Matt Brickley watched intently as the Kings took the ice for warmups Thursday night at Staples Center. His son, Daniel, was among them. Matt had known that was possible, though he had been told that Daniel probably would not play against the Minnesota Wild.
Teams often send out more players than the game limit of 18 skaters and two goalies, and coach John Stevens had said Daniel could participate for the experience and to allow his parents, Matt and Ally, visiting from Utah, to take pictures of the rookie defenseman in his No. 78 Kings uniform.
They were ecstatic to see Daniel, a college standout who signed with the Kings as a free agent last week, but Matt dared to hope for more.