Brown has a lot to be grateful for in 2007, besides his marriage and impending fatherhood, he could start with a big hug and kiss to Dustin Penner whose offer sheet motivated Lombardi to not risk the same result with Brown who would surely be on some team’s radar this summer when you combine his physical play with his emerging scoring touch.
We will never know if at any point during Saturday’s Oiler victory whether Brown gave a personal pat to the new Oiler, Penner, who a lot of restricted free agents owe some gratitude. Either way, it is worth reading the article where Lombardi is quoted confirming his motivations for the six year deal.
http://www.pe.com/sports/breakout/stories/PE_Sports_Local_D_ja_col_28.3e6dcc3.html
This summer Lombardi explained how he classifies players as fillers, bridges and builders. For those who are waiting for Stuart to resurrect the career Sharks’ fans enjoyed, have no worries. If Stuart does not do so, he was merely a filler anyway in light of his one year contract status. Ditto for Nagy, who has surely helped his cause with his break out play since his two game benching.
As for Brown, he has most been known during his Kings’ tenure for his fearless big hits with an occasional scoring touch. His chemistry and friendship with Kopitar certainly did not hurt his cause. I would submit there is further support for my theory of Lombardi trying to build a team around more cerebral players when looking closer at Brown and his credentials before he got to the big league level.
Without question, regardless of a player’s country of origin, the Canadian juniors is considered the first developmental league for players with NHL dreams. There is a downside, that being a waiver of NCAA eligibility. The OHL responds by offering its players a college scholarship for those who do not pursue (or I submit have the skills for) NHL careers enabling the best of both options between sports and academia.
Education may have been a consideration of Brown’s when choosing the Ontario Hockey League route, which allowed him to retain his college eligibility, and simultaneously play a 68 game schedule. O’Sullivan was another current King who went the same route. More history and background of the OHL and some of its more successful participants can be found here:
http://www.nhl.com/intheslot/read/impact/2003_04/october/bts_scouts_part2_2.html
Dustin Brown is the only player in the OHL history who won for three (3) consecutive years the Bobby Smith Trophy for the Scholastic Player of the Year Award given to the OHL player who combines the best balance between excellent play and academics. One press release from one of his wins as well as a list of all recipients can both be found here:
http://www.chl.ca/OHLNews0001/may30_sch.html
http://www.bestofbothworlds.ca/hm/inside.php?sid=6&static_sid=19&PHPSESSID=6214e4681ca871f1181f2c2f50130cc1
If in doubt of Brown’s pride of his academic excellence, check out his myspace page where he highlights his consecutive Bobby Smith Trophy wins as much as his on ice accomplishments:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=180288246
In an interview during his Guelph Storm OHL days, Brown identified his favorite player as Peter Forsberg and previewed how others compared his play to Bill Guerin. He further described his work-out routines, pre-game rituals and how his parents and coach, Jeff Jackson, had been the biggest influences on his life.
I came away most impressed with his discipline and how he was in tune with increasing his physical strength, even as a teenager, which surely has enabled him to take on nearly anyone and everyone at the NHL level. The full interview can be found here:
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/articles/5219/hfs_interview_with_dustin_brown/
Brown’s Guelph GM described him then, something that could be seen as quite a snap shot of who Brown has become:
“In addition to his excellent skills and high-end character, Dustin Brown is a pure goal-scorer. He's a very competitive player who wants to be the difference when the game is on the line." - Guelph GM Alan Millar
Statistics
Season Team League GP G A TP PIM
2002-03 Guelph OHL 58 34 42 76 89
2001-02 Guelph OHL 63 41 32 73 56
2000-01 Guelph OHL 53 23 22 45 45
When Sports Illustrated did a mock 2003 draft, they actually pegged Brown near where he was chosen, SI had him at 14 and Brown actually went just a step sooner at 13. As fans, we can now even look back at where O’Sullivan was slated to go before he fell to the second round due to concerns over how his personal life might effect his on ice play.
Take a look at this snap shot of time as to where players were predicted to go, where they went and more importantly, how their careers have played out to date. Check it out here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2003/06/13/mock_draft/
In the first year of Crawford and Lombardi’s tenure with the Kings, the twosome spent last year assessing who were keepers, and who had lost favor with the new regime. It completes the picture of who stayed, who was let go and who was traded checking out this article from Inside Hockey who covered the subject after Crawford had ripped into the team after one of its many losses last year which was surely a test of most Kings’ fans proverbial patience where losing was far more the norm than winning, read more here:
http://www.insidehockey.com/columns/326
Those on the outs: Oleg Tverdovsky and Craig Conroy
Those making a case to be franchise players: Kopitar, Cammalleri, Frolov and newly extended Brown
Here is a great video literally of Brown's greatest hits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tfMeuDpJn0
This summer when Lombardi spoke at Select-a-Seat with fans, he actually described Brown as fairly quiet upon Dean’s initial Los Angeles arrival. He explained at the beginning of last year, Brown was real quiet, or didn't say 'boo'. Over the course of the year, as the team changed in how the Kings were run and how players were treated, there was a change with Dustin.
By end of the year, he 'had come out of his shell', was being more himself and started to show some of his potential. Lombardi practically sounds clairvoyant when you consider this June quote to Brown’s October extension. Either way, Brown has become one of the team’s builders, even if he has to thank a former Duck for the designation!
Carla Muller
[email protected] 
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