Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Brown on Kopitar: ‘He doesn’t get enough credit’

2014 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Five

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 13: Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings looks on in the first period while taking on the New York Rangers in Game Five of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final at Staples Center on June 13, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Getty Images

If you weren’t aware before the playoffs started, you found out during the Los Angeles Kings’ run to winning their second Stanley Cup in three years that Anze Kopitar is a pretty good player.

Kopitar led all players in the postseason in points with 26. He had a hand in shutting down superstar centers Joe Thornton, Ryan Getzlaf, and Jonathan Toews in the first three rounds and did well to hold Derek Stepan to just two assists in the Cup Final.

Even in spite of his success, he may not jump to mind first when talking about elite centers in the NHL and Kings captain Dustin Brown can’t believe that as Corey Masisak of NHL.com shared.

“You try and describe guys [as] ‘shutdown D’ or ‘goal-scorer’ or ‘grinder.’ I’ve said this before about [Kopitar], he’s just a hockey player,” Brown said. “If the best play’s a pass, it’s a pass, if the best play’s a shot, it’s a shot. He’s just a complete hockey player. He doesn’t get enough credit in my opinion, partly probably because of the market we’re in, his background. If he was a Canadian and played in New York, [there would] probably be more people talking about him.”

There’s no doubt about that, but even as a Slovenian playing in Los Angeles, more people are taking notice of him. Winning two Stanley Cups helps out, but he’s been a top point producer for the Kings since entering the league in 2006. Having offense to go with the superstar-shutting-down defense makes him one of the league’s best.

Follow @JoeYerdonPHT