Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Irish goaltender David Brown, winner of the Bill Beagan Trophy as the CCHA Tournament MVP, signed his first pro contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 29.

Irish goaltender becomes second Irish player to sign with the Pens this summer.

July 10, 2007

Pittsburgh, Pa. - Former Notre Dame goaltender David Brown (Stoney Creek, Ont.) signed an NHL Entry Level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on June 29th according to Executive Vice-President and General Manager Ray Shero. Brown becomes the second former Notre Dame player signed by Pittsburgh this summer as the Penguins also inked former forward Tim Wallace `06 on May 30.

Brown, an eighth-round choice of the Penguins in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, attended Pittsburgh's rookie camp from June 26 to July 1 as he began preparations for the 2007-08 season where he will most likely begin his career with the Penguins' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Brown's signing caps the best season ever for the Irish goaltender. On the ice, he finished the year with a 30-6-3 overall record to go with a 1.58 goals-against average, a .931 save percentage and six shutouts while helping Notre Dame to its first-ever CCHA regular-season and playoff championships. The Irish were 32-7-3 on the year and 21-4-3 in CCHA play, both school records for wins.

He led the nation in wins (30) and goals-against average (1.58) while his save percentage and shutouts tied him for second in both categories nationally. His numbers garnered him first team RBK Hockey All-American honors, making him the first Notre Dame All-American since 1999.

One of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate hockey player, Brown was the winner of the first-ever Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for college hockey. The award recognizes the top student-athlete in the sport who uses all four years of his collegiate eligibility.

Along the way to the prestigious national awards, Brown was named his team's most valuable player, was a first team all-CCHA selection, the CCHA goaltender of the year and the league's player of the year. In the post season, the Stoney Creek, Ont., native was selected to the CCHA all-tournament team and was the tournament's most valuable player.

Academically, Brown was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District Team for District V in voting done by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). A three-time Dean's List selection at Notre Dame, Brown had a 3.25 cumulative grade-point average and graduated with a degree in management consulting from the Mendoza College of Business.

During the 2006-07 campaign, he set Notre Dame single-season marks for wins (30), goals-against average (1.58), save percentage (.931), shutouts (6) and minutes played (2,389:40). For his career, Brown holds Notre Dame records for goals-against average (2.32), save percentage (.916) and shutouts (12). He finished second all-time in wins (55), was third in minutes played (6,326:14) and sixth in saves (2,662).