10 Days Of Dustin – The Leader

We’ve reached the Drew Doughty segment of 10 Days of Dustin – Day 8!

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.

Over the past seven days, we’ve touched on several elements of Dustin Brown’s career. Starting with the milestones, rolling into the photos and videos that showcased it, before moving into what made him special both as a player and as a person. While today’s article is not the last in the series, it’s perhaps the one most vital to Brown’s legacy. Using quotes collected from the 2012 reuninon 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 leader.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Kings Forward
Just a great leader, someone as a young guy I’d known him for a few years, just being around him. He was just a solid person to everyone. He was kind of a quiet leader, but he would still come up and talk to you, make you feel really welcome but also get on you a little bit if needed. The leadership he showed was really good for the young guys coming through.

Jonathan Bernier, Former Teammate, Current New Jersey Devils Goaltender
Dusty was always like a super quiet guy, but showed a perfect example on the ice. He brought that every day, in practice, in the gym and I learned a lot from those years being in LA, just watching Dustin and the way he was a pro. He was a true pro. He just came in and did his work, he was never mad about anything, just always level and that’s a true pro.

Jeff Carter, Former Teammate, Current Pittsburgh Penguins Center
In the room, he’s not a rah-rah guy, he’s a lead by example guy, he just comes in, he shows up and he works. You knew exactly what you’re getting from him every day. Off the ice, it was kind of the same deal. He did his thing, he had his routine, he put his work in. He was just a great teammate and a great captain have and it was a lot of fun.

Kyle Clifford, Former Teammate, Current Toronto Maple Leafs Forward
Quiet. Brownie, just right off the bat, you could see the presence he had in the room. He didn’t say a whole lot, but you knew he controlled the room and anytime he did speak up and say something, people listened to him.

Sean Durzi, Kings Defenseman
Just his leadership, poise and his calmness kind of settled me down in those big moments. I remember we had a game one of the playoffs in Edmonton and he was sitting beside me, fans are screaming the national anthem. When it ended, we all sit down and I’m jittery and freaking out and he kind of just gave me a tap and it calmed me down, said let’s go Durzi and I settled in pretty nicely from there. That was a cool moment between us.

Colin Fraser, Former Teammate
He’s quiet, quiet leader where he leads by example on the ice and lets his play do the talking. He’s not a rah-rah screamer guy, he’s not a guy that gets overly emotional, upset or mad vocally, but he does with the way he plays. For me, he just plays the game the right way and that’s up and down and hard, over and over and over. Whether it’s Tuesday or Friday or Saturday, he’s playing the same way every single night.

Matt Greene, Former Teammate, Current Kings Player Development
Dustin Brown is the kind of leader leads by example, but he also leads with force and I think that’s the kind of leader. You trust him, you know what he’s going to do every day, he’s consistent with what he does, he takes care of himself, he shows up to the rink every day knowing what needs to be done and he goes out and he does it. I think that’s the most impressive form of leader, where you know what you’re going to get and he delivers.

Anze Kopitar, Kings Forward
Leading by example, I think was his bread and butter. I don’t think I’ve heard him complain once, really, and I don’t think it was very many nights where he felt 100 percent, just with the way he played. That’s what you want in your captain.

Matt Roy, Kings Defenseman
Obviously he’s a great guy. I remember, I told the story last year, on my first roadtrip, my first callup, he took me out to dinner and gave me a warm welcome, so I always appreciated that. He’s just a true pro he’s a guy you could learn from and just everything he does at the rink and away from the rink, you can kind of take note up and try to mold yourself after.

Kevin Westgarth, Former Teammate
I think the first time I met Dustin was when they brought him in, I think he’d just been named Captain the previous year. I think I was 24 and they brought Brownie in to talk to all the young guys about how to be a pro and how this level is different than wherever you were before, whether it be the AHL, major Junior or college. I was fired up after a little speech and just talking about doing things the right way and then I kind of looked at it and was like wait a minute, I think he’s a year younger than me, but already you can see that he was he was the guy for the job. Just that quiet professionalism, he was going to do it right and he was a great guy to follow.

10 Days Of Dustin, Archives
2/1 – The Milestones
2/2 – The Photos
2/3 – The Videos
2/4 – The Person
2/5 – The Player
2/6 – The Announcements
2/7 – Professionalism & Personality