Toronto Maple Leafs picks Connor Brown, Matt Finn rivals in Erie Otters-Guelph Storm showdown

Connor Brown and Matt Finn's hockey paths, which once diverged, have crossed again to create a diversion for Leafs fans.

The two captains in the Western Conference final that many believe to be the true Ontario Hockey League final had a deep bond long before both heard their names called by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2012 NHL draft. Brown, the Erie Otters captain who won the league scoring title, and Finn, the Guelph Storm's leader who posted the OHL's best plus-minus, also wore in blue and white throughout their formative years with the Marlboros minor hockey program. They'll likely see a lot of each other over the next two weeks, with the winner moving one step closer to the OHL title.

"Even when we play against each other now, it's pretty cool," Brown says. "Sometimes you catch a bit of eye contact and you smile. You lose focus for a half-second there. It's awesome to see Matt have the success that he did. He didn't have many doubters. At the same time, nothing was given to him. He works hard day in, day out. It's going to be an interesting series, and who knows, we might even be matched up together.

"Me and Matt had a conversation earlier in the week," added Brown, who had to wait until his likely final year of junior to experience the OHL playoffs. "We said that our friendship's going to be on hold while this series is going on. You get one shot at this. We're never going to hold back on each other."

Of course, once the season is over, the two will be on the same team again, trying to climb the ladder in the Leafs organization. Both will likely be Marlies again, as in the AHL team.

"It's pretty cool for both of us to be playing against each other at this level and to be in the same National League organization," the 6-foot, 185-pound Finn says. "When it comes down to it, we're both competitive guys and it's going to be all business."

Finn, of the two, showed more obvious early promise, albeit with some setbacks along the way. Before his sophomore season in 2011-12, he was cut from Canada's summer under-18 team before the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka showcase tournament. Over that season, he took on more responsibility than is typically expected of a second-year defenceman as the Storm's core group took their first step to being a contender.

'Always been about proving people wrong'

Brown, of course, seemed much farther from stardom. The bloomer was a 13th-round priority selection pick and needed a season of prep in Junior A. He scored 25 goals in his yearling season but was more remembered was the he ended up being minus-72 on a 10-win team. Now Brown is a higher-scoring forward with a commitment to playing defence.

"With Connor it's always been about proving people wrong," Finn says. "He got passed over and over in the OHL draft and then played a year of Junior A and made the lineup in Erie. He's always been so competitive and never stops working. To see him this year put up the numbers he did, it was crazy. It was something that you could see — we train together in the summer — that he was working toward in the summer.

"At the same time, it's going to be fun playing against him and hopefully beat him out."

The third round of the playoffs is terra incognita of late for both Erie and Guelph, which were 1-2 in the regular-season standings ahead of ousted Memorial Cup host London. Leadership and staying locked into the moment in the OHL depends on a good group dynamic — "There's just too much going on in the junior ranks to put it all on one guy," Storm coach Scott Walker notes — but Brown and Finn will have a huge impact on the outcome.

The Otters needed ust one more game than the minimum to get through the first two rounds against Saginaw and Sault Ste. Marie.

"It's a gritty group of character guys in the room," Brown says. "We've really leaned on each other all years."

Guelph dropped one game in each of its series against Plymouth and London. It hasn't lost back-to-back games in more than six months, which ties back to Finn and his older teammates having gone through more live-and-learns than they would have liked.

"You're always adjusting in this game, both on the ice and off," says Finn, who has bounced back from only playing 41 games last season due to mononucleosis and a knee injury. "Whatever we've been doing has been working. Our guys know how to get winning done."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.