Exclusive: Dave Brown Q&A

Exclusive: Dave Brown Q&A · 07-14-2009, 11:17 AM

Dave Brown autolinker.com autolinking image

Right Wing
Born Oct 12 1962 -- Saskatoon, SASK
Height 6.05 -- Weight 210 -- Shoots R
Stats - According to hockeydb
729 NHL GP
187 NHL FIGHTS
1789 PIM

Dave Brown is regarded as one of the toughest and best NHL enforcers ever to lace up the skates. During his 15 year NHL career, he tallied up a total of 1789 penalty minutes, while scoring 45 goals in 729 NHL games played.

The rugged forward played nearly five full years in Philly beginning in 1984-85. His brawn fit in well with the club's close-checking style. Brown helped the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup finals in 1985 and 1987 before spending parts of three years with the Edmonton Oilers.

It was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to interview Dave. I would like to thank him for taking the time. I also would like to thank the Flyers PR department, and to the members here at NHLFightClub.com for their contributions.

Quote:

Can you tell us about what it was like playing for the Saskatoon Blades? You had a pretty tough team. Can you tell us about some of the other tough guys on that team like Leroy Gorski, Bruce Gordon, Daryl Stanley, and Don Clarke?

I never expected to play hockey, even at that level. I remember that year the Regina Pats set the record for the most penalty minutes by a team ever which still stands today. We played them 16 times. So we constantly fought. All of these guys were tough. Leroy Gorski was pretty big, but he was crude. He wasn’t shy in using his stick. Bruce Gordon and Daryl Stanley were tough. Don Clarke was a stay at home defenseman. We had a couple of other tough guys on the team. Bruce Eakin was tough. He set the assist record that year.

During your two seasons in the AHL, who were the best fighters in the AHL at the time?

That was so long ago. Val James autolinker.com autolinking image

and Bennet Wolf were 2 very tough guys. I fought both of those guys, and they were older at the time. Val James had 6 years on me, while I believe Wolf was older than that. I remember one night when I fought Wolf. I had him strung out and I was punching him. He bull-rushed me and knocked my helmet off. I fell and hit my head on the ice. My legs were like spaghetti when I was getting off the ice.

What do you think of Val James and Bennet Wolf? I believe you credited James with being "the toughest guy you ever fought?”

Yeah, after a few fights with him, he was.

What was it like playing your first NHL game?

It was an unbelievable feeling. I never thought I would get there. It was a great accomplishment. It was very rewarding and a lot of fun.

Upon arriving in the NHL, were there any players you looked up to on that Flyers team?

During the cup winning years, I looked up to players like Schultz and Ed Van Impe autolinker.com autolinking image

. They were local guys (Saskatoon). I liked playing their style of game. They were a lot of guys from that area. Don Saleski autolinker.com autolinking image

was from Regina.

You scored your first goal on Feb 25, 1984 against the Whalers. Do you recall the details?

I don’t recall the details. I know we lost the game 9-7. It was the 3rd game I played.

Do you think the time you devoted to working on your skating (summer of 1984) was a pivotal point in your career in helping you become a better overall player?

I think my skating improved more when I was traded to Edmonton. They had a faster skating team. I worked on my skating endlessly.

You played on a Flyer team in 84'-85' which consisted of (at one time) Glen Cochrane, Ed Hospodar, Tim Kerr, Rick Tocchet, Daryl Stanley, and even Rich and Ron Sutter. This team was unbelievable from an intimidation standpoint. At one point you and Daryl Stanley made up the "PHILLY BRUISE BROTHERS". What was it like to play with such great guys?

All of the other teams had tough guys also. So, I didn’t see us as any different as them. You needed toughness to play in those days. I didn’t see us being any different than any other team.

Can you describe a little bit about Behn Wilson and his reputation as a tough guy in the mid-80's?

I only played one game with Ben. He was another well-respected toughguy.

Can you describe the fight you had with Chris Nilan during the pre-game brawl of game 6 in the '87 playoffs? You came out of the locker room with no jersey on and you and Nilan were involved in a marathon bout?

All I remember that it was a long-drawn out fight. We beat Montreal to go on to the final series.

When Jay Miller first got called up he took you on in his first NHL fight. This touched off a heated rivalry between you two. Can you describe Miller as a fighter and your great series of fights with him?

Jay was another real tough guy. There were a lot of tough guys from that era. When we played Boston, he was the guy I had to fight. He was well respected.

Did you and Nick Fotiu ever come close to fighting? What are your thoughts on Fotiu -the fighter and his reputation as a tough guy?

We never fought. We played together for a season.

For the second fight against Probert, you seemed to get the early advantage in a fight that turned out to be one of the biggest and most decisive fights the NHL has ever seen. Was there any pregame hype and post game fallout and did it affect you?

No, there wasn’t any hype. I think he fought Jeff Beukeboom autolinker.com autolinking image

earlier in the game. After that, I fought him. I don’t remember details about the fight.

What's your take about Gillies and Nystrom and your feelings toward both as players and fighters?

They were both respected tough guys who could play. There was a lot of toughness in the Islander organization. I never fought Nystrom. My fight with Gillies was near the end of my career. I wrestled him one night, and that was it.

You played 2 full years in Edmonton. During your time there you took on a who's who of tough guys in the NHL. You also seemed to fight these guys very early in their careers. Do you think this had more to do with them trying to prove themselves or of you trying to impress upon them who was better right away?

It had more to do with them trying to prove themselves. I remember fighting Jim McKenzie autolinker.com autolinking image

(Hartford) when he played his first game against us. I remember Gino Odjick was young.

You played most of your career in the Eastern Conference as well as some years in West. What were the major differences between the conferences during that time?

The West was known to be more wide open offensively. I think it may still be. The East was more of a clamped-down defensive style of game.

What it was like to win the Stanley Cup with the Oilers? How did you spend your day with the cup?

The pinnacle is to win the Cup. There isn’t any else like winning it. I didn’t spend any time with the cup. Back then, they didn’t shuttle it around like they do now.

During your career you fought Tie Domi a number of times. You seemed to do very well against him - in fact you seemed to handle him much easier than anyone else could. Did you have a specific strategy for Domi?

No strategy. I don’t recall any of the fights being one-sided. Tie was always a well-respected tough guy. I always liked him.

You took a hard shot from Rob Ray in a '93 fight. Who hit you the hardest during your career?

Billy Huard hit me the hardest during night game in Ottawa. (Sept 27, 1994) It was a preseason game, and our team was real lethargic, including me! I pushed him into a fight and he hit me with a left, cutting me for about 8 stitches. He hit me hard. I was dazed, but I stayed on my feet. During the rest of that fight, I just tied him up. After that, I had to go after him again. He wasn’t pushing it. It was my fault. I should have just let it go. I liked and respected Bill Huard autolinker.com autolinking image

.

I noticed that you seemed to begin losing your jersey more in fights during your second stint with Philly. Was this something you did by design? Was it becoming a favored tactic?

No. There were a lot of guys who were getting out of their jerseys during that time. It was so guys couldn’t hold on to you. I didn’t do it a lot.

As a Flyer, what season do you believe is your most memorable?

1987, during the finals when we played against Edmonton. The series went 7 games.

When you look back on your career, what players or coaches helped you the most?

Mike Keenan and Glen Sather.

What are your thoughts on fighting and the general rules in the game today, and the Instigator rule?

I think they should abolish the Instigator Rule. That will make the game revert back to like it was before, so there is more physical play than there is now.