'They make you feel like you belong': How Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar have shaped the Kings

To look forward, Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar person to look back. That's erstwhile they commencement rattling disconnected the names of the radical who guided them erstwhile they archetypal broke into the NHL.

Rob Blake is 1 of them. So is Dustin Brown. Matt Greene is another, arsenic are Dean Lombardi, Mattias Norström and Jarret Stoll. The guidance they each provided helped instrumentality Doughty and Kopitar from promising teenagers - Doughty was the No. 2 wide prime successful the 2008 NHL draught and Kopitar was the No. 11 prime successful 2005 - to franchise-changing stars who spearheaded the Los Angeles Kings' tally of 2 Stanley Cup championships successful 3 seasons from 2011-12 to 2013-14..

Winning is inactive the precedence for Doughty, who turns 33 adjacent month, and the 35-year-old Kopitar. Not conscionable now, but adjacent good aft their playing days are done and their numbers are hanging from the rafters of the Kings' arena. That is wherefore the 2 veterans are taking what they person learned and passing it down to the newest procreation of Kings with the hopes they tin permission the enactment successful a amended spot than it was successful erstwhile they broke in.

"What you are trying to bash is walk down knowledge," Kopitar said. "Then what you request to recognize is not each subordinate is the same. Not each person leads the aforesaid mode too. You effort to enactment successful the infinitesimal arsenic overmuch arsenic you tin and you bash it wrong yourself. ... For example, I'm usually, oregon astir of the time, not the loudest idiosyncratic successful the locker room. But determination are times erstwhile worldly needs to beryllium said."

Those teaching moments tin travel astatine immoderate time. They tin travel connected the seat during a crippled erstwhile Doughty offers words of encouragement to spot a young subordinate astatine ease. Or successful the dressing country aft practice. They tin travel erstwhile grabbing a repast astatine a edifice with teammates oregon those evenings erstwhile Kopitar hosts a radical repast astatine his home.

This is what coaches, executives and seasoned players mean erstwhile they speech astir culture. But gathering that civilization takes time.

When Kopitar and Doughty joined the Kings, Kopitar successful the 2006-07 play and Doughty successful 2008-09, the enactment was successful the midst of a six-year playoff drought. Doughty said his acquisition started with Lombardi, the Kings' wide manager who was the designer of those 2 Cup rubric teams.

Lombardi worked with Doughty to thatch him what it meant to beryllium a leader, and assistance him recognize however his actions impacted those astir him. Doughty said helium was a squad skipper successful younker hockey and successful large juniors. But his attack shifted much toward having amusive portion playing hockey.

Three games into his NHL career, Doughty was already starring the Kings successful crystal time, an accomplishment Lombardi helped enactment into perspective.

"When I got to this level, I did not recognize the wide effect I person and [Lombardi] helped maine turn into the subordinate I americium now," Doughty said. "I conscionable did not truly deliberation astir being a leader. I did not look up to radical for leadership. ... The 1 happening I ne'er realized until I got older is radical would say, 'Guys connected the squad are watching you.' I was like, 'Why the hellhole are they watching me?'"

The interaction Greene made connected Doughty was truthful important that Doughty said helium inactive goes to him for advice. Doughty lived with Greene during his rookie season, and said Greene was similar a member oregon a dada to him, and helium inactive is to this day.

Doughty admits helium did not ever listen. For example, Greene told Doughty to consistently enactment out. Doughty balked astatine the idea. At slightest helium did until helium got older and began realizing helium needed to bash the enactment successful bid to execute astatine a precocious level.

Perhaps the biggest acquisition Doughty learned from Greene was knowing what it meant to instrumentality ownership of the team.

"That was the 1 happening helium ever taught me: This is your team, but if you don't propulsion the load, who other is going to propulsion it?" Doughty said. "He said, 'You person to bash this' and I would ask, 'Why not inquire idiosyncratic else? Why does it person to beryllium me?' He said, 'Because this is your occupation and responsibility.' That was lone 3 oregon 4 years agone erstwhile I had that discussion. Now I recognize it is portion of increasing up."

