​It may have taken longer than expected, but Connor Brown finally made his season debut with the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche.The 32-year-old forward suffered a lower-body injury during a team practice, forcing him to miss the Devils’ first eight games of the 2025-26 season.“It is always challenging when you are injured and trying to get back, so a bit of a mental battle there,” Brown told NJD.TV after the team’s morning skate. “You want to be playing with the guys, especially early in the season. But we got a really great medical staff, and so they took care of me, and I feel great now, and so I’m ready to return.”Head coach Sheldon Keefe also emphasized Brown’s value to the team, highlighting his versatility, leadership, and impact on both ends of the ice.“Obviously, he is a very good player, a versatile guy, does a lot of things for us, five-on-five and special teams,” Keefe told NJD.TV. “But he is a leadership presence as well. He has energy about him, both in his personality and his leadership, and then also how he plays the game as well. He sets a good example.”Brown made an immediate impact in his return, logging 13:54 of ice time while skating alongside Cody Glass and Jesper Boqvist. He also recorded his first point of the season in the third period, earning the lone assist on Boqvist’s empty-net goal.Keefe was impressed with Brown’s performance, particularly the energy and speed he brought to an already productive line.“Brown was tremendous tonight,” Keefe said. “That Glass line has been really good all the way through, but (Brown) brings it to another level because he is such a complete player in so many areas. His details were good. He had so much energy and speed on the puck today. (The Avalanche are a) fast team. I had such confidence to play them against any line throughout the game because of his ability to skate and the way that it pairs with the other guys.”Beyond his on-ice contributions, Brown’s presence also made a difference on the bench.“He is a big part of the penalty kill that we did have to have in the third period, but he is also really, really good on the bench too, and that helps a lot in terms of keeping the group in the right frame of mind,” Keefe continued.With Brown back in the lineup, the Devils regain a versatile forward who can contribute at five-on-five, on special teams, and in the locker room. His return comes at a crucial time as New Jersey continues its three-game homestand, welcoming the Anaheim Ducks to Prudential Center on Thursday before hosting the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.Make sure you bookmark THN’s New Jersey Devils site for THN’s latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your