Los Angeles Kings captain/forward Dustin Brown has been named a finalist for the 13th Annual NHL Foundation Player Award, the Kings and the National Hockey League announced today.  The award recognizes an NHL player who applies the core values of hockey – commitment, perseverance and teamwork – to enrich the lives of people in his community.

This is the third consecutive year Brown has been nominated for the award.

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The winner will be announced on Wednesday, June 22, during the 2011 NHL Awards from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas. The 2011 NHL Awards will be broadcast by VERSUS.  Brown, Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green and Vancouver Canucks forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin are the finalists for this year’s award.

The Kings’ 26-year-old captain is a finalist for the NHL Foundation Award for the third consecutive season in recognition of his continued tireless involvement in countless community-benefiting endeavors.  This season, Brown donated $50 for each of his 300 hits to contribute a total of $15,000 to Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles ’ Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit.  Two seasons ago, as part of the program he and his wife Nicole launched with KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America, Brown’s per-hit donation plan raised $70,000 to build a new playground in Carson that now hosts more than 100 kids per day.

In mid-December, through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Brown hosted an unforgettable day behind the scenes at STAPLES Center and then the following night at the Kings-Wild game for Will McCloud, a six year old boy who was battling leukemia.  Brown also again served as the team spokesman for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, an organization dedicated to providing support for clinical research in pediatric cancer, while improving the medical environment for all children. He also volunteered to be the spokesman for the Club’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Night.

In addition to adopting a local family over the holiday season as part of the Kings’ Adopt-a-Family program, Brown and his wife independently adopted a large family with a child currently being treated at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.  He led extensive team participation in Kings Community Corner, a ticket-donation program that has enabled more than 15,000 Los Angeles youth and military members to experience Kings hockey live at STAPLES Center.

And through his budding engagement with social media, Brown has raised awareness for Make My Day Monday, which promotes committing random acts of kindness each Monday, and raised funds for Japanese earthquake relief, donating $1 for each of the 9,425 new followers he attracted on Twitter during a one-week period in March.

Named the 15th captain in Kings history on October 8, 2009, Brown is also the youngest captain in Kings history and the first American-born captain in Kings history.  Brown was originally selected by the Kings in the first-round (13th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.  He has 305 points (141-164=305) in 513 career regular season games with the Kings.

NHL Clubs submitted nominations for the NHL Foundation Player Award and the finalists were selected by a judging panel.  The NHL Foundation will present $25,000 to the chosen charitable organization of this year’s recipient.