Dustin Brown was no fan of the Rangers while growing up in upstate New York

Kings captain Dustin Brown has told the story before, and he related it again Friday. He grew up in Ithaca, N.Y., and just to be different, just to annoy family and friends, he didn’t root for the New York Rangers like everyone else in his upstate town. He was a fan of the Vancouver Canucks when the team faced off against the Rangers in the 1994 Stanley Cup Final. He also said he rooted for the Quebec Nordiques, which he said he couldn’t explain beyond admiring the play of Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic before the franchise relocated to Denver and began the Colorado Avalanche before the 1995-96 season.

“Everyone was a Rangers fan in upstate New York, so I tended not to like the Rangers just to be different,” Brown said, smiling. “I started liking Vancouver because they played them in ’94. I liked the Quebec Nordiques for some reason.”

The Rangers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday, a game Brown said he didn’t watch on TV because he had other commitments. New York’s trip to the Stanley Cup Final will be its first since Brown rooted against them in the ’94 Final, when they defeated the Canucks for their first Stanley Cup championship since 1940.

Facebook Twitter Plusone Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email