Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Newell Brown has an amiable manner belying the no-nonsense bearing of an experienced NHL assistant.



Widely credited as a key innovator of the now-ubiquitous neutral zone drop pass breakout — Brown credits Dave King, who showed him the drop pass during his stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets — Brown is entering his 23rd season as an NHL assistant and his sixth season with the Canucks franchise overall.



Brown runs the Canucks’ power play and is in charge of improving the performance of a unit that was tied for 21st in power-play conversion rate last season. Based on how Brown has outfitted Vancouver’s power-play personnel at special-teams-focused practices during lulls in preseason action, he’s taking an intriguing approach.



As the 2019-20 Canucks season approaches, it seems that Brown is giving the keys of the first unit to young players such as 19-year-old Quinn Hughes, 20-year-old Elias...