Everyone loves a good celebration, so whether you are cutting your own cake or wishing friends and family a happy birthday today, here are a few LA Kings players, past and present, who were also born on this day.
Mike Allison – 1961 (62)
LA Kings Left Wing (1987 – 1990)
Mike Allison was a veteran of 499 games in the NHL, split between the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and LA Kings. Initially a Rangers’ second-round draft pick in 1980, he made his professional debut the same year, finishing 11th in Calder Trophy voting with 64 points in 75 games.
After six years in the Big Apple, Alison was traded to Toronto, where he spent a season and a half before coming to Hollywood on Dec. 14, 1987, in a deal for Sean McKenna. Interestingly, he scored a goal in his Kings’ debut on Dec. 16, 1987, against the Edmonton Oilers. However, after 147 games in black and silver, he announced his retirement after the 1989-90 season.
Erik Rasmussen – 1977 (46)
LA Kings Forward (2002 – 2003)
The Buffalo Sabres selected Erik Rasmussen as the seventh overall pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft and waited a season to bring one of their top prospects to the league. After making his debut on Oct. 1, 1997, he spent the next five seasons with Buffalo, where he never scored more than 31 points in a season. Ultimately, the team traded him to LA on July 24, 2002, for Adam Mair and a fifth-round draft pick (Thomas Morrow).
On Oct. 9, 2002, Rasmussen made his Kings’ debut and played 57 games during his only season in Tinsletown. Moreover, he collected 16 points that season, the highest point total for the remainder of his career, which lasted three seasons. After signing with the New Jersey Devils as a free agent in the summer of 2003, he retired with 128 points in 2007.