All-Star Commercial Goodness and WJC News!

So the Kings have come up with another good commercial asking fans to vote for Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown in the upcoming All-Stars Game in Montreal this year. We all know they won't get in because the voting is just a popularity contest and the Kings are so far off the radar that they can't ever get any love from the general hockey fan. But at least the Kings marketing team can put together a good showing for their players and their respective personalities. I never said they were great actors; c'mon now, they're hockey players. Cut them a little slack.





Onto World Junior Championship news: Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert have been named to the Team Canada roster.

Oscar Moller has been allowed to leave the Kings to play for Team Sweden.

Viatcheslav Voinov has been also allowed to leave Manchester to play for Team Russia. Umm, hopefully this doesn't sour relations between Russia and the US seeing as how they're not gonna be able to keep Voinