You might be able to spot Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Mike Richards in the above picture. Yet, those certainly aren’t the jerseys you’re used to seeing them play in.
They’re the sweaters normally worn by the Eisbaren Berlin Polar Bears, a team owned by Philip Anschutz (of Anschutz Entertainment Group, parent company to the Kings).
No, don’t worry, Brown and company haven’t been shipped overseas. That’s a picture of the Kings during warm-ups for a game in Germany on their season opening trip to Europe. The sweaters were later auctioned for charity.
And the ‘real’ team that wears them just won the German Elite League (DEL) championship by defeating the Adler Mannheim Eagles 3-1 in the finals on Tuesday. It’s the Polar Bears’ sixth DEL title since 2005. Berlin had been down 5-2 in the third period of Sunday’s game four before tying things up and eventually winning in overtime – extending the series to a decisive game five on home ice.
Stateside, AEG still has Manchester (AHL) and Los Angeles (NHL) in the playoffs as they continue their quest for a first North American hockey championship.
UPDATE 4:30pm PST: Kings Governor and AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke had this to say about the Polar Bears win – “We are proud of Eisbaren’s run as the most successful professional hockey team in all of Germany. Many members of the Kings staff have worked with Peter Lee, the GM for Eisbaren the last five years, to assist with their roster, and several of the players on the club have played in the NHL. Winning the MLS Cup with the Galaxy and the DEL Championship these past few months have been fantastic. Hopefully, we can add to our accomplishments with the Kings, Manchester Monarchs and the Lakers.”
To read a little more about the Kings trip to Germany click here (Hamburg post-game notes), here (Doughty photos) and here (Double Anschutz). While there, they played the Hamburg Freezers – another AEG owned team.
