‘Having a great run there definitely helped’

Garrett Brown is ready for the next exam, even if this one won’t take place in the classroom.

Fresh off helping the University of Denver Pioneers capture an NCAA record-setting 11th Frozen Four national championship, Brown recently inked an entry-level contract with the Winnipeg Jets that kicks in next season.

In the meantime, he’s joined the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League on an amateur tryout offer for the Calder Cup playoff run, which resumes on Friday at Canada Life Centre against the Milwaukee Admirals.

Brown could have considered going back to Denver for his fourth and final season of eligibility to chase another championship, but he felt ready to tackle this next challenge.

How did he know the time was right?

“You can always say one decision is better than the other, but I think you need to make a decision and then you need to make that the right decision,” said Brown. “That is the mindset I am going in with. I had three unbelievable years at Denver and I was super happy with the staff and everybody that helped me there and I think that was just my time to step away.”

The Moose dropped the series opener 4-1 on Wednesday and since this is a best-of-three series, they’re facing elimination against the primary affiliate of the Nashville Predators.

Since the Moose had an optional workout on Thursday, it’s unclear if Brown will be making his pro debut in Game 2, especially since Elias Salomonsson is on track to be in the lineup after coming out of concussion protocol.

Bringing Brown into the fold is a win for a Jets organization that needs to integrate some additional homegrown talent to the roster during the next several seasons.

Chosen in the fourth round (99th overall) in the 2022 draft, one of the players he’s most often compared to in the Jets organization is Dylan Samberg.

As a right-handed shooting defenceman, Brown is someone that brings size (at six-foot-three and 195 pounds) and mobility, adding depth to a position that needs to be bolstered.

Although he’s never put up eye-popping numbers, Brown is a strong puck mover with some offensive upside and that was on display when he chipped in a pair of assists in the 2-1 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers in the Frozen Four final.

“When I get the puck, I want to make something happen,” said Brown, who had two goals and 14 points in 34 games for the Pioneers this season. “I’m looking to find guys and I’m looking to move my feet. I would say I’m opportunistic, in that I like to take what the game will give me. That’s just how I try to approach the game.”

Brown, 22, was on the roster for two championship runs with the Pioneers, though a knee injury kept him out of action for a good chunk of his freshman season, when he was limited to only eight games.

During his three seasons, Brown got a first-hand look at how Pioneers head coach David Carle has become someone several NHL organizations are trying to convince to make the jump to the professional ranks.

“He’s unbelievable,” said Brown. “Obviously, it’s no secret. You see the success that he’s having at the University of Denver. You have to attribute so much of that to him. His coaching style, his attitude, the players he brings in, the program that he’s built, it’s set up to have success in every way.”

The son of longtime NHLer Curtis Brown, who has Prairie roots, hails from Unity, Sask., and appeared in 736 NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks.

Garrett was born in Buffalo, N.Y., when his dad was playing there, but he spent a good chunk of his formative years in northern California.

“I grew up playing Jr. Sharks. We had never been in a rush,” said Brown, whose development path also included two seasons in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers and Waterloo Black Hawks before arriving at the University of Denver. “It is all about the process in my family’s eyes and in my eyes and just being able to take your time and hone in on all those other details, and when you finally get to this level of hockey I think it can give you a real advantage.

“Growing up, I played all of the different sports. My dad played and I’ve got a couple of brothers who play as well. As I just kept getting older, I kind of narrowed it down to hockey. It was the one (sport) that I just loved the most. I was at the rink all the time and I’m so happy to have the game.”

And the Jets are happy to have Brown, who could have become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15 of 2027 if he returned to school and wanted to have control of which organization he started his pro career with once he was done with university.

That wasn’t a path Brown cared to go down in the future.

His future — and present — is with the Jets.

“They were great during this whole experience. They have been nothing but kind and welcoming, answering questions with full honesty,” said Brown. “Nothing but supportive and awesome and I am super excited to be here.

“There’s a bunch of different factors. But winning the national championship and having a great run there definitely helped. We’ve been in talks for a while now and this was the plan maybe even just a little bit before that. I was just kind of figuring out what I wanted to do. After the tournament and everything we went through, it felt right.”

Earlier this week, Moose head coach Mark Morrison talked about the positive first impression Brown has made, but acknowledged he would need some additional time before he was ready to offer much more in terms of an evaluation.

“The first impression is that he’s got some size to him, he’s got some height to him and a longer reach,” said Morrison.

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