This Central New York Hockey Star is Retiring After 18 NHL Seasons
18 seasons in the National Hockey League. Over 300 career goals, and 700 points. 47 playoff points in 85 games, and two Stanley Cup victories. Eight seasons as a captain of the Los Angeles Kings.
The resume of Dustin Brown speaks for itself. Born in Ithaca, New York, Brown was beyond dominant in high school with the Ithaca High School Little Red hockey program. He ascended up the prospect ranks in the early-2000's, playing junior hockey in Canada before being drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 2003.
Nearly two decades later, the Ithaca native has announced that he's calling it a career after this season.
Ithaca's Dustin Brown Retiring After 18 NHL Seasons
As reported on by NHL.com yesterday, Central New York native Dustin Brown will retire from the National Hockey League after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This report was a follow-up from a report filed by ESPN after the turn of the new year, that first spoke about the possibility of Brown retiring after this year.
As it turns out, Brown will have to wait a bit longer to call it a career, as his Kings' team has made the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, and just the third time since they won their last Stanley Cup in 2013-14.
Brown has seen the highest of highs during his NHL career, but also, has had to persevere through the lowest of lows. Brown was one of the best physical, two-way forwards in the NHL from 2006 through 2012, and was named captain in 2008 as a result.
His physical style of play began to take a toll, however, and his point production cratered after the Kings' first Stanley Cup season. He was stripped of his captaincy in 2016, and seemed to be in danger of having his contract bought out by the team, and seeing his time in LA come to an end.
He fought through the tough seasons, and returned to form in 2017-18, seeing his point total jump from 36 to a career-high 61. He will retire holding the Los Angeles Kings' franchise record for regular season games played, playing every one of his 1,296 NHL games with the same franchise.
Memorable Moments from Dustin Brown's Hockey Career
Born in 1984 in Ithaca, New York, Brown was a standout far before his professional hockey debut. He was a freshman on the Ithaca Big Red high school hockey team in 1999-2000, and scored 17 points in 18 games en route to a New York state hockey championship victory. He followed that up with a 53 point season (in 24 games), and would leave New York to play junior hockey in Canada.
Brown was drafted with the 13th overall selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, and made his NHL debut during the 2003-04 season. Brown would have to play elsewhere during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, but would become a mainstay in the NHL in the year following the shutdown.
Brown was named team captain in 2008, and served in that capacity for eight seasons. During that time, the Kings would become a powerhouse in the NHL, and win two Stanley Cups in three seasons during the early 2010's.
On December 17, 2017, during Brown's comeback season, he would play his 1,000th career NHL game, and in the process, score an overtime game-winning goal to help the Kings defeat the Colorado Avalanche, 2-1.
Dustin Brown's career has been full of memorable moments, and as he embarks on his final Stanley Cup Playoffs of his career, here's hoping he's not quite done making Central New York hockey fans proud.