 Brown played for the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 2011 until 2014, then for the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Toronto Marlies for the better part of two seasons before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs full-time in the 2016–17 season.Brown grew up playing youth hockey in the Toronto area.He played first for the West Mall Lightning mite select team, in the North York Hockey League, where his father was the head coach.