The Seattle Kraken are going with a rookie as the broadcast partner for John Forslund, hiring JT Brown as a television analyst for 2021-22. The announcement comes alongside the official retirement for Brown, who spent the 2020-21 season in Sweden playing for IF Bjorkloven.
Brown, 30, suited up more than 400 times in the NHL, scoring 72 points in 365 career regular season games. Before that, he won the NCAA Championship as a member of the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and once represented the U.S. at the World Championship. Undrafted, he turned heads in the USHL and college ranks, before quickly stepping into the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He registered a career-high of 22 points in 2015-16.
Speaking to Forslund, Brown explained why he chose now to take the next step in his hockey career:
It’s definitely different and an exciting new chapter. Moving on from playing is a little bit of everything [in terms of emotion]. You think you will play until your legs fall off. But I had started thinking long-term-what was my next play?
Meeting the people with the team, seeing the city itself, it felt like a place we could call home. That solidified it for us. Seattle is amazing.
During the 2019-20 season, his last in North America, Brown scored nine goals and 22 points for the Iowa Wild of the AHL. A career defined by hard work and determination will now take him into the booth, where he’ll have to start all over again.
Great to see JT staying involved with hockey. He and Forslund are going to make a great broadcasting duo!
Finally, an announcing gig that doesn’t go to Joe Buck!