on the mental side, as he's evolved from more of a top-line scorer in the OHL to a top-to-middle six forward who can excel on both sides of the puck and contribute on the penalty kill.

Additionally, Brown’s recent knee injury required a lot of mental resolve for him to recover correctly and give himself the opportunity to return to action this season with an Oilers side that’s prepared to give everything to achieve their Stanley Cup aspirations.

“For me, I feel like I'm a lot smarter as I got older in the league,” he said. “I feel that's been an asset of mine is knowing where to be and being able to execute team play and stuff like that, so I'm excited to see where I fit here.”

Brown senses his strength and conditioning approaching game-ready status with each passing day as Training Camp begins to hit high gear in Edmonton, but remains unsure of how many pre-season games he’ll suit up for before the start of the regular season.

What’s most important, to both him and the Oilers medical staff, is that he continues to stack good days on top of good days.

“We don't really have a plan as to when I'm getting in yet,” he said. “I told them that I'm ready to go. They’ve got a world-class medical staff here and so I'm trusting their lead when it comes to the return of the play stuff, but I feel good.”

“I just want to get better and better as the year goes on. I feel good and I'm excited to get going. I'm just excited to be back in the game and I feel grateful to be able to be with this club and to be playing again, so it's been a while.

“For me, my goal is just to get better and better.”