It's 1 happening to perceive that. It is different to enactment upon it. So however did Doughty and Kopitar interaction their younger teammates?

For one, they worked to marque definite everyone felt welcomed. Kopitar remembered what it was similar to beryllium a 19-year-old and beryllium astir a aboriginal Hall-of-Famer specified arsenic Blake. He knows astir the nerves successful trying to marque a bully content and the value of keeping them successful cheque astatine the aforesaid time.

"I'm definite it's the aforesaid happening with these guys now," Kopitar said. "Some of these guys watched america increasing up 10 years agone winning the archetypal Stanley Cup. It's got to beryllium sometimes a small uncomfortable. But betwixt maine and Drew, I consciousness similar we're reasonably unfastened radical and precise approachable. We effort to marque it arsenic comfy arsenic we perchance can."

On the time Doughty spoke with ESPN, helium was connected his mode to person luncheon with a fewer of his younger teammates, including rookie defenseman Brandt Clarke, who is 19. Doughty spoke with excitement astir Clarke and however they person been moving together. He had the aforesaid level of enthusiasm erstwhile talking astir halfway Quinton Byfield, who turned 20 successful August.

Byfield and Doughty became adjacent past play erstwhile some were injured. Doughty said helium and Byfield skated together, worked retired unneurotic and that helium drove Byfield to games past season. They adjacent play video games together.

Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, who is successful his 3rd afloat season, is 1 of 8 homegrown players younger than 24 connected the Kings' progressive roster. They are portion of a core, which besides features Byfield and Alex Turcotte among others, that seems to person the Kings moving connected from their rebuild and opening down the way of perchance being a perennial playoff team.

The 23-year-old Anderson offered penetration into what it has been similar to larn from Doughty and Kopitar. He said Doughty, who is his antiaircraft partner, volition marque a subtle gag oregon accidental thing that volition marque a teammate grin successful the hopes of relaxing him.

"He's hard connected guys, but helium is besides patient," Anderson said. "If thing doesn't spell right, he'll fto you cognize what we request to bash to hole it. But erstwhile things spell right, he's the archetypal feline to archer you, 'Hey man, large work. Keep doing this. Keep doing that.'"

When asked astir Kopitar, Anderson said the Kings' skipper volition person the younger players implicit to his location truthful they tin bent retired with his children and person meal with his family. The archetypal mates of times Anderson had meal astatine the Kopitar house, helium said helium felt starstruck due to the fact that helium was not definite what to expect.

But Anderson yet realized thing that helped him flooded being tense astir going to those household dinners. The much often helium was invited, the much Kopitar wanted him to beryllium himself.

Anderson said Doughty and Kopitar are truthful welcoming that they spell arsenic acold arsenic making definite their younger teammates consciousness comfy with their surviving situations. That tin see thing from making furnishings recommendations to connecting them with a existent property cause if needed.

"They marque you consciousness similar you beryllium and you're portion of the team," Anderson said. "I don't cognize if that ever happens. But we person been truthful fortunate to person those two, [Jonathan Quick] and I'll adjacent propulsion Brownie [Dustin Brown] successful determination too. For my archetypal mates years, those guys each welcomed the young guys with unfastened arms to beryllium portion of their ain family."

After this season, Kopitar has 1 twelvemonth near connected his declaration portion Doughty has four. Both person built the benignant of resumes that volition spot them discontinue arsenic 2 of the top Kings of each clip portion besides making beardown cases for being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

But for Doughty and Kopitar, their careers are astir much than that.

Maybe determination volition travel a time erstwhile players specified arsenic Anderson, Byfield oregon Clarke are successful their 30s and look backmost connected what beingness was similar earlier successful their careers. They volition stock stories of what it was similar to larn from an older radical of guys who cared astir them with the anticipation those lessons tin proceed to beryllium taught to the adjacent generation.

That is the bequest Doughty and Kopitar privation to leave.

"We've had immoderate not truthful bully teams astatine the commencement and past we had immoderate truly bully teams," Kopitar said. "I deliberation our upside present tin beryllium precise high. I spot the imaginable present with this squad and I wouldn't privation to play anyplace else."