Doughty and Brown on verge of Cup win
It’s a moment that every hockey player dreams of and later tonight, Storm alumni Drew Doughty (pictured), Dustin Brown and their LA Kings have the opportunity to close out their best-of-seven series on home ice and raise the Stanley Cup above their heads.
With the NHL’s Stanley Cup finals underway, three Storm alumni along with former Head Coach / General Manager Dave Barr are trying to capture the Stanley Cup just one year after Daniel Paille, who played his entire junior career in Guelph and Geoff Ward, who coached the Storm to their last division title, were part of the Boston Bruins’ championship run.
Captaining the Los Angeles Kings is former Storm forward Dustin Brown, who was chosen one round after Guelph picked Paille in the first round of the 2000 draft. Brown went on to play three seasons in the Royal City. He was the Storm’s co-MVP in 2002-03 and his 98 goals in 174 regular season contests rank 11th all-time in team history.
Joining Brown on the LA Kings is former Storm first round pick Drew Doughty, who played 218 games on the Guelph blueline before being selected second overall by the Kings. Doughty earned the Top Scorer Award (2006-07), Rookie of the Year (2005-06) and Defenceman of the Year (2006-07, 2007-08), before graduating to the NHL.
Also vying for the Stanley Cup is Cam Janssen, a trade deadline pick up by the Storm during their run to the 2003-04 OHL title. Janssen was acquired by Dave Barr, the General Manager in Guelph that season. Barr is now one of three Assistant Coaches with the Devils.
Brown and Doughty have been instrumental in the Kings’ remarkable run through the NHL playoffs. Up front, Brown’s 17 points including 7 goals and 10 assists all rank among the top 5 in the post-season. Meanwhile on defence, Doughty is tied for second with 10 assists and his 13 points lead all NHL blueliners.
