Drew Doughty

Drew Doughty (born December 8, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected second overall by the Kings in the 2008 NHL entry draft from the Guelph Storm of the OHL, where he was twice voted the league's top offensive defenceman. He is considered to be one of the NHL's top defencemen of the 2010's.^{[citation needed]}

Doughty made his NHL debut in 2008 as an 18-year-old and was named to the All-Rookie Team. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, two-time Olympic gold medallist with the Canadian national team in 2010 and 2014, 2009 World Championship silver medallist, 2008 World Junior Championship gold medalist, and a Norris Trophy finalist in 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2018, winning the trophy in 2016.

Doughty was born in London, Ontario, the son of Paul and Connie Doughty. He was introduced to hockey when he was given a mini stick for his first birthday, was skating by the age of two and was playing before he was four. Doughty also played soccer in his youth as a goalkeeper – his father had a history with the game and his sister Chelsea is named after the English team of the same name. He was considered for a provincial under-14 team, but gave up the sport at 16 to focus on hockey. Nonetheless, Doughty felt that his time playing goal in soccer helped him develop an awareness of the players and the game in hockey.

Doughty was selected by the Guelph Storm fifth overall in the 2005 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection draft. He scored five goals and 33 points for the Storm in 2005–06 and was named to the OHL All-Rookie Team on defence. Doughty played in the 2007 OHL All-Star Game and was voted the top offensive defenceman in the league by the coaches following a 74-point season in 2006–07. He again won both honours in 2007–08 with a 50-point season, and was awarded the Max Kaminsky Trophy as the OHL's outstanding defenceman. National Hockey League (NHL) Central Scouting ranked Doughty as the third best North American prospect for the 2008 NHL entry draft. He was selected second overall by the Los Angeles Kings, a choice that excited Doughty as he grew up a Kings fan and wanted to play in Los Angeles.

Doughty made the Kings opening day roster to start the 2008–09 season, one of eight 18-year-olds to do so across the league. Earning a spot on the Kings roster overwhelmed Doughty, who did not expect to play in the NHL so quickly. He made his NHL debut on October 11, 2008, against the San Jose Sharks, and scored his first goal on October 20 against the Colorado Avalanche. The Kings had the option of returning him to junior without using up one year of his rookie contract if they did so before he played his tenth NHL game. However, they chose to keep him on the roster for the season. His defensive partner, Sean O'Donnell agreed with the decision, praising Doughty's maturity. On November 6, in a game against the Florida Panthers, Doughty recorded his first NHL assist on a goal scored by Tom Preissing. He played 81 games in his rookie season, finishing with six goals and 21 assists, earning a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team, while also playing in the Youngstars Game as part of the 2009 All-Star festivities.

Doughty improved to 59 points in his sophomore season of 2009–10 and finished third in the league in scoring amongst defencemen. He was named to the second all-star team for the first time and was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenceman, which was eventually awarded to Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Duncan Keith. His coach, Terry Murray, praised Doughty for his improvement during the season. Doughty helped lead the Kings into the playoffs for the first time since 2002, though they lost their first round series in six games to the Vancouver Canucks. He played all six games of the series and recorded his first career playoff goal in game three against goaltender Roberto Luongo despite suffering a wrist injury in the first game that forced him to decline an invitation to play for Canada at the 2010 World Championships.

The Kings' media voted Doughty the team's outstanding defenceman for the third consecutive season in 2010–11. His offensive output fell from 59 points the previous season to 40, but he scored his 100th career point on December 21, 2010, against the Colorado Avalanche. A restricted free agent following the 2010–11 season, Doughty and the Kings initially struggled to agree on a new contract. The Kings offered $6.8 million per season over seven years, but Doughty rejected the offer.

On September 29, 2011, Doughty and the Kings agreed on an eight-year, $56 million contract that made Doughty the highest paid player on the team at an average of $7 million per season. Doughty missed the majority of Los Angeles' training camp as a holdout, including five pre-season games, before signing the contract. In addition to missing training camp for the 2011–12 season, Doughty suffered a concussion early in the season against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 15, that forced him onto injured reserve for five games. He struggled upon his return from the injury and faced criticism that he had allowed his physical conditioning to lapse. Doughty himself admitted that he was not enjoying the game early in the season. On December 15, Doughty recorded his 100th career assist on a goal by captain Dustin Brown in a 2–1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite his early season struggles, his season turned a corner when the team replaced Terry Murray with Darryl Sutter in December 2011 as head coach, a coach who preached the need for preparation. Doughty was elevated into a role where he was expected to shut down the opposition's top forwards, forcing him to focus more on his defensive play than his offensive. Consequently, Doughty's 36 points (10 goals, 26 assists) on the season was his lowest total in three years and the Kings would narrowly qualify for the 2012 playoffs as the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference. In the opening round of the playoffs, Doughty and the Kings defeated the back-to-back Presidents' Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks in five games before ultimately sweeping the St. Louis Blues in four games in the second round. The Kings would then defeat the Phoenix Coyotes in five games for a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in franchise history and for first time since 1993. He ended the playoffs was the top-scoring defenceman after recording four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in all 20 games to help the Kings win their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. Doughty was praised as the top player for either team in the final series, a six-game series victory over the New Jersey Devils.