Hi, My Name Is ... Chris Brown

Every Tuesday, FanHouse discusses the top NHL prospects found in college hockey.

It's been a pretty good start to the season for Michigan. The Wolverines took care of business on the road last weekend, sweeping Lake Superior State (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) to open their Central Collegiate Hockey Association schedule.

Even though junior star Louie Caporusso (NHL rights: Ottawa) has just one goal in the Wolverines' first six games, Michigan has gotten early contributions from a highly-touted freshman.

Second-round draft pick Chris Brown (Phoenix) was expected to become a really good player for Michigan. It was likely not assumed that he would rip off four goals and six points in their first six games. Brown had two goals in a 6-3 win Saturday over Lake Superior State that finished off the weekend sweep.

Brown has been playing on a line with experienced forwards Matt Rust (Florida) and Carl Hagelin (N.Y. Rangers). Surely, working with a pair that has combined for over 100 points at Michigan has helped Brown make the transition to college. The former Dallas Junior Stars product came to Michigan from the U.S. National Team Development Program, which is based in Ann Arbor. He is one of seven NTDP products currently skating in the Maize and Blue.

While he's a good skater, Brown has to get some more muscle. He projects as more of a power forward as he gets older, and 195 pounds is not going to be enough for him to play that type of role. The Coyotes are likely to be patient with Brown, as they have done a good job letting young players develop in college before turning them pro.

Certainly, Brown is in the right program and with the right coach (legendary Red Berenson) to fulfill his potential and be a polished product for Phoenix to sign, even if it takes two or three years to make it happen.

Not only that, but Brown is likely to have opportunities to experience elite-level college hockey while he's at Michigan. The Wolverines are an NCAA Tournament regular, and this year's team is anxious to atone for a loss to underdog Air Force in last year's first round.

Other Players to Watch

Hopefully, this isn't the sign of a jinx on this column. Last week's subject, Denver goalie Marc Cheverie (Florida), was injured Friday in a collision with a Minnesota State (Mankato) player. Forward Justin Jokinen (Buffalo) was driving the net when he was tripped by Denver defenseman Patrick Wiercioch (Ottawa). Jokinen's skate caught Cheverie in the leg, and the ensuing cut required stitches at a local hospital. Cheverie could miss a couple weeks for the Pioneers, who won Friday and tied Saturday's series finale. There is no blood visible at any point in this video, which gives you a better idea of what happened.



Minnesota finally won games and scored goals this weekend, sweeping Alaska-Anchorage 5-1 and 4-1 at home. Captain Tony Lucia (San Jose) -- head coach Don Lucia's son -- scored three times and assisted on two other goals in the series. 2009 first-round pick Jordan Schroeder (Vancouver) had two assists in each game for his first four points of the season.

New Hampshire was whipped pretty badly in Madison over the weekend. The Wildcats were outshot 94-35 and outscored 10-2 in a non-conference sweep by Wisconsin. The Badgers have a couple well-known prospects on their blue line, including former first-round picks Ryan McDonagh (N.Y. Rangers) and Jake Gardiner (Anaheim). Junior Brendan Smith (Detroit) was the star against UNH, however, racking up four assists and playing very well in his own zone.

Boston University and UMass-Lowell split a home-and-home series in Hockey East. The defending national champions needed a Colby Cohen (Colorado) goal to steal Friday's game at Lowell in overtime. UML senior Ben Holmstrom (undrafted) scored a power-play goal in the second period that proved to be the game-winner in Boston on Saturday. BU sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky (St. Louis) had a good weekend, scoring twice on Friday and picking up an assist in Saturday's game.

Merrimack is off to a good start this season, thanks in large part to high-scoring forwards Chris Barton and Stephane Da Costa (both undrafted). The pair combined for two goals and seven points in a home-and-home split against Boston College over the weekend (each team won on their home ice). Barton leads the team with seven goals and ten points in eight games, while Da Costa -- who scored five goals in his Merrimack debut -- has eight points in four games. Merrimack, a longtime cellar dweller who hasn't had a winning season since joining Hockey East 20 years ago, sits at 5-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

Cornell stars Riley Nash (Edmonton) and Colin Greening (Ottawa) each had two points in the Big Red's season-opening 3-2 overtime win over Niagara Friday.