Dustin Brown brings Stanley Cup to upstate NY hometown

Ithaca, NY, United States (4E Sports) – Instead of enjoying it just by himself, Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown shared the Stanley Cup with almost 2,000 fans at his hometown.

Despite the rain, fans came in droves at Ithaca High School where Brown played hockey to have a chance to see the Kings captain in the flesh and catch a glimpse of the Stanley Cup.

“The turnout was great, especially considering the weather,” said Brown, who coordinated the event with former Ithaca High athletics director Bill Bryant.

“I mean I’m going to be able to share it with my close friends and family over the rest of the day, but there’s a lot of people here that I won’t be able to see the rest of the day, that I grew up with, or went to school with, or that taught me so it’s cool that I get to see those people, in a sense that, I know they’ve been following me my whole career,” he added.

Brown spearheaded the Kings to a thrilling Stanley Cup Final victory in June over the New Jersey Devils. As part of hockey tradition, each member of the team that wins the Stanley Cup gets 24 hours with the trophy.

Brown also turned the event into a fundraiser for the Semper-Fi fund in honor of fallen Marine and Ithaca native Christopher Bordoni. Individuals and groups who had their pictures taken with the Cup were asked to make a $5 donation to the Semper Fi Fund.

For a $5 donation, autographed 8-by-10 photos of Brown hoisting the Cup moments after the team’s championship-clinching victory were available. Raffle tickets were also sold with winners given the chance to get their pictures taken with Brown and the Cup.

“It’s great that he’s using the Cup and what’s happened for him to raise money for that charity,” says Ray Wilmer, who brought his young boys to see the Cup this afternoon.

“There was a lot of planning during the week, and I really didn’t expect that it would run as smoothly as we’d hoped it would. But it’s more about getting the opportunity for all these people to see the Cup and to kind of get as many people through as possible in the short amount of time we have,” Brown said.

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