Doughty has embraced role as mentor to younger Kings
The image of Drew Doughty, now 24, as a young child telling the camera that he wants to be a hockey player when he grows up is an image that forever will live on in the minds of Los Angeles fans.
But the Kings' defenseman isn't so young anymore.
Last season, Doughty skated with defenseman Jake Muzzin and his aid proved to be an influential factor in Muzzin's development. But with Muzzin out with an injury suffered during the Frozen Fury game last week in Las Vegas, Doughty skated with Brayden McNabb, another young defenseman trying to establish himself in the NHL much the way Muzzin was trying to a year ago.
"You can just see it in him, the skill he has and the determination he has and he's going to be a very, very good player one day," Doughty said. "I'm going to try and take him under my wing and do everything I can to try and help him and get him into the lineup permanently."
Mentor might not be a word you would have previously used to describe Doughty, but as he has become one of the premiere defensemen in the league, he's become someone to model a game after. And it's a role he's come to embrace.
"I like being in that spot," he said. "I've got to make moves, I'm not a kid anymore. I've got to do some things differently."
"There are guys that are going to younger to be younger than him, whereas before that wasn't the case," head coach Darryl Sutter said. "It was pretty much him and Slava (Voynov) and them paired with older guys."
Against the Sharks, with the two of them on the ice, they gave up one goal when Tommy Wingels managed to split the two and score. But the two mostly faced San Jose's first and second lines, and Doughty gave McNabb high marks on his performance against the other two lines.
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"We've obviously got to get used to each other a little more," Doughty said. "But besides the one goal against which we were on for, which is kind of both of our faults, letting that breakaway go by, but I think besides that we played really well together. We were kind of playing against Joe Thornton and Logan Couture's lines and those are two of the top lines still in this league. We didn't let them get anything against us when we were out there so I thought Brayden played really well."
McNabb was put in the same in-game situations as Muzzin. It was a big challenge for the young defenseman with limited service time as skating with Doughty means increased minutes and a much bigger workload than McNabb is used to. Sutter said he noticed him getting fatigued and felt that he was less and less effective as he tired.
The next challenge McNabb will need to face is sustaining a high level of play and finding a way to balance his energy.
"That's part of the responsibility when you play with him," McNabb said. "It's something I've got to be ready for and I've got to try and get better each day with those minutes."
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Muzzin is listed as day-to-day and isn't expected to be out for more than a handful of games.
"It's just kind of a fluke injury that's going to keep me sidelined for a couple games," he said Thursday.
While there are plenty of others looking to help McNabb, it's Doughty taking the lead and he intends to help him fulfill all of the potential he currently sees in the 23-year-old D-man.
"He's got all us veteran guys who are trying to help him as best we can," Doughty said. "Brayden has got a huge upside. I can see him continuing to get better and better and as the season progresses."
