Kings Celebrate 50th Anniversary at Make-A-Wish Wishing Well Gala

The LA Kings have a lot to celebrate this season, being their 50th Anniversary, but none more important than being honored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for which they have partnered since the inception of the Kings Care Foundation 20 years ago. Make-A-Wish, an organization that grants the wishes of children with life threatening medical conditions, introduced the “Power of a Wish” Award at their 4th annual Wishing Well Gala Wednesday evening. The award was created to recognize an organization for its outstanding dedication to corporate social responsibility and its commitment to caring for the communities in which it lives and serves, feeling the Kings a deserving recipient because of the team’s many years of philanthropy, wish granting and involvement helping to further the Make-A-Wish mission.

“Our relationship with the Kings is a very special alliance. We share a long-time friendship rooted in a deep commitment to the LA community plus a passion for bringing hopeful, thrilling experiences to our wish kids and their families,” said Neal Aton, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Greater Los Angeles. “What better way to inspire kids fighting life-threatening illnesses than by teaming them with these sports heroes who truly embody their philosophy that ‘we are all Kings.’”

The team was represented by left winger Tanner Pearson, his often line-mate forward Tyler Toffoli, and COO of AEG Kelly Cheeseman, who accepted the award on behalf of the organization. The award was presented by two Make-A-Wish survivors, including William McLeod, who first met his hero Dustin Brown 6 years ago when he was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukemia. “I’m here to talk about my experience with the LA Kings,” he said on stage. “My wish was to meet the LA Kings and my favorite player Dustin Brown. After 3 years of treatment and beating leukemia, Dustin and the Kings were really nice. My brother and I shot pucks at practice, toured the locker room, and even got a limo ride. That was awesome. I’ll never forget that day. It makes me and my family smile every time we talk about it.”

William recently returned to the rink to visit Brown, who was thrilled to see Will look so healthy. “Every wish is unique in it’s own way,” Cheeseman said. “Kids like Will tonight 5 or 6 years ago he’s accepting an award and he’s still with us today you see him so grown up he’s that big kid over there, that’s unique for us, getting to see the by-product of creating that moment, that hope. Then this year doing it for 50 families, 50 kids all at once that’s unique, that’s not done too often. Everything this year is about the number 50 which can be a bit overwhelming at times but it created a special moment this year which most organizations couldn’t pull off but with the great work that the Kings Care Foundation, Jennifer and our staff, we were able to engage and take on something like that and pull it off and our players had a good time with it.”

Cheeseman’s favorite moments from the Kings 50th Anniversary celebration have already happened, “from the opening night with bringing the original ’67 team in, and all of the retired jerseys in one spot, having the triple crown line all coming out at the same time and reliving that moment, to unveiling the monument a couple of weeks ago. I mean, there’s a lot of things like that have already happened. The new silver and black jersey that we’re undefeated in, the 50th anniversary jersey that these guys really love, all of that is kind of the culmination of things, so we’re kind of getting into the thick of it at this point, and it’ll culminate with the All Star Game.”

Pearson, who stopped by to chat, also remembers the 50 families Wish fondly. “I haven’t been a part of any specific wish,” he said, “but last month we had 50 kids come by the practice rink and have a fun full day with the guys, watch them practice, see what we do day in and day out. They were able to get some autographs after and take some pictures, that put a big smile on their face. It was cool.” He also feels pride in how much the Kings are role models to kids in the community. “I don’t think, growing up is one thing that you think of, but I think once you make it honestly you want to give back, whether it’s a golf tournament, or a charity things back home, being here how involved the Kings are, we get to do a lot of cool things.”

I couldn’t help but ask about fan favorite Chris Sutter. “Yeah he’s a character that guy, yeah,” Pearson said. “He’s sometimes at the practice rink with the team and then usually whether we win or lose after the game he’s in the room at Staples and he’s always puts a smile on our face, that’s for sure.” Pearson even confirmed that the team loves Chris’s Dance Cam as much as the fans do. Even from the ice, “It’s hard not to [miss] in the third period when everyone stands up and goes nuts and you look up and he’s doing his thing and he’s taking good pride in that, that’s for sure.”

