Friedman: Doughty chose greatness

Hockey Night in Canada insider Elliotte Friedman joined Team 1040's Scott Rintoul Wednesday night, hours after the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers in overtime.

Friedman was asked about Darryl Sutter's impact on Doughty's blossoming career.

FANTASTIC answer.

"Ultimately," Friedman began, "I believe that a player's success will be determined by themselves. Like, you always need good coaching and you always need somebody to point you in the right direction. But the one thing I believe more than anybody else - and this is not just in hockey, but in life - the only person who can ultimately decide if you're going to be a success is you. Are you willing to put forth the effort. Are you willing to do the extra things it takes.

"You can have any person, whether it's Darryl Sutter or anybody else, say you gotta do this, this, this, this and this to be successful; but only you decide if you're going to listen. I think Drew Doughty reached a point where he said okay, I want to be great.

"I remember I did a piece with him at the Olympics and I was really struck by some of the things he said. It bothers him that he's never won the Norris Trophy. It bothers him that he doesn't get more consideration for it. It bothers him that, you know, his name does not come in the conversation among NHL best defensemen.

"And I think when you're in that situation, you have a choice. What are you going to do about it. Are you going to do something about it. And he decided he was.

"You know, I think he was a guy that the Kings paid before they were really ready to pay him. I think they were really concerned when they signed that contract about whether or not it was going to work. And to his credit, he said, yeah, I'm going to earn it. And he's really close to doing that. You could argue he's already worth every bit of every penny of the $56 million they're going to pay him three years into that deal.

"And I think the Kings are smart enough to recognize that they let him do things and he will do it. But I think at the end of the day Scott, he deserves the credit for deciding that he was going to be the best player he could be."

Source: Scott Rintoul, Team 1040