Harrison Browne
Harrison Browne playing for the Metropolitan Riveters in 2017
Born (1993-05-13) May 13, 1993 (age 30)
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight 128 lb (58 kg; 9 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for
Playing career 2015–2018
Medal record
Women's ice hockey
Representing  Canada
IIHF World Women's U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2011 Sweden Team
Representing  Ontario
Canada Winter Games
Silver medal – second place 2011 Halifax 2011 Tournament

Harrison Browne (born on May 13, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Metropolitan Riveters and Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).

Early life and career

Browne was born on May 13, 1993, in Oakville, Ontario.[1] He was assigned female at birth and played in women's competitions during his ice hockey career; he came out as a transgender man in 2016 and was the first openly transgender athlete in a professional team sport during his career.[2] As a young adult, he attended Appleby College in Oakville. While he was on the school's team, they won two Ontario championships.[3] Browne was a member of the Ontario provincial team that gained the silver medal at the 2011 Canada Winter Games.[4]

Playing career

International

Browne played for Team Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, winning the silver medal.[5]

Collegiate

Browne received a scholarship to Mercyhurst University and made his NCAA debut on September 30, 2011. With the Lakers, Browne scored five points in 34 games.[1] After one season with the Lakers, Browne transferred to the University of Maine.[6][7]

Browne's debut with Maine took place against Quinnipiac on October 12, 2012. He scored his first goal with Maine on January 19, 2013, against the Vermont Catamounts. The last goal of his NCAA career occurred on February 21, 2015, against the Connecticut Huskies.

Professional

Buffalo Beauts

Browne signed a professional contract with the Buffalo Beauts of the newly formed NWHL on August 29, 2015.[7] In the 2015–16 season, he played in 18 games, scored 5 goals and had 12 points. He played in 5 games in the NWHL postseason, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.[8]

On May 14, 2016, Browne signed a second one-year contract with the Beauts.[9] In October 2016, Browne came out publicly as a transgender man and thus became the first openly transgender athlete in professional American hockey; he had previously privately disclosed his gender identity to coaches while playing at Maine. Browne stated that he would not hormonally transition until the end of his professional playing career, as the hormones involved in female-to-male gender transition violate anti-doping regulations.[10]

Playing for Team Kessel, Browne scored two goals at the 2nd NWHL All-Star Game.[11]

On March 14, 2017, Browne announced he would be retiring from the NWHL at the end of the season to begin hormone replacement therapy and continue his gender transition in privacy.[12] On March 19, 2017, Browne won the Isobel Cup with the Buffalo Beauts, becoming the first openly transgender athlete to win a national championship on a team sport.

Metropolitan Riveters

On August 7, 2017, he announced he would be putting his retirement on hold and would instead return for the 2017–18 season with the Metropolitan Riveters.[13] On April 25, 2018, Browne won the NWHL championship with the Metropolitan Riveters in the team's first Isobel Cup win.[14]

On April 30, 2018, Browne again announced his retirement from the NWHL.[15]

Post-retirement

Since his retirement from the NWHL, Browne has primarily devoted his time to speaking engagements across North America. He has given talks and spoken on panels at colleges, such as Ohio State University, American University, and Fleming College as well as LGBTQ events, such as Outsports Pride.[16]

In August 2019, Browne announced on his personal Twitter account that he was beginning a new career as an actor.[17] He emphasized that he plans to advocate for more transgender visibility in his new venture as he had in his athletic career.

Browne has made multiple television appearances since his 2018 retirement. He was featured in an episode of both Y: The Last Man[18] and Murdoch Mysteries, in 2021 and 2022 respectively.[19] In 2023, he appeared in three episodes of the mystery drama series Nancy Drew.[20]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2011–12 Mercyhurst Lakers CHA 32 3 2 5 12 3 0 0 0 2
2012–13 Maine Black Bears HE 33 2 4 6 38 — — — — —
2013–14 Maine Black Bears HE 30 3 7 10 49 — — — — —
2014–15 Maine Black Bears HE 33 7 10 17 34 2 0 0 0 0
2015–16 Buffalo Beauts NWHL 18 5 7 12 26 5 2 2 4 10
2016–17 Buffalo Beauts NWHL 17 2 4 6 22 2 0 0 0 2
2017–18 Metropolitan Riveters NWHL 16 3 6 9 8 2 0 1 1 0
NWHL totals 51 10 17 27 56 9 2 3 5 12

References

  1. ^ a b "Harrison Browne at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  2. ^ Pruski, Scout (November 28, 2018). "Harrison Browne talks Ovi, activism in visit to American University". NBC Sports Washington. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Garbutt, Herb (December 16, 2010). "Teen aiming high, both on and off the ice". Oakville Beaver. p. 18. Archived from the original on May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "2011 Canada Winter Games, Participant". Canada Winter Games 2011. n.d. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
  5. ^ "IIHF World Womens U18 Championship, PLAY-OFF ROUND GOLD MEDAL GAME – GAME 22, Game Summary" (PDF). IIHF. January 8, 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  6. ^ "What Harrison Browne gives up to be the only man in women's hockey". www.sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Browne and Sass Head to Buffalo". National Women's Hockey League. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  8. ^ "Hailey Browne". Elite Prospects. Archived from the original on October 3, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  9. ^ Nelson, Dustin (May 14, 2016). "Hailey Browne and Devon Skeats Rejoin Beauts". The Hockey Writers. Archived from the original on July 21, 2016. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  10. ^ "NWHL player Harrison Browne comes out as a transgender man". ESPN. October 7, 2016. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  11. ^ "NWHL Stars Shine Bright in Pittsburgh". NWHL. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  12. ^ Higgins, Matt (March 14, 2017). "Leaving Women's Hockey to 'Fly Under the Radar,' as Himself". New York Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  13. ^ Staff, NWHL.zone (August 7, 2017). "Harrison Browne Puts Retirement on Hold, Joins Riveters for 2017–18 Season". Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
  14. ^ "NWHL: Metropolitan Riveters Win Isobel Cup". The Victory Press. March 26, 2018. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  15. ^ Murphy, Mike (April 30, 2018). "Trailblazer Harrison Browne announces his retirement". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  16. ^ "Harrison Browne". Harrison Browne. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  17. ^ @HBrowne24 (August 19, 2019). "Hi Twitter friends! I have some life updates to share with you all. Here's to the next chapter! 🎥" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "Y: The Last Man (TV Series) Would the World Be Kind (2021) - Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Archived from the original on November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  19. ^ "Murdoch Rides Easy - Production & Contact Info". IMDb.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  20. ^ "The Crooked Banister - Production & Contact Info". IMDb.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.

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