Pearson also laughed at the mention of That 70’s Line. “Yeah it’s not something that Ty and I really think about, that name came up a couple of years back, no it’s this season is going well so far, just kind of keep the ball rolling, get back to where we want to be.” When asked about the injuries the Kings are struggling though, he said “There’s a lot of guys playing really great, right now we’ve got the four lines rolling and 6 D our goal tenders are outstanding. That’s all we need right now gotta keep on chugging along and the schedule gets a bit harder here in a bit so you’ve gotta buckle down and get the wins while we’ve got the break.”

Cheeseman feels confident about the Kings 50th season. “We feel great,” he said. “The team’s played really, really well. We’ve have a couple of early setbacks, losing Jonathan, Anze being out for a little bit, Gabby being out for a little bit. It’s a testament to this group and the room that we have, they’ve stepped up together and once again they’re fighting for the division and ultimately have their eyes on being a championship team. That’s the statement we want to make.”

His favorite player from all 50 seasons? Adam Deadmarsh. “He came on the organization right when I was kind of starting with the organization,” Cheeseman said. “In fact my first day on the job, and I tell Rob this all the time, they came into the sales office and they said that we’re trading Rob Blake. And that was a tough moment, and I had never answered “one a day at Kings LA” at the point and I got to answer it that day. Adam and Aaron [Miller] came into the organization and we went on that great run at that point. I just love the way he played, with reckless abandon, his ability to score goals, just training in that team culture, that was important. It’s kind of a testament to where this team is right now. Tanner’s very similar to Adam, Dustin’s very similar to Adam, so, I like them all now.”

In his acceptance speech, Cheeseman spoke about how meaningful Make-A-Wish is to the Kings organization. “Thanks everyone. Thank you to Make-A-Wish Los Angeles for this wonderful honor and congrats to our fellow honorees. At the Kings our core values are family, integrity, excellence and passion, and Make-A-Wish stands for all those things. As we look to strive to meet our mission of creating a life long group of Kings fans. Our Make-A-Wish experience over the last 10 years are some of the most impactful and meaningful experiences we’ve ever had. We’ve had the honor of being able to fulfill so many kids wishes including Will’s over the years and to see him doing so well is really what this is all about. Being able to recognize our star of the month child each month and the 50 great families that we recently were able to put through these special moments that we’re so honored to have as part of our daily lives is what we’re here to do today, to give these kids and their families a break from what they’re going through. Our staff loves it, our players love it, the experiences caused by the smiles are some of the greatest moments of our lives. Thank you to our players, Tyler and Tanner, for coming tonight, their girlfriends Megan and Kat, thank you to Daryl Evans who’s in the middle of every one of those moments, we appreciate everything you guys do for us. I was asked what it means to be honored several times tonight and it really isn’t about us. We’re so honored to have the opportunity to give these kids and their families that opportunity. It’s really, for us in hockey, it really is about the team, and for these kids and these families that have the opportunity, it’s just anybody scoring a goal for us so we really appreciate that. I want to thank our staff and all of our families for everything that you do for us. Thank you everyone, enjoy your night and let’s have some fun. Go Kings Go.”

“I went to the Make-A-Wish Day with the LA Kings last month,” said Tatiana, who also presented the Kings award. “It was a special event in honor of their 50th anniversary. I got to watch their practice and meet Tanner Pearson and some of the other players. After lunch I got to skate with the ice crew. Events like this include our kids even after our wishes have been granted and make us feel so special. This is one of the many ways our wishes really do last forever. I’m grateful to be a part of the Make-A-Wish Family.”

Photo Credit: Craig T. Mathew and Greg Grudt/Mathew Imaging