ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Cam Brown Inducted Into ECHL Hall Of Fame

Published on December 4, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators and the ECHL are proud to announce that former Gladiators captain and Left Winger Cam Brown has been named an inductee into the ECHL Hall of Fame for the class of 2010. Brown becomes the first Hall of Fame inductee from the Gladiators organization, and has been nominated and selected by the ECHL Hall of Fame Selection Committee in his first year of eligibility for the honor. Brown played three seasons with Gwinnett from 2003-2006, serving as captain for all three years before retiring following the 2005-06 season.

"I was surprised, really," said Brown about the new of his recent induction.

On November 6, 2004, Brown became the ECHL's all-time Penalty Minutes leader with 2,425 PIM's, and on January 1, 2005, he became the league's all-time Games Played leader with 789.

"We have had some great people come through this organization as players," said Gladiators President and General Manager Steve Chapman. "But, as a player, I don't think anyone has really taken the pride of being a Gladiator to heart the way that Brownie did."

Brown was no stranger to the game even before he came to the Gladiators in 2003. He had been involved in professional hockey since 1990, taking on roles as both a player and a coach - sometimes simultaneously.

He made his professional hockey playing debut with the Milwaukee Admirals of the International Hockey League in 1990 following three years of major juniors in the Western Hockey League. At the end of the 1990-91 season, Brown made his one and only appearance in the NHL, playing a single game with the Vancouver Canucks, recording no points and seven penalty minutes.

From there, Brown weaved his way around the North American professional hockey leagues, spending significant time in the ECHL, IHL, and AHL, and he even spent one year playing in the Czech Republic.

Though he was a skilled player, Brown was considered an effective fighter and "enforcer", consistently serving hundreds of minutes in penalty boxes each season.

In 1996, Brown settled in with the ECHL's Baton Rouge Kingfish, where he played for six years and served as a player/coach in the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons. Brown suspended his coaching career for the next three seasons and focused solely on playing before retiring as a player and taking on the head coaching role of the Kingfish in the 2002-03 season, finishing with a 20-43-9 record before retiring.

Brown was summoned out of retirement and back into the player ranks by Gladiators President and General Manager, Steve Chapman. He would play and serve as captain of the Gladiators for the next three years and guide the team as far as the Kelly Cup Finals in 2006 before ultimately ending his career at the of the postseason.

"Brownie was a team guy and an organization guy," said Chapman. "To me, he was the epitome of what a Captain should be. His locker was the first locker outside of Jeff's door - and that was for a reason. He knew that we were a first-class organization and he understood what we were trying to do. He was pretty quick to set someone who didn't know any better in his place and he set a great example."

Brown's number 44 jersey can be seen hanging from the rafters of The Arena at Gwinnett Center as the first inductee into the Gladiators Hall of Fame. In addition, Brown has been enshrined in the team trophy case on the main concourse of The Arena for display to countless fans, concert patrons, and special event attendees.

"He won't go down as the best player in the organization as far as skill and performance. He didn't score the most goals, he wasn't a pure playmaker, and God knows he wasn't the fastest skater on our ice," Chapman continued. "But in the category of heart - there has been none better to take the ice as a Gladiator."

Brown will officially be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in a ceremony that will take place on January 20, 2010 at the Hilton Ontario Airport, the official host hotel of the 2010 ECHL All-Star Game during the All-Star Break in Ontario, California.

The Gladiators are the proud AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets and play all home games at the 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth.

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