Boston University has a dozen NHL draft picks on its roster. But the top scorer isn’t one of them.
Leading the Terriers in points is senior winger Matt Brown – undrafted, undersized but not underappreciated — with a 7-10-17 line in 12 games. Only two players in Hockey East have put up more points.
Brown’s stats so far this year are even more impressive when you consider that he finished last season with exactly the same totals, but in 24 games.
“He drives our offense with his speed,” says first-year head coach Jay Pandolfo, whose team is sixth in the Pairwise Rankings with an 8-4 record heading into a two-game set against New Hampshire this weekend.
“I’m sure there’s (NHL) teams watching him. He’s producing every night. He’s a guy that’s very good with offensive players, so it’s going to help if he plays with those players because he can finish, he’s got speed, he’s on the puck. That’s his game,” said Pandolfo.
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The Terriers coaching staff put the left-shooting Brown at right wing with senior center Wilmer Skoog and freshman left wing Jeremy Wilmer a couple of weeks ago.
“I like it a lot. Skoog is really good at puck protecting and Wilmer is really smart and can make good plays. It makes it easy to play with them,” Brown said.
He scored the game-winner and added two assists in a win over Notre Dame last Wednesday and followed that up with a goal and an assist in an exhibition game against the National Team Development Program 18s on Saturday.
Asked to describe himself as a player, he replied, “I’d say I’m a fast player who works hard. I’ve got a pretty good touch around the net. I’ve had some good success this year, but I’ve had a lot of linemates that have set me up.”
It’s been a positive start for the Terriers, who were picked for second place in the preseason Hockey East coaches poll.
They showed a lot of character at Michigan in mid-October, beating the Wolverines, 3-2, a couple of nights after nearly being run out of Yost Arena, 9-2. They outscored UMass, 12-3, in a two-game sweep on Nov. 11-12.
“I think there are a few games we’ve had that we probably want back, games where we either weren’t there for the beginning or just made a few mistakes that cost us points,” said Brown. “Pretty much every game we’ve played so far has been against a ranked team, so we can’t really complain about where we’re at right now.”
The Terriers are playing a more detail-oriented game than in recent years. That reflects the way that Pandolfo, a two-time Stanley Cup champ with the New Jersey Devils, played during his 899-game NHL career.
“The details are being harped on more. I think we’ve had more of an emphasis on competing and showing up every day this year,” Brown said.
Since his freshman year in Hockey East with UMass-Lowell in 2019-20, when he scored 24 points in 33 games, Brown has been known for his offensive game.
After last season, Brown’s first at BU after transferring, Pandolfo talked to him about improving his defensive play. The results in the early going have been positive.
“He’s a lot better defensively. He’s taken ownership of playing well in the defensive zone first before trying to go on offense. That’s something he’s done a really good job with,” said Pandolfo.
Brown agrees. “I think it’s gone really well. We’ve done a lot of video, last year to this year. Stick placement, body position and those types of things,” he said.
“I think that it’s honestly helped me generate a lot of offense this year because we’ve been able to get the puck back quicker and get in transition quicker.”
Brown, a native of New Jersey, played a full four years of high school hockey.
“My first two years I played at Don Bosco Prep and then my last two years I played at Tenafly, which is a public school my mom taught at. I played that on the side while I was playing travel (with the New Jersey Rockets),” he said.
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“When I was at Tenafly I was playing defense because our town didn’t have any defensemen. It was a lot of fun being able to play with your classmates. It was a great time.”
He committed to Lowell in 2017 while skating in the Eastern Hockey League for the New Jersey Rockets. He’d go on to play for Odessa of the NAHL and Dubuque of the USHL before enrolling at Lowell as a 20-year-old freshman.
“I was talking to a few schools, but I think the only other Hockey East school I was talking to at the time was Northeastern,” he said.
Offensive players with off-the-charts skill are Brown’s favorites.
“When I was growing up I always used to watch Martin St. Louis. I always watched the undersized guys. I love watching (Sidney) Crosby. He’s one of the best to ever do it and I don’t think that can really be argued. I do watch a lot of his highlights. (Patrick) Kane’s another one, he’s really fun to watch. (Nikita) Kucherov, too. He’s been unbelievable,” he said.
Brown, who is now 5-foot-9 and a solid 190 pounds, has never seen his size as an issue.
“I’ve always been undersized. I remember 14U year I was 4-9 and 90 pounds. I was probably one of the smallest high school freshmen you could find. I always tried to make up for it in the gym,” he said.
Brown could have gone to an NHL development camp over the summer but opted to focus on his workout regimen and the coming season at BU.
“I just wanted to stay home and train. I went to (camp) with the Bruins (in 2019) and it was fun and a good experience, but my thought this summer was to stay where I was, keep a low profile and work all summer,” he said.
That work is paying off now for Brown and the Terriers.
