New England Hockey Journal - December 2015 - 16

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QuiCK

By Wayne Fish

UP
FOR A

Connecticut native relishes
leadership role on new-look,
first-place Los Angeles Kings
16 NEw ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL December 2015

Aaron Poole/NHLI via Getty Images: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images (right)

CHALLENGE

ACK WHEN the Los Angeles Kings won their first Stanley Cup, goaltender Jonathan
Quick was viewed as an upand-coming talent who counted
on the leadership of veterans such as Justin
Williams, Mike Richards and Jarret Stoll.
Just a few short years later, Quick turned
his head and the lockers of those aforementioned experienced talents had new nameplates on them.
Now there's a different cast of characters
in charge of the room - stars like Jeff Carter,
Drew Doughty and, yes, Jonathan Quick,
who, believe it or not, turns 30 in January.
The Milford, Conn., native - raised in
Hamden, Conn. - might not be the most vocal presence on jet planes and bus rides, but
when he talks, people listen. There's a major
respect factor there.
"He's been a big part of the team ever since
he got here (2007-08),'' says Dustin Brown, the
team's captain. "He has an aura about him.
From outside it might look like cockiness, but
from in here it's just confidence.''
Some of that self-assuredness might stem
from that first Cup run, which resulted in a
Conn Smythe Trophy for Quick as playoff
MVP. Any multi-Stanley Cup championship
team will tell you big-time goaltending is a
crucial element. When the guy also can lead
by example, that's just a bonus.
"That (confidence) just trickles down
throughout our team,'' Brown says. "You can
see it, when he's on his game, our team plays
with a different type of swagger.''
Quick sees the value in having a netminder
who brings more to the table than just on-ice talent. "You look at some of the guys who were on
our team last year who aren't with us anymore,''
he says. "I don't want to say they were old, but
they had more experience in the league.
"When you lose guys like that, there has to
be a group of guys who kind of take over those
leadership roles. From my standpoint, I'm trying
to chip in where I can. Be a little more vocal.''
And this is a quite challenging time to be
a leader on the Kings, who, after winning two
Cups in three seasons, missed the playoffs
last year. The mission statement for this season is to not experience that disappointment
again, and Quick sounds as determined as
ever to see the job through.
"We have guys who take a lot of pride in what
they do,'' he explains. "The league gets better every year. It gets more and more difficult.
"It's tough playing into June every year
instead of spending that time getting better.
You have to be ready every night. It just got
the better of us last year.''
During the Kings' spectacular threeyear run (2011-14), Quick played in a total
of 76 postseason games. That's nearly an
extra season of hockey over that span. Yet
he seems to thrive on work. He's turning in
some of his best work this year in the Kings'
season of redemption.

New England Hockey Journal - December 2015

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