Connor Brown did more than create a memorable afternoon Sunday when he potted two goals in his comeback from a two-month injury layoff for the AHL’s Marlies in their 7-1 steamroller of a win over the Utica Comets.

With all the fan adulation at the Ricoh Coliseum after the game, the chats and the selfies, Brown seemed like he was also creating something of a love affair with local hockey fans.

While the 22-year-old Toronto native may not be aware of it, there’s plenty of room for a new local hockey hero here in Toronto. Fans want to have a favourite player to cheer on but haven’t had a lasting opportunity since the sun set on the popular players who laced up during the Mats Sundin era.

So can Brown rekindle that kind of interest and emotion?

“He does a lot for our team,” Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said, after his club improved to 34-8-2. “But you are never sure what you’ll get from a player first game back from an injury. We all know how hard Connor worked while he was injured, and he’s always been very popular in our room. He worked hard to get back, and it all shows what he means to our group.”

Brown was happy to simply carve out a good game in front of 6,756 fans, whose Marlies are in first overall in the American Hockey League, harbouring real aspirations of a deep post-season run.

That belief in a championship season is justifiable; the Marlies have stayed atop the standings with Brown, the AHL’s top scoring rookie last year, and William Nylander, the league’s leading scorer before suffering a concussion Dec. 26 at the world juniors, on the sidelines.

Brown is back from an ankle injury and looks to be in tremendous form and Nylander is close to being cleared for contact in practice.

The Marlies set out on a mission for a championship back in early July, when much of the roster was already defined. Captain Andrew Campbell led the buy-in to the new systems and expectations under the Maple Leafs’ new management group.

Brown, who suffered his ankle injury in early November after just his eighth game of the season, was among the leaders on Toronto’s farm club. After his successful rookie campaign, he partnered with Stuart Percy and several other Marlies at the MasterCard Centre and began working with development coaches in the Leafs’ new sports sciences division.

Many hours were spent on the ice with Barb Underhill and Mike Ellis working on skating, and then with Brian Marshall in the Journey to Excel strength training program at the MCC.

“Not being able to walk for the first five weeks or so was difficult,” Brown said of his ankle injury. “But maybe that was a blessing in disguise, because it helped me put some weight on and keep it on.”

Brown now weighs in at 180-plus pounds, a big jump from his 145-pound weight on his draft day in 2012 (sixth round, 156th overall by the Leafs).

Should the Marlies win the Calder Cup, they could very well graduate up to 10 players to the Leafs or other NHL clubs. The 2013-14 Calder Cup champion Texas Stars, for example, sent eight players to the Dallas Stars who either spent time with the AHL team that season or participated in that championship run.

For now, Brown seems to be an obvious fan favourite, his red hair and Irish ancestry a definite part of that equation.

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“It was just good to get going again, especially after struggling to put the puck in the net when I was playing,” said Brown, who was held scoreless the first eight games of this season.

“You get that monkey off your back, then you look to improve every game out after that.”

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