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).