USA Today Bestselling Author
I just wanted to go on record with my prediction that the Los Angeles Kings will earn their third Stanley Cup this season. They’re not doing so well at the moment, but we’ve seen that before. The LA Kings have slumped in December before, only to come back swinging, focused and unrelenting. This is their MO. You don’t see them play their best hockey until their backs are to the wall.
It’s exactly three months and two days since the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup, the most special award in all of sports. The elation is still with me. I anticipate another glorious season, especially since I’ll be attending the game at which they will raise the banner in the Staples Center!
I remember the intense joy I felt when I saw that puck go into the net. I still get chills when I think of it. The on-ice celebration went on for quite a while and I thought I’d share a couple of my favorite images from that.
Here’s one showing Alec Martinez and Kyle Clifford shortly after the winning goal. What is sweet about this picture is poor Lundqvist, defeated. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost.
Next, there is nothing cuter than a baby in the Stanley Cup and Kyle Clifford’s baby, Brody, was so totally adorable with his fuzzy hair. It’s amazing that the little guy was sleeping, but I remember when my kids were babies. They could sleep through a lot. Later, there was a family photo and, man, Clifford’s wife is really pretty! She actually looks exactly like how I imagine the heroine of my work-in-progress would look. Her name is Emily Greene. Mrs. Clifford looks like an Emily, doesn’t she?
Marian Gaborik has only been an LA King for a short while. We got him from the Columbus Blue Jackets just before the trade deadline and I have to say, he’s fit in with the team perfectly. So much has been said in the media about the ease of his transition and how much of that had to do with the team welcoming him warmly. It’s well known how tightly knit the Kings are, how they’re friends, not just co-workers.
This is exactly the type of cohesiveness I want to portray in my hockey romances. I want my San Diego Barracudas to be like the Kings, with a work ethic and sense of responsibility to the fans and to each other. I want my guys to love each other like brothers.
There was some doubt about whether Marian would perform well for the Kings. Apparently he had a history of injuries. But he’s proven all those naysayers wrong. All he needed were the right teammates.
He’s Slovakian and kinda cute.
