Kings retire Dustin Brown's number, unveil statue outside Crypto.com Arena
Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings lifts the Stanley Cup during a ceremony as his jersey number is retired and a statue of his likeliness is unveiled at the entrance of the arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Kings retired Dustin Brown's No. 23 and unveiled a statue of the franchise's career games played leader outside Crypto.com Arena before Saturday evening's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
A banner with Brown's number was raised to the rafters during an on-ice ceremony, which featured several Kings legends and former teammates of Brown. The statue unveiling followed and was shown in the arena on the center-hung high-definition scoreboard and video display screens.
Both ceremonies were broadcast live on Bally Sports West.
Brown played a record 1,296 games for the Kings from his debut as an 18-year-old on Oct. 9, 2003 through the conclusion of last season. He captained the Kings to their two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.
Brown is the seventh Kings player to have his number retired and the third with a statue outside the arena.
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"Having my number retired is something I never imagined and is a humbling honor," Brown said in July when it was announced his jersey would be retired and a statute of him placed outside the arena where he played for his entire 18-season NHL career.
"I am incredibly proud that I played for the LA Kings my entire career. With my number going to the rafters, I am honored to be amongst the King greats, but it makes me think of the two banners already in the rafters, of which I am most proud. It took numerous people to raise those two banners; the same is true for this one."
Brown was chosen by the Kings with the 13th pick in the 2003 NHL draft. He is sixth in team history with 325 goals, seventh in points with 712 and eighth in assists with 387.
Brown became the Kings' captain in his fifth NHL season, their youngest captain at 23 years old and first American-born captain in team history. Brown was captain for eight seasons, where the Kings qualified for the playoffs six times, including five consecutive seasons from 2009-10 through 2013-14.
"Since Dustin first joined our organization nearly 20 years ago, he has represented the L.A. Kings with incredible class and passion," said Kings president Luc Robitaille, who also has a statue honoring him outside the arena and his number retired.
"In addition to enjoying an outstanding playing career and leading us to moments we had never experienced with two Stanley Cups, he has been a standout in the Southern California community and set the course for our franchise."