NHL ENTRY DRAFT

June 21, 1997

Mike Brown

I was really relieved that I got a good organization and I'm really happy to be a part of it.

Not really. Not yet. It would be one year, two years. It's hard to say.

Just putting weight on and making myself stronger and doing a lot of skating and exercising and shooting basic fundmentals.

A big guy that can skate, play, score. I can pretty much play any game available.

I worked on my skating a lot. I think that helped a lot. That's probably why I went where I did this year.

Excellent. It is a great organization from what I heard and great people that I talked to and it's young. I'm really looking for to being down there in Florida.

Yeah. It's going to be a little warmer. I'm going to have to bring my sun screen.

I'm definitely not unhappy. Especially like a team like Florida that picked me 20th.

I kind of anticipated it. Because Paul said if I was around and certain players were gone, I would be their man and I was really happy when they called my name.

Definitely a confidence booster when a beat Joe in a lap around the ice because he is the No. 1 ranked player and an excellent skater and it really boosted my confidence.

Well, I started off playing lots and scoring lots and doing everything right and I finished off pretty much in the last half of the year. It was frustrating, but you have to live through it and I think it will make me a better person after dealing with the diversity.

Definitely. A team like Florida and they were right around my spot so I was really happy and relieved when they called my name

Just congratulation. Welcome a board and this is the first day of the rest of your life.

It's hard to say. All I can do is go in training and get myself in the best condition and getting all my skills to go right and it's up to the management.

They are going to get a power Forward that can hit and fight and score goals and be a real leader when he's on the ice and that's pretty much it.

Yeah, I take it upon myself since I started playing hockey which involved fighting and to be the enforcer, the guy that would look after his guys and you work hard on it and it's definitely given me another dimension and another insight.

I was pretty tall growing up. I was over about 6'4 a couple of -- three years ago and now I'm just sort of inching up a bit, but when I was growing up, I was always the biggest kid in the class and the biggest kid on the team. That sort of thing.

Not really. I like it and I like being thought of the guy that would look after the rest of the guys on the bench and the guy that will always be there for his teammates.

I was always kind of skinny and in the last couple of years, I have been putting on weight and hopefully I will play around 220 as my top weight.

It was an English 12 diploma exam. I had to get it couriered out here so I can write it on time and it's a final and I have to have a proctor and everything else look over me.

My best subject this year is French 12. That was my best subject because I was in French before and it was easier when I went back and took it again this year.

It doesn't really matter. I want to play hockey. Whatever comes about, comes about and I'll take it.

Definitely. I think that's a great developmental league and it's done well for me I think.

Definitely. It opened my eyes to how hard you have to work to be a pro and I learned a lot from them and just being around them. They are really class individuals and being a young kid, you have your eyes open around pro athletes and you learn how to handle yourself.

It was a difficult last half of the season, but it was out of my control. I just did what I could and worked hard in practice and was ready when the coach did call my name to go out on the ice.

Yeah, but five or six minutes isn't that much, but you can still do a lot with that ice time.

Well, I talk to them quite a bit and just to figure out what happened and I got answers about pretty much everything, but -- and I still didn't play. So, there were some communication problems I think.

Well, I played against Mike O'Grady (ph). We have been playing against each other for the last two years and I think that's about it.

No. We haven't tangled yet.

Well, it came up and I guess we'll see what happens at camp.