noti.group’s Larry Brooks covered Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s entire 15-year career and memorably bestowed the nickname “King Henrik” on him. Both legends are now deservedly in the Hall of Fame. Here, the Blueshirts goalie reflects on Brooks, who passed away after a short battle with cancer. As told to Steve Serby.
He was more than just a reporter to me, because of how much we talked over the years.
I had so many conversations with Larry over the years. As an athlete, media becomes part of the journey as well, especially the ones that are always there, you’re talking to them and you develop a friendship, you know? Most of the time we talked about the game, but there were also things outside the game we discussed over the years.
Early on, I noticed certain guys showed up all the time. Every practice. And I remember with Larry especially, the way he asked you questions. I didn’t know who he was, or his role, or how many years he worked within the game covering the game. To me it was more the way he was asking questions right away. This is a person who really knows the game. I remember that.
I was 23. You meet a lot of different reporters, a lot of people covering the game and a lot of times it’s the way they ask the questions and the angle. There’s a lot of information as an athlete you get and pretty quick. That was my read of Larry, the understanding of the game.
I had so much respect for Larry for his knowledge, how he viewed the game, and the way he described the game. He was very honest, so at times of course you got a lot of tough questions different times throughout my career (laugh). He had a big presence at the rink because he was always there.
A lot of times he waited for the big scrums to leave, so then he would sit down and have a couple of questions of his own, so that was almost daily I felt like or during a long period of time. A lot of back and forth.
Obviously he was very good at putting it into words. But it was his commitment. He spent a lot of time getting to know the players and all the information he gathered because of all the time he committed to it.
He was probably the guy I spoke to the most throughout my career. When you’d speak that much, there’s a trust there that you built over time.
Regarding the nickname, It’s funny how it developed over time. It’s just another testament to Larry’s influence on hockey fans and Rangers fans especially.
I loved it (laugh) when he and Torts (former Rangers coach John Tortorella) got into it. He stood his ground, Torts stood his ground, and it was not only Torts, it was others as well. He had his opinions, and he was really strong and firm and that’s what made him … in a way he was fearless, and as a player you respect that. At the same time, he was honest. So at times you felt that, and you heard it.
I saw him after I retired. He was around me for 15 years so we met up a year or so after I retired. It was just nice to catch up on life and what was going on. At times it could be about his kids, or grandkids … it was not always hockey.
I learned the sad news about Larry when a friend of mine texted me early this morning.
I texted with Larry last week, sending him all the energy in the world, to try to stay positive and fight through it. I knew he was in a big battle, just tried to send him some encouragement. He responded a little later, and also his son. Larry appreciated my thoughts.
He becomes the bridge between the players and the fans, and we have such a passionate fan base in New York, and Ranger fans especially. He gave the fans an opportunity to get to know players, the game. He’s gonna be really missed because he’s hard to replace, that type of writer. That’s why he was in the Hall of Fame.
He’ll be really missed by a lot of fans. And by me as well.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
