Liam Kirk became the first English born and trained player to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft when Arizona chose him in the seventh round this past June.
Kirk will begin his journey toward the professional game in North America by beginning the 2018-19 season with OHL outfit, Peterborough Petes.

Looking to follow in Kirk’s footsteps is 17 year old Keiran Brown. The Bradford native has taken a different route to this stage of his development having already played for two years in North America.

His Uncle’s company (food company Delifresh) sponsored Brown and the young forward stayed with a host family in Des Moines whilst representing Iowa Wild AAA.
A brave but bold move saw the British forward separated from family and friends but enabled him to concentrate on improving his hockey skills and training, while attending a private school.

The decision was taken in 2017 that his future development would be better served in the UK and Brown signed an apprentice with Sheffield Steelers.
Training four days a week despite commuting from his family home in Bradford, the GB representative became Sheffield’s all time youngest player (16) when he dressed against Dundee Stars on the 19th October 2017.

In nineteen league game last season, Brown would find the net just once but it was a first professional goal to remember at the tender age of sixteen. A blistering slap-shot from the right circle beat the Edinburgh Capitals netminder all ends up and the young man was mobbed by his team-mates despite the result of the game having already been decided.

A left-handed shot, Brown is certainly more noted for being a scorer than Kirk and probably has more offensive talent at a comparative age. However Kirk’s all-round game is better, as is his discipline and he substantially improved during the last season before being drafted.

Brown is eligible for the 2019 NHL Entry Draft but whether he enters the reckoning will doubtless hinge on how he performs during his second season in the Elite League.
Scouts will certainly be paying more attention to the UK hockey scene, especially if Liam Kirk has success during his inaugural OHL campaign.