Hey there Kings fans,
My name is Sabreena, and it occurred to me that I have been hanging around Jewels From the Crown for a few weeks now without actually introducing myself. Today seemed like the perfect time.
Rest assured, the intent here is not to take attention away from celebrating the anniversary of the Kings’ first-ever Stanley Cup win, but 2012 was the time I became a Kings fan, and part of the joy of being in a community like JFTC is sharing memories of our fandom with one another.
I grew up with basketball as my first love (I currently cover all three other teams that play at Staples Center), but my primary athletic endeavor was ice skating. I used to take lessons at the same Culver City Ice Arena that the Kings practiced at back in the day. Still, the fact that the Kings weren’t particularly great for much of my childhood meant I was more interested in the hardwood.
Even in 2012, I only really became invested in the first round of the playoffs to pile on to the misery of my neighbor and good friend from Vancouver. Once the Kings were past the Canucks, though, I was hooked. The rest of the playoffs were a bit of a blur up until Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The start of the game was incredibly nerve-wracking, because this was the tightest any series had been to that point. But then Steve Bernier was tagged with that five-minute major (a penalty I had never seen before), and the Kings kept piling on the goals. By the time Trevor Lewis cleaned up Dwight King’s miss to take a 3-0 lead as the power play expired, I was a Kings fan for good.
I felt my first real Kings heartbreak in 2013 (2016 ended up hurting much worse), and then was back at L.A. Live celebrating the 2014 win. That was the year the superstitions kicked in — my brother and I watched nearly all of Game 7 of the Blackhawks series in complete darkness because we didn’t want to get up to turn on the lights once the game had started. Admittedly, it’s been harder to stay as connected since, but I did see my first Kings win in person back in February (a tremendously fun win over the Flames) in what ended up being my last non-work live sporting event. It’s been a strange time to get back on board with the team, and not just because of the stoppage. It hurts having to say goodbye to so many of my old favorites. I really miss Alec Martinez.
But today is a day to remember 2012, and the magic of seeing a no. 8 seed obliterate every team in its path to hoist the Cup. It’s a special day for me as the one that cemented my Kings fandom, and I’m sure you all have fond memories from June 11, 2012 and the playoff run as a whole. Please share them in the comments so we can all reminisce together.
On to the links…
- LA Kings Insider Jon Rosen bids farewell.
- Kings goalie prospect Lukas Parik was invited to training camp for the Czech Republic U20 national team.
- Surprise, surprise: Alexis Lafreniere, the presumptive no. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, was named CHL player of the year for the second consecutive season. Sidney Crosby is the only other player to win that honor in back-to-back seasons.
- In other draft news, the lottery is coming up in June 26 at 5 p.m.
- Players described the feeling of returning to the ice as part of Phase 2 of Return to Play.
- With the news of the U.S./Canada border closure and Canada’s mandatory 14-day quarantine, it is becoming increasingly likely that the NHL’s hub cities will be in the United States.
- The plan remains for NHL games to be played without fans for the entirety of the 2020 postseason, and Steve Kouleas reports that Phase 3 (training camp) could be coming as early as July 15. /