KENNEWICK — Mike Brown is a realistic guy.

The Tri-City Americans forward is well aware that each team in the Western Hockey League gets just three overage players, and that he has less than a month to make a statement to coach Jim Hiller and general manager Bob Tory that he's worth keeping around.

"It's an honor to play in the league at 20," said Brown, a native of Calgary. "Seeing that it's your last chance, you have to do the right things in the offseason. I took all the ice time I could get and skated with some other guys in the league."

And his hard work has paid off. In five preseason games, Brown has two goals, three assists and 11 penalty minutes.

The Americans have two more exhibition games -- tonight at the Kootenay Ice and Friday at home with Spokane -- before the regular season begins Sept. 25.

"He's doing what he should do and he's doing an excellent job of it," Hiller said. "He's a big strong guy and he's more confident with the puck. When he came in last year at the trade deadline, we had a pecking order and his role was limited. Now he's getting time on the power play and penalty kill and making the most of his opportunities."

Having spent five months with the team last season, Brown said he was more comfortable coming into camp this fall.

"Coming in and knowing the guys instead of coming in and not knowing anyone really helps," Brown said. "You don't have to worry about earning their respect."

With four 20-year-olds -- Brown, goalie Alex Pechurskiy, forward Kruise Reddick and defenseman Tyler Schmidt -- on the roster, the Americans have until the Oct. 14 overage deadline to make their decisions.

Pechurskiy's status with Pittsburgh will play a part in the process. Pechurskiy left Wednesday to attend the Penguins' main camp, and the NHL team could opt to keep him or send him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Even if that happens, Brown can't let his guard down. With other teams trimming down to three overage players, there might be another player on the market that could offer Tri-City a different skill set.

"Certainly at the end of last season we didn't know where Mike fit in," Tory said. "We didn't know how the overage situation would pan out. At that time, we still had Eric (Mestery) and Alex decided he was coming back."

Mestery retired, taking him out of the mix, and Pechurskiy takes up an overage and a European spot, which clouds the picture a bit.

"There are a lot of thing we have to look at," Tory said. "It's healthy for guys to compete for spots and we don't have to make a decision until after our Eastern swing.

Brown, who arrived via a trade with Swift Current on Jan. 10 in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2011 WHL bantam draft, did not have any points in 22 regular-season games for the Americans, but did chip in with two assists in the playoffs as the Americans won their first Western Conference title.

But Tory did not make the trade for Brown in hopes of getting a net full of goals. Brown's strength is his rugged play, which when paired with Todd Kennedy down the stretch and in the playoffs last year, the two were more than most teams could handle.

"Being a bigger guy, I have that going for me," the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Brown said of his willingness to mix it up. "To stay, I have to make sure and do that on a regular basis."

Brown gave Spokane's Dominik Uher a little taste of what is to come for others in the league Saturday night. Uher ran Tri-City's Nils Moser into the boards as he was going off for a line change and Brown let him know that was unacceptable with a flurry of rights.

"He knows he's fighting for a spot and he's shown he can play here," said Reddick, the Americans team captain. "He proved that last year."