|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE MEDIA CONFERENCEMay 10, 2012Dustin BrownTHE MODERATOR: We now have with us Kings captain, Dustin Brown. Dustin is in his eighth season with Los Angeles, fourth as team captain, and led the team in scoring through the first two rounds, posting six goals and five assists for 11 points in nine games. In 595 career regular season games, he's recorded 163 goals, 196 assists for 359 points thanks to Dustin for taking the time to answer your questions. Operator, we'll open it up now. Q. Congratulations, Dustin. Darryl Sutter said there are comparisons in captains to yourself and Jarome Iginla, taking away the 50 goals and the awards that he's gotten in the style of play. When you were a competitor against Jarome, could you say I'd like to take some of what Jarome's characteristics are and put them in my game? DUSTIN BROWN: Definitely. I mean, he's been a top player in this league for quite a few players now. You look at the goal scoring and all of that with Jarome. But he also brings that mean streak and that physical edge in the way that he plays. That is something that, like you said, I probably don't score to the extent that he can score. But a lot of other things that I try to do, I grew up watching him in my first few years. He was one of those guys that I looked and watched how he played the game because he led by example on the ice, and I think that's probably the best way to do it. Q. Dustin, people have been praising you around the league for being a great captain and leader. Is there anything that you're doing to take your game to the next level or is it being noticed because of the deep run? DUSTIN BROWN: Probably more the deep run. You see it around the league. Each year there are players that maybe get talked about more, and it's a result of them and their teams being more successful. I don't approach this postseason any different than I did the previous two. Probably the only thing that's different is the experience that I've gained over the last couple of seasons, being in the full season. Secondly, our team has changed a little bit with the additions of Mike Richards, Colin Fraser, Jeff Carlos, those types of guys. So from a team standpoint, we haven't changed anything. And from a personal standpoint, and how I approach the game, it's definitely not changed. Q. At least finally we know games 1 and 2 are the dates, Sunday and Tuesday. You were saying yesterday it makes it a little easier as a player when you have a definitive start date to plan mentally and physically. What are your thoughts on playing Sunday‑Tuesday? Does it bother you that we don't yet know what the dates are beyond that? DUSTIN BROWN: We've got the dates for 1 and 2, so that's all that really matters. Does it bug me we have to wait till Sunday to play? Definitely I'd rather play today. It's one of those things that just the way the scheduling works with the TV games and trying to put it on National TV, and the East going as long as it is, it's one of those things that is part of getting yourself ready. From a playing standpoint, I think if you ask any player in Phoenix or L.A., I think they were probably wishing we were playing tomorrow night. Q. One thing I thought was key was your name was bandied about quite a bit around the trade deadline. How did you work through that and not let that be a distraction? Would you say it was a relief because your play and your team's play really picked up after that. DUSTIN BROWN: Around that time of year, it happens every once in a while. It was probably a little more serious, it seemed like because of the media coverage on it this year. But it was no different me coming to the rink. I prepared just like I would any other team to be my best. There was a lot of talk of me being moved, but from my standpoint, I had to prepare to play. I don't know what night it was for the L.A. Kings, but coming to the rink and doing what I needed to do to get ready was the easy part. It was more away from the rink where you have a lot of downtime. A lot of people, friends and family are calling and asking, and you don't have much to tell them. So from that standpoint, it can get a little stressed and hectic. But I think kind of once the deadline passed, this team settled in. And bringing in Jeff was a big message sent by management and ownership to the team that believe in this team. From a player standpoint, when you make a big trade like that, guys get excited in saying that the team has solidified. You have to understand that this is a team we're going to have going forward. You start falling into a rhythm with how things are going to go. How things are going to be going forward. Q. Do you have ever to weigh the balance between the hitting game you play and doing the other stuff? Because hitting is very labor intensive. You get awfully tired hitting, hitting all game. That's what you've been known for all the hitting but also doing the other stuff. DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, I think my game has changed a lot over the season that I played. I think when I first came in the league, I did what it took to make an impression. A lot of that was being physical. That's part of my game now. I think it's just a little more even keeled. I don't think you'll see me running too far out of position and make a big hit. I'll let it come to me. With the result of that and my reputation of being a physical player and staying in better position from a defensive and offensive standpoint, I still get my hits. Probably not as many as I used to, but on the flip side of that, I'm in a better position to maybe get a chance offensively, which is probably kind of evened out with every year I've played. I think I've found maybe less hits and getting more opportunities or being more helpful on the defensive side. So it's finding that balance for me, really. Q. What do you remember about the hit on Sedin? You say you don't hit as much, but that was the hit of the playoffs. DUSTIN BROWN: I just remember him. Colby had him pinned in near the boards, and I was on the back side of him, and he made a play to the middle and turned. I was just going to come bump him, and I could see him turn towards me. It's just one of these plays. I mean, hitting is more about timing than anything. And that was just well‑timed. If he turns the other way, there is no hit at all. He ended up just turning up the ice at the right time, and I caught him. Q. Do you appreciate a player who has been hit as hard as that, after the fact, a lot of players say that was a dirty hit. But do you appreciate a player that says that was a clean hit, and I wasn't ready for it, which is what he said. DUSTIN BROWN: Yeah, I think I said this at the time, I think it just solidified what I thought when I made the hit. You make a big hit like that, and everyone's up in arms with the environment and the head shots and everything in today's game that they're trying to get out. There are good, hard, clean hits that at first glance is to get thrown in with a bunch of other hits. My gut feeling when I made the hit was it was a good, hard, clean hockey check. When he comes out and says it, it more or less, like I said, it solidified my orange thought on that. Q. One captain saying good hit to another captain. DUSTIN BROWN:  Yep. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|