Player I Hate To Love: Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
By Mike Reed
Why I love to hate Dustin Brown: Simply put, he is the captain of our hated rival. I had almost instant regret for writing this after seeing him lift the Stanley Cup. Incidentally, I am completely convinced that Dustin Brown, and Dustin Brown alone, is responsible for petitioning the Hockey Gods for me to be on the wrong end of a hit in my beer league after I wrote that column (I sustained a shoulder injury). He had the indecency to curse on national TV. Finally, in his home town of LA, he had the audacity to wear the Kings’ away jersey when he appeared on the Tonight Show. I think that shows you something about his loyalty towards Los Angeles. Just saying.
Why I hate to love Dustin Brown: He embodies everything you want in a hockey player. Goal scoring, grit, leadership. Sure, finding a highlight of his playmaking can be tough but if you don’t know how great Dustin Brown is then you haven’t watched any of the Kings/Sharks matchups since the lockout. While Quick was admittedly dominant in the playoffs, Brownie had 20 points in 20 games including 4 game winning goals. He had timely hard hits, goals and was constantly in the face of every opponent they were up against…just try to convince me that there was a player more integral to the Kings’ Cup run and I’ll call you a liar. And has there ever been a more adorable thing done with the Cup than this? Never, says I. I’d love to see him in teal, but for now, he’s just a player I hate to love.
~BB
Top 5 Captains Most Excited When Lifting The Stanley Cup
1) Mark Messier, NY Rangers, 1994
2) Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2009
3) Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers, Any Year
4) Lanny McDonald, Calgary Flames, 1989
5) Zedeno Chara, Boston Bruins, 2011
Want to debate a list? Tweet me @bluelineboomer
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