Brown, retired Kings forward, Burke among 5 elected to U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame

Dustin Brown, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings, is in awe of the talent and skill exhibited by the new generation of United States-born players, which was on full display Friday with the announcement of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2023 by USA Hockey.

Brown was among five people elected. He was joined by longtime NHL executive Brian Burke, two-time Cup winner Jamie Langenbrunner, Boston College women's hockey coach Katie King Crowley and retired NHL official Brian Murphy.

"There's just so many different kids playing hockey right now and the stuff they come up with ... you can either look at it like this is ridiculous or you can look at it like 'That's amazing'," Brown said. "I lean towards looking at it like, 'Oh, it's a good thing I played when I did.'

"But it's a good sign for USA Hockey."

The induction ceremony will be held in Boston on Dec. 6.

Brown became the second U.S.-born player to captain a team to the Stanley Cup (Derian Hatcher, Dallas Stars, 1999) when he helped Los Angeles win it in 2012 and 2014. A first-round pick (No. 13) in the 2003 NHL Draft, Brown played his entire 18-season NHL career for the Kings. He is their leader in games played (1,296) and ranks seventh with 712 points (325 goals, 387 assists). He's also third in NHL history with 3,632 hits, the most by a player from the United States since the statistic was added in 2005-06.

"That was what made me a good player," Brown said. "Part of me just really enjoyed it, made me unique. There were days when you wake up and it just hurt, but I just played in a really good time for my style of play that allowed me to play for a lot longer than I ever imagined."

Brown, 38, retired after the 2021-22 season and the Kings retired his No. 23 jersey Feb. 11. The Ithaca, New York, native also helped the United States win the bronze medal at the 2004 IIHF World Championship and silver at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Burke was general manager of the Anaheim Ducks when they became the first California-based team to win the Stanley Cup in 2007. He worked for the Ducks from 2005-08, was GM of the Hartford Whalers (1992-93), Vancouver Canucks (1998-2004), Toronto Maple Leafs (2008-13) and Calgary Flames (2013-14) and president of hockey operations for the Flames (2013-18) and Pittsburgh Penguins (2021-23). The 68-year-old was also NHL director of hockey operations from 1993-98 and was hired as executive director of the Professional Women's Hockey League Players' Association on Aug. 29.

A native of Providence, Rhode Island, Burke was GM of the silver-medal winning United States at the 2010 Olympics and director of player personnel of the fourth-place team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Burke pointed to two events that really changed the face of USA Hockey.

"If you go back the Wayne Gretzky trade to L.A. (in 1988), the Miracle on Ice (at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics) … there's some seismic events that happened in the U.S.," Burke said. "The Miracle on Ice galvanized hockey across the country. The Gretzky trade really changed the face of hockey and then expansion."

Langenbrunner played 18 NHL seasons for Dallas, the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues, retiring in 2013 with 663 points (243 goals, 420 assists) in 1,109 games. His 10 goals in 23 games during the 1999 Stanley Cup Playoffs were tied for second and 17 points tied for fifth for the Stanley Cup champion Stars.

Born in Cloquet, Minnesota, Langenbrunner played at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the 2010 games, when he was captain. The 48-year-old has worked in the Boston Bruins front office since 2015 and was promoted to assistant general manager, player personnel Aug. 10, 2022.

"Where I've seen the most improvement in the American player is the number of players in general," Langenbrunner said. "I can think back to late '80s when I was doing USA camps, and every kid was from Boston, Minnesota or maybe a handful from New York. Now you look around and California, Las Vegas, Texas, Florida ... the depth of the players is completely different. The skill level is completely different. They're trying things we would never dream of trying on the ice and they're doing it.

"These kids are playing a game that is more like a video game, compared to what we did."

King Crowley is going into her 17th season at Boston College. She's 374-148 with 53 ties and has guided the Eagles to the Frozen Four five times. In 2015-16, BC went 40-1, its only loss coming to the University of Minnesota in the national championship game.

The 48-year-old, born in Salem, New Hampshire, is a three-time Olympian, winning gold in 1998, silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006. She also won gold at the 2005 IIHF Women's World Championship.

"It's incredible," King Crowley said about the growth of women's hockey. "Now, women are getting paid to play and it's great to see. There are so many young girls going to college games or going to watch these pro games. They don't have to just look at the NHL anymore. They can look at women who play in a professional league and that's really exciting for our sport. It will continue to grow on the grassroots level; there are teams everywhere."

Murphy worked as an on-ice NHL official from 1988-2020, and on March 16, 2019, became the eighth person to officiate 2,000 regular-season games. Though a linesperson for most of his career, Murphy refereed 88 games when the NHL shifted to a two-referee system in 1998-99, and did 304 playoff games, nine times in the Stanley Cup Final.

"I never got into officiating to be recognized, so today's kind of outside my comfort zone," Murphy said. "I think I kind of think about my parents, who built a rink in the backyard in Dover (New Hampshire) and some local businessmen who raised some money to build a rink in town. I think of the people who helped me to get where I got in officiating; USA Hockey played a huge role in that."