10 Days Of Dustin – The Person

Day 4, Insiders!

From February 1 through February 10, we’ll have a Dustin Brown themed post each day, leading into the Kings next home game on February 11, which will be one of the season’s most memorable. The Kings will retire Dustin Brown’s number 23 on that night, with a statue unveiling as well, in what’s sure to be a special and momentous occasion for those – including many Insiders! – who are able to attend.

Starting today, we’ll have some reflections back from those who have known Dustin the closest from his time in the NHL. His teammates, coaches and collegues have reflected on the man most know as Brownie in different ways – as a person, a player, a leader and as a legend. Today’s article takes a look at the first item on that list – the person. Using quotes collected from the 2012 reunion over the summer (special thanks to Jesse Cohen of All The Kings Men, as well as the Kings Production Team), as well as in the locker room and at press conferences over the last couple of years, the list below is a small sampling of what was said about Dustin Brown, the person.

Jonathan Bernier, Former Kings Teammate, Current New Jersey Devils Goaltender
Just a true player, a true person, just an all-around perfect model for a hockey player, for a dad, for a family guy. Just overall an unbelievable guy.

Jeff Carter, Former Kings Teammate, Current Pittsburgh Penguins Center
I think with Brownie, he’s kind of the same person on and off the ice. He kind of sticks to himself, he’s very quiet……but then when you got him kind of loosened up a little bit and got him going, he was so much fun to be around, cracking jokes and telling stories and whatnot.

Drew Doughty, Kings Defenseman
He was involved in the community, putting other people first, and then being such a big family guy, a great dad, a great husband. That just carried over, he was a very honest player and a very honest guy and I think those kind of went hand in hand, on the ice and off the ice. That was something I looked up to him for, those qualities that he had.

Sean Durzi, Kings Defenseman
First off, he was the first guy in the organization who knew my name, actually, so that was pretty cool, fun fact. He’s an awesome person. He’s the first guy to chirp you when it comes to all fun and he’s the first guy to get your back when it comes to it. My time with him couldn’t have been better, he taught me more than he even knows. I love the guy. Hopefully, I’ve got a friend for a long time, he’s an awesome guy.

Daryl Evans, Kings Radio Analyst, Kings Alumni
Dustin is a very humble young man. He’s not one of those guys that, when he goes into a room, people are going to gravitate towards him, he’s going to silently just make his way in there and once everyone realizes he’s there, then his presence is felt. In the things we did in the community over the years, he was great, he was always willing to do whatever it took. I think it speaks volumes about the kind of individual he is.

Matt Greene, Former Teammate, Current Kings Player Development
I think he’s just hyper-focused, on his career, on what he was doing on the ice and what he was doing to prepare himself, that hasn’t left him one bit, but then you see everything else around him with him being a father, being able to turn off that focus and just laugh, joke around and come out of himself a little bit too. He’s been awesome.

Todd McLellan, Kings Head Coach
An unreal human being and not just the hockey part, there’s so much more to Dustin Brown than just skates, sticks, shots and Cups. Watching him behave around the rink as a father, leadership skills in the locker room, husband, all of those things are very high quality. The Kings, LA, hockey in general are all lucky to have him for as many years as he had.

Jarret Stoll, Former Teammate, Current Kings Player Development
He’s a little bit more of a jokester now, I think you can just see the weight’s off his shoulders a lot. Very, very easygoing. Now, he’ll get right in the mix and he’ll start conversations, as opposed to maybe just sitting in the back and listening. With Brownie, he’s a great family man, he has the four kids and Nicole, he’s just a special guy.

Sean Walker, Kings Defenseman
Off the ice he was just such good guy, always wanted to make sure everybody was doing alright. He would always take guys out to dinner on their first time around, stuff like that. He was always lighthearted at the rink, he wanted to keep everybody upbeat and happy, whatever it was, he was a great guy to have around. We miss him, but I hear he’s enjoying retirement pretty well, so we’re all pretty happy for him.

Kevin Westgarth, Former Teammate
Brownie is one of just the great, nice people. He’s never going to be searching the spotlight, I don’t think he particularly likes being the center of attention, but he’s always there, he always shows up. On or off the ice, that is kind of core to who he is. He loves his family, loves the boys and loves the Kings and he’s always going to show up for those people, be it on or off the ice.

Just a sample of what everyone said about Dustin Brown, the human being. Over the coming days, we’ll share some of what was said about Brown, the hockey player, Brown the leader and Brown the legend, who will deservedly have his number retired one week from today.

10 Days Of Dustin, Archives
2/1 – The Milestones
2/2 – The Photos
2/3 – The Videos