Leading by Example

Back in February when I attended Tip-A-King, there was one very noticeable absence - our team Captain Dustin Brown. Announcements were made at the event that he was at the hospital with his wife Nicole, who was getting ready to give birth to their second child. I remember thinking the timing seemed a little odd, because I thought Nicole was due in May, which I confirmed with several other people at the event.

Turns out little Mason Brown was born shortly after that, and just a little too early. He spent several weeks in the NICU before Dustin and Nicole got to bring him home. It's a terrible thing for any parent to go through, but even harder when your team is trying to make a play-off run for the first time in way too many years, and you're the guy charged with leading them. A lot of idiots on the hockey blogs criticized his absence for a couple of games before they knew the reason and questioned his leadership. I never doubted him for a minute.

Today proved what a great leader Dustin is. Tip-a-King announcements included instructions to save our ticket stubs, and that a make-up signing with him would be planned. I fully expected it would be after a game during the regular season, but the season came and went and no news. But our captain is a trooper, and he made good on his promise. I got to visit with him this weekend at the Sports Chalet in Marina Del Rey.



The poor guy literally got back less than a week ago from playing for the US World team in Switzerland, and here he is at a sporting goods store at 9:30 in the morning, smiling and being nice to everyone. Because that's the kind of guy Dustin is. And I'm glad he's our captain.

I ran into Shawna Rousseau, one of my hockey buddies from Facebook. She was looking sharp in her Brown West All-Star jersey, and I had a nice chat with she and her husband while they waited in line.



OK, I really miss my Kings now! Is it time for training camp yet?