(inspiring music)
- [Dustin] You don't set out to have your number retired
or have anything like that.
You set out just to be the best you can be.
You think, "I want to play in the NHL.
It's my dream.
I wanna play as long as I can
and I wanna win."
- [Nick] We now present the seventh number to be retired
in franchise history.
Dustin Brown's number 23.
(crowd cheering)
- [Sportscaster] On this spectacular night,
we honor Dustin Brown.
Oh, what a fantastic night
this is for Dustin.
And what a tremendous night
it is for all of Los Angeles
and all you great Kings fans.
- [DJ] Make some noise if you love Dustin Brown.
- [Crowd] Woo!
- I tried to treat it like any other day.
Went for my run, did all my stuff at home,
Played basketball, and got in the shower,
and I'm like, "all right, I'm gonna get dressed."
And then like, as soon as I got dressed up,
I started sweating.
(contemplative music)
Then I got to the rink and it's like,
it was actually set up perfectly.
- [Nick] Tonight, we honor the first person
to ever raise the Stanley Cup in triumph for the LA Kings.
(crowd cheering)
Someone whose achievements stand
with the greatest to ever wear the Kings jersey.
Someone whose leadership, style of play,
and character represent everything
this organization stands for.
- [Dustin] My story started out
like every other hockey player,
with a dream of playing in the NHL
and winning the Stanley Cup.
- [Nicole] We met at a hockey tournament
over the summer
when Dustin was 15 and I was 16,
and he was about two weeks away from moving
to Guelph, Ontario
to play for the Guelph Storm.
Actually, that's when we started dating.
We met in high school and we didn't get along.
And so I switched out of all of his classes.
I don't think he's changed a lot.
He's still the same person he was back then.
- Los Angeles Kings are pleased to select,
from Guelph of the Canadian Hockey League, Dustin Brown.
- Looking back, I came in
and just tried to make a name for myself
the best way I knew how
And I didn't think too much about,
I didn't think too much period back then probably
is what I'm getting at.
- [Sportscaster] He's the guy that a lot of scouts
talked about as potentially being a captain of a team,
at some point.
For the Los Angeles Kings who were picking 13th,
pretty happy with the selection of Dustin Brown.
- [Bob Miller] He wasn't outlandish and overconfident like,
"well, I know I'm gonna do this,
and I'll score this many goals or anything."
- [Sportscaster] Tipped in, Cammalleri,
threw it in front of the net.
Dustin Brown was there and his first NHL goal.
- He's matured a lot when it comes
to public speaking and leadership
and those types of things.
He used to be much quieter.
He still doesn't love the spotlight
but he handles it a lot better
and embraces it in a way that he didn't at the beginning.
- It is said that leaders can be magnified
or diminished by the qualities of those around them.
It's clear, I was magnified by those around me.
I learned a lot earlier in my career.
And then as you kind of go on,
you think back to how,
"what guys did I like when I was younger?"
It's like I would be like them
when you're that age, be like them.
- [Sportscaster] Cammalleri got the puck in deep
and Ohlund gets back for it first.
He takes a hit that knocks the glass out.
Dustin Brown got another lick in at Mattias Ohlund first.
- [Daryl] It was neat, watching him go through the phases
because he was silent at the beginning, but loud on the ice.
And then I think he came a little bit more vocal
in the locker room.
But again, it was always leading by example.
Oh look out! Dustin Brown lowers the boom.
I know his voice in the locker room
and talking to a lot of players, you know
rookies that were coming in for, you know
for development camps and training camps
and things like that
over time, you know, they spoke about Dustin
and you know, the presence that he had,
the way he carried himself around the room.
- I mean, I was eighteen when I first
started rooming with Brownie.
So he taught me a lot of things
and he was a guy that I would talk to about
like stuff in the game,
things I was frustrated about
or things that I didn't like how they were going.
And he was always, you know, there to, to talk to about it.
And I would always pick his brain about different things.
- [Sportscaster] Doughty shot. Tip. Score!
(scoreboard buzzes) (crowd cheers)
Dustin Brown!
- Trust him. You know what he's gonna do every day.
He's consistent.
He shows up to the rink every day
knowing what needs to be done
and he goes out and he does it
and I think that's the most impressive
form of leader, where it's
you know what you're gonna get,
and he delivers.
Kopitar hands it off, Dustin Brown into the open net.
(Scoreboard buzzes) (crowd cheers)
- I mean, my thing was always just about getting better,
getting better every year.
I think that was like my philosophy.
I think we did a lot of growing during my time
and that that was an important thing for me.
Looking back at it is, like, I got better as a human
but we got better as an organization.
- He always put the team first.
He always did his very best.
He never showed up and didn't put in a hundred percent.
Did he have bad games?
Yeah, everybody does.
But it wasn't because he wasn't trying
or he didn't have the passion.
- Throughout my career
I had all my teammates who had my back.
These experiences gave me the confidence to grow
to go back into our locker room
with my head held high, become a better teammate.
"C" or no "C."
I always wanted to be a King.
(crowd cheers)
I always wanted to retire a King.
- I'll be fighting 'em back a little bit,
to be honest.
He just deserves it so much.
He's great to everyone that has ever been
in the LA Kings organization.
- [Dustin] As I stand here today,
with my jersey being raised to the rafters
my only hope is that in the future
when you look up and see it hanging there,
you think not of my achievements, but of our achievements.
- [Announcer] Ladies and gentlemen, the Stanley Cup!
(crowd cheers)
- I am so grateful to be part
of the Kings family and to be forever a king.
(crowd cheers)