Josh Brown (ice hockey)

Joshua Brown (born January 21, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 152nd overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2013 NHL entry draft. Before joining Edmonton, Brown played for the Panthers, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and the Arizona Coyotes.

Junior
Brown played as a youth locally in his hometown of London, Ontario at the midget level with the London Jr. Knights before he was selected by the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in the third round, 44th overall in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection.

As a 16 year old in 2010–11, he played in the Ontario Junior Hockey League with the Whitby Fury. He began his four-year major junior career with the Generals in the OHL in 2011–12. Using his large frame as a physical, defensive defenceman, Brown remained with the Generals throughout his junior career, captaining the club for two seasons and capturing the Memorial Cup in his final junior season in 2014–15.

Professional
Selected by the Panthers in the 2013 NHL entry draft in the sixth round, 152nd overall, Brown was later signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with Florida on April 10, 2015. In his first professional season, Brown split the 2015–16 season, between the Panthers American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates, and the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL. He appeared in 54 games with the Monarchs, totaling 12 points, and appearing in a first-round playoff series.

In his first full campaign in the AHL, Brown spent the 2016–17 season with the Panthers' new affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. In the Thunderbirds' inaugural season, he notched a career best 3 goals and 13 points from the blueline in 72 games. He followed that up the next season with one goal and ten points in 66 games with Springfield.

As an impending restricted free agent, Brown agreed to a two-year, two-way contract extension to remain within the Panthers organization on May 31, 2018. In the 2018–19 season, Brown returned to the Thunderbirds for his third year with the club. After adding three goals in 19 games, Brown received his first call-up to the NHL by the Panthers on January 18, 2019. Recalled due to an injury to fellow defenceman, MacKenzie Weegar, and with the Panthers needing a physical presence, Brown made his NHL debut in a 3–1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, on January 19.

In his first full season with the Panthers in 2019–20, Brown appeared in a career high 56 games posting three goals and 8 points. In need of a new contract Brown was traded in the following off-season by the Panthers to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2020 fourth-round draft pick on October 2, 2020. As a restricted free agent, Brown was then signed a two-year, $2.4 million contract with the Senators on October 5. During the 2021–22 season, Brown was placed in COVID-19 protocol on November 10, 2021, and returned on November 20. On November 26, Brown suffered an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup until January 13, 2022.

On March 21, 2022, Brown was traded by the Senators, along with a 2022 conditional seventh-round selection, to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Zachary Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round draft pick. He finished the 2021–22 season with a combined six points in 52 games played with the Senators and Bruins.

On July 13, 2022, having left the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent, Brown was signed to a two-year, $2.55 million contract with the Arizona Coyotes. In his first season with the Coyotes, Brown was a mainstay on their blueline. In his second season with the Coyotes, Brown was in and out of the lineup, as the team's defensive depth improved. This pushed Brown down the depth chart into the seventh defenceman position and often led to be scratched. He appeared in only 51 games with the Coyotes in the 2023–24 season, scoring three goals and ten points.

Brown became an unrestricted free agent again at the end of his Coyotes contract. On July 1, 2024, he signed a three-year, $3 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.