Dubuque Fighting Saints Hire New Head Coach for 2021-2022 Season
The Dubuque Fighting Saints have announced that Greg Brown has been named head coach of the team, and has signed a multi-year contract. Brown will be the fifth head coach in the organization’s Tier-I history after succeeding Oliver David in the role, and he will look to continue the prestigious run that the team has put forth in the eleven seasons since its reinstatement into the USHL in 2010.
Brown, 53, most recently served as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers for the past three seasons. He coached superstar players such as Henrik Lundqvist, Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafrenière, and top-tier USHL products such as Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and KâAndre Miller. He helped guide the Rangers in the midst of an organizational rebuild, and develop its younger core to higher heights.
The bulk of Browns coaching career came with his alma mater, Boston College. He served as an assistant coach for eight seasons, and was promoted to associate head coach for another six seasons, all under legendary head coach Jerry York. With the Eagles, he coached Fighting Saints alumni Johnny Gaudreau, Mike Matheson, Teddy Doherty and J.D. Dudek, among many other players who saw their careers blossom to the professional level.
Gregs hockey resume speaks for itself, but any concerns with respect to the transition from NCAA and the NHL to junior hockey were alleviated when he went through the list of 18, 19 and 20 year olds that he has coached and developed over the years..
A BC legend both as a coach and a player, he helped the Eagles win seven Hockey East titles, win seven Hockey East regular season championships, appear in the NCAA tournament 12 times, appear in the Frozen Four seven times, appear the NCAA national championship game five times, and win three NCAA national championships (2008, 2010, 2012) while behind the bench for 14 seasons.
Brown is a Boston College legend and one of the best defensemen to ever play at the Heights. Before graduating in 1990 with two Hockey East championships under his belt, he was named a two-time All-American (1989, 1990), a two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist, and a two-time All-New England selection. He is only one of three players in Hockey East history to be the conferences Player of the Year twice. In 1994, he was one of four defensemen to be named Hockey East All-Decade. Those accomplishments netted him Boston Colleges Varsity Club Hall of Fame honors in 2004.
The Massachusetts native enjoyed a long and fruitful professional career that spanned 13 seasons. He played 94 games across four seasons for the Buffalo Sabres, the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets. Other pro stops included the Rochester Americans of the AHL, and the San Diego Gulls and Cleveland Lumberjacks of the now-defunct IHL.
Brown spent the final eight seasons of his pro career overseas, playing for pro teams in Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. He won an Austrian League championship with VEU Feldkirch in 1997, and the Spengler Cup in 2000.