Brown, 23, skated in 51 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League last season, recording 10 goals and 28 points to go along with 27 penalty minutes. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound forward ranked ninth on the Crunch for points and was 10th for goals. He also skated in 18 Calder Cup playoff games with Syracuse, registering four goals and nine points to go along with 18 penalty minutes.

Brown made his NHL debut with the Lightning on March 31, 2012 against the Winnipeg Jets at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. He recorded his first NHL point (assist) on April 7 at Winnipeg. Brown also skated in six games for the United States at the 2012 World Championships held in Finland and Sweden.

The High Point, North Carolina native skated in 81 career games with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs during the previous two seasons, collecting 40 goals and 84 points to go along with 109 penalty minutes. In 2011, Brown was a member of the Bulldogs team that captured the NCAA Frozen Four Championship, being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.

Brown was originally signed by the Lightning as a free agent on March 28, 2012.