It was in 2006 when coaches Rob Krohl and Pat Peake looked on at the Prospects Hockey Tournament in Toronto, billed as the best showcase of hockey talent in North America. Both were coaches for Detroit Honeybaked, a developmental hockey league that looked for the best of the best — NHL-caliber talent.

Then, Krohl and Peake's attention turned to one player. A high school sophomore burst through the neutral zone with the puck. Entering the opposing team’s end, he let a slap shot rip from two feet inside the blue line.

The puck flew over the goaltender’s left shoulder, ricocheted off the crossbar, and flew into the net. It was something the coaches had seen from Chris Brown before. After all, it was their invitation that brought Brown to the tournament. And he had lit the lamp seven times since hitting the ice.

Krohl and Peake continued to watch intently as the Flower Mound, Texas native made yet another dazzling play. Peake, a former forward for the Washington Capitals, turned to Krohl.

"That’s an NHL shot,” he said confidently.

The Lone Star Hockey Player

Brown, now an incoming freshman, did not take an ordinary path to Michigan. The first-ever Texas-born Michigan hockey recruit grew up on an ice rink while many of his closest friends spent their time on football and baseball fields.

He is an anomaly as far as Texas athletes go. In a hotbed for high school football, Brown knew hockey was more than just a childhood hobby for him, and at 18 years-old, Brown is one of the most promising prospects in America.

Despite his family’s Texas roots, hockey runs in the Brown family. Brown’s brother Chase, a high school junior, is also a hockey player, and his father, Chris, played Division-II hockey at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“My family has supported me through every decision I’ve ever made, whether it’s hockey-related or not,” Brown said. “It was really hard to have their son leave when he was 15 years old, so they deserve a lot of credit.”

Becoming a Wolverine

Brown made the trek from the small-town Dallas suburb to Michigan before his sophomore year of high school — and before the Wolverines had even contacted him. He came to play for Krohl and Peake, who recruited him for their Detroit Honeybaked travel team.

Brown journeyed 1000-plus miles to join Krohl and Peake. He joined a team consisting of four eventual 2009 NHL Entry Draft second-round picks and six players selected for the US Under-18 National Development Team. He knew he was playing with the country's best young talent.

Brown — one of those four second-round picks and six U.S. Development Team players — led the squad in goals (42) and points (74) and was named alternate captain by Krohl.

“The one thing that I was always impressed about him even before he came to play for me was how he could carry on a conversation,” Krohl said. “He was a very mature and a very polite kid — the type of kid that I would want to represent my hockey club.”

Krohl may have been the first to see Brown's potential but soon enough he wasn’t alone. Before the season even started, more teams in the Detroit/Ann Arbor area came calling.

First, the U.S. Development program, based in Ann Arbor, selected him to play for their Under-18 team in the 2008-09 season. The program has yielded American stars Patrick Kane, Rick DiPietro and Phil Kessel as well as former Michigan players Al Montoya, Kevin Porter, Chad Kolarik and Mark Mitera. Pretty good company to say the least.

During his sophomore season, Brown also began talks with Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson, who told him no scholarship offer was available. They hadn't seen him play enough during his time in Flower Mound. Brown understood — recruiting Texans was unchartered territory for the Michigan hockey program, much less handing out scholarships.

But he didn’t have to wait long. Within the first month of the start of his season with the Honeybaked, Pearson and Michigan coach Red Berenson liked what they saw.

And the decision was easy for Brown.

“I was offered a scholarship and literally 30 seconds later I said, ‘Yes sir,'” Brown said. “Why would you turn down the best college hockey program in the country?”

Officially a Wolverine — and the most highly-touted recruit for the 2009-10 season — Brown joined the US Development Team in 2008 and left his mark on the score sheet.