The White House: Bob Miller

At what point of the Stanley Cup celebrations did you realize you’d be traveling to Washington, DC and visiting the White House?
“It never entered my mind, really, because I was so wrapped up in the Kings finally winning a Stanley Cup and so many fans and all of us who had who had been around so many years finally getting a chance to see that really happen. It was almost surreal that we finally got to see it happen. And then, later on, you think, ‘OK, sometime we’ll get to see the President,” and then of course it was delayed by the lockout. Then, it kind of was out of my mind because I didn’t know when it was going to happen. I think they scheduled one earlier, and then it was postponed. So I really didn’t know when it was going to happen. But it’s a thrill to be here. Any time you’re in the presence of the most powerful man in the world and see him honor these teams, see him honor the Kings, it’s thrilling to be here.”

What does it mean for you, personally, to be in the room with the President?
“I’ve got a lot of photos and a lot of people that when I told them we were coming here said ‘Take a lot of photos! We want to see what it’s like.’ I have met President Reagan before, but not in this situation, and I’ve been in the White House before when they were giving tours to families. But, again, not in this situation. To be in the room, with the actual sitting president when he’s in office is something that’s new to me and is really thrilling.”

Is there any player on the team that you’re particularly happy to see have an opportunity to meet the President?
“I think I’m just happy that all of us have that opportunity, that all of them have that opportunity. Dustin Brown – I was so moved that after that final game on the ice, and Jim and I were doing the TV post-game show and I couldn’t be down on the ice, and he was asking my wife, ‘Where’s Bob? Where’s Bob? I want to give him the Cup.’ And then remarks that he made during the rally after the parade, when he said ‘The only thing better would have been Bob Miller calling the play” meant a lot to me. It really did. It meant a lot to me because Brownie’s kind of a quiet guy. He doesn’t say much during the season, and I was kind of surprised that he said what he said, but I was honored by that. So I’m very happy to see him here and get a chance to be captain of this Stanley Cup-winning team and be here in the presence of the President.”