In the Stanley Cup playoff book of revelations, Curtis Brown was front and center, giving the Buffalo Sabres a reason to believe.Which was only fitting.
The 23-year-old from Unity, Sask., not only tied for the team lead (with Stu Barnes and Dixon Ward) in playoff goal-scoring this year with seven in 21 games, no player kept the faith throughout the playoffs like Brown.
But then, Brown knows a thing or two about faith.
"I find being a Christian gives me perspective," the third-year NHL center said. "I feel as though I know who I am. I feel more secure, both in the game of hockey and the game of life."
Brown isn't the first NHL player to find comfort and confidence in Christianity. Not by a long shot.
But there aren't many as young as Brown who have the assuredness to be so different than their peers.
He doesn't swear or drink and has every intention of remaining celibate until he's married. The hockey player of today unquestionably leads a healthier lifestyle than his predecessors, but there is still an emphasis in hockey-and-society in general, for that matter-on sex, alcohol and profanity.
"If Curtis has a bad shift or something happened," said Sabres' captain Mike Peca, "he'll come to the bench and you'll hear him say, 'Darn it!' We give him a hard time about it sometimes, but it's good-natured. He's a really well-liked kid."
Brown is amused by the interplay with his Buffalo teammates, but at the end of the day, he doesn't feel his righteousness prevents him from being one of the boys.
"We're a family and members of a family like to get on each other," Brown said.
"Sometimes you can't win for trying, but I try to get them as much as they get me."
Peca laughed as he recounted something he heard on the radio this season.
"People were calling in to say who is the sexiest Sabre," Peca said. "One girl called in and said, 'Curtis Brown.' The guy on the radio said, 'You know he's celibate, don't you?' The girl said, 'Oh yeah, I'm celibate too, but I would make an exception for (Brown).'"
It's true he grew up in the small, western Saskatchewan farm community of Unity (population 2,500), where he regularly attended church. But by age 15, he left home to play midget hockey in Moose Jaw, a four-and-a-half drive away. He played his junior hockey there, too. It was being out on his own, away from his family, where he deepened his commitment to Christ.
"I went to church at home, but when I got to junior, I saw and heard a lot of things," Brown said, "I realized this isn't what I'm all about."
Now, Brown belongs to Champions for Christ, a Christian organization that caters to individuals whose schedules don't always allow them to be in church on Sunday.
"I can go in on a Wednesday for Bible study and hook up with other guys, football players or businessmen or whatever, who are there for the same reason," Brown said.
While Brown is learning more about the Bible and himself, he's also getting more comfortable as an NHLer.
During this year's playoffs, he emerged as the team's second-line center-behind Peca-although he was often teamed with the Sabres' most dangerous offensive players, Miroslav Satan and Geoff Sanderson.
Clearly, he has offensice upside, though he has yet to flourish in the regular season in that role. He scored 51 goals and 104 points in junior the year after the Sabres took him in the second round of the 1994 entry draft.
His first pro season was split between Buffalo and Rochester of the American League. Two years ago, his first full season in the NHL, he had 12 goals and 24 points in 63 games. This year, it was 16 goals and 47 points in 78 contests. But he's always been a plus player (plus-23 this season).
"I feel to be successful in the NHL, I have to take care of business without the puck first," Brown said. "If I can do that, I'll get my chances to score. It's all a matter of confidence."
Sabres' coach Lindy Ruff has seen Brown's confidence grow by leaps and bounds. It really started to take off in th 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs.
"We were playing Philadelphia and (Peca)was hurt," Ruff said. "We played Curtis against (Eric) Lindros and he really did a job. Curtis' strength is that he's so smart, with and without the puck. His game has been taking off since then."
It's showed in this year's playoffs.
He had one goal and an assist in a four-game sweep of the Ottawa Senators. In the six-game series against the Boston Bruins, he scored three goals and five points against Toronto, playing a key role in dispatching the Maple Leafs in just five games.
After Game 1 of the Cup final, Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock paid the ultimate compliment to Brown's line-the Stars made sure their top defensive duo of Derian Hatcher and Richard Matvichuk was on the ice against Brown.
"He's a dangerous player who creates a lot of their offense," Hitchcock said of Brown.
by Bob McKenzie
taken from "The Hockey News" (July 2, 1999)
