Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown says his summer since hoisting the Stanley Cup at a raucous Staples Center on June 11 was “surreal.”
What followed that night of triumph were months of joy with friends and family, a visit with the silver chalice to his hometown of Ithaca, New York and the oddness of a lockout preventing the Kings from raising their first championship banner on time.
For the 27-year-old right wing, who has been with the Kings since they made him the 13th overall pick of the 2003 draft, the initial weeks with the realization he helped finally bring a hockey title to Los Angeles had a dream-like quality.
“Every day, my thought waking up was, ‘Did that really just happen?’” Brown says. “To think about winning the Cup as a youngster and actually experience it was tremendous.”
Brown recalls the final minutes of Game Six with the Kings ahead of the New Jersey Devils by three and ultimately five goals. As the seconds ticked away, cheers rained down from a fan base—some who waited since the club’s days as an NHL expansion franchise in 1967—for such a spectacular moment.
“There was no better feeling than being up 6-1 as we were all celebrating on the bench,’’
“There was no better feeling than being up 6-1 as we were all celebrating on the bench,’’ says Brown. “To appreciate the anticipation of the Cup with guys who battled together all year and have the chance to fully savor the greatness of the moment was really, really special.”
Now the Kings have to wait for their Cup banner to reach the Staples Center rafters. As in 1994 after the New York Rangers won the championship and 2004 when Tampa Bay took home the Cup, the season was delayed by a lockout of players by NHL owners. Instead of opening at home against the Rangers on Oct. 12, Brown and his teammates were finding time and ice to skate without coaches to stay sharp. Living at the beach in Southern California may be grand, but October without hockey is weird, according to Brown.
“All we can do is stay in shape the best we can, We want to be playing. That’s the bottom line. Waiting is difficult.”
The gritty forward is a fitting captain for the hard-working Kings, who surprised the hockey world by defeating the top three seeds in the Western Conference to reach the Finals. He hasn’t missed a game during the past three seasons and has played all but nine contests since the start of the 2005-06 campaign. He and teammate Anze Kopitar led the Kings in playoff scoring last spring with eight goals and 12 assists.
Brown honed his skills after a short rookie year in Los Angeles with a full season with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL during the 2004-05 lockout. He learned about leadership as well.
“One particular Kings teammate—Ian Laperriere—really took me under his wing when I was a rookie,’’ says Brown, the second American-born captain (after Derian Hatcher of Dallas in 1999) to win the Cup. “Ian helped me understand you don’t have to score every game to have an impact—that blocking shots or using your physicality is just as important. He really showed me how to lead and play your game at the same time.” Brown now embraces a similar mentoring role.
“I pride myself on being a consistent power forward. I do my best every day and hope everyone will follow,’’ he says. “It's not only me or Kopy (Anze Kopitar) or Mike Richards, there are five or six guys on our team who can set an example for younger players. We do it collectively. That’s a major reason why we pulled together and won.”
Brown’s championship afterglow can also include a fashion photo shoot in close proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
“I’m used to business wear on work days or shorts and flip flops at home,’’ the Kings captain says. “Skinny jeans and sweaters were a departure. I honestly don’t know how people dress like that every day. But for sure, it was a fun experience. I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
