Tannis Brown
Prospects, WHL Bantam Draft

Cougars prospect won’t be far from home when time comes for WHL debut

Written by Catherine Garrett on

 

From Fort St. John to Delta and eventually to Prince George.

Forward Caden Brown was the second selection second by the Cougars at 17th overall in this year’s WHL Bantam Draft.

Brown was selected from the Delta Hockey Academy’s (DHA) Bantam Prep Green team, where he served as captain, tallying 65 points in 30 games.

Offseason

It’s been six months since the draft, so Brown says he’s started to get used to the idea of becoming a Cougar.

“For me, I was on the ice a few times a week, and in the gym a few times a week as well,” said Brown.

“That was after everything had opened up, obviously.”

Before that, Brown mainly stuck to training at home during the pandemic. When restrictions began to lift, Brown and his teammates had to train in smaller groups.

“You had to sanitize everything you touched,” he explained.

“It was different, almost everywhere.”

What fans can expect

Brown is ready for the challenge of becoming a WHL player, but until that day comes he says he has a couple of things to work on.

The biggest thing he needs to focus on is skating in his opinion, so he’s been working on that as much as he can.

“I have a high compete level, for every shift. I like to score, I like to hit, and think I am a good overall player. I like to be a leader too,” he commented.

Draft day

“It was a relief. All the nervousness went away,” recalls Brown, upon hearing his name get called.

Brown grew up in Fort St. John, five hours northwest of Prince George, before moving to Delta to play Bantam hockey.

It was an unusual draft day for each prospective WHL’er hoping to get their name called, but he and his family made the most of it.

He’s happy he won’t be too far from home when the time comes to make his debut.

“We hooked it up to the television, and me and my family were sitting in the living room watching,” he said.

“Hearing my name get called by Prince George was pretty special, I have a lot of family up here.”

Role models

Every player has a source of inspiration that came before them, and the 2005-born forward is no exception.

Brayden Schenn of St. Louis and Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk are the first two that come to mind for the Northern BC product.

Family ties

Caden Brown isn’t the only person in his family to play for the Cougars.

His father, Ryan Brown, played four seasons in the ‘Dub’ with three teams, including the Cougars for part of the 1994-95 season.

Ryan was eventually drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1993.

Next steps

Before Brown plays his first game in the Northern Capital, he will have to wait about a year.

However, he hopes to continue his tradition of wearing the number 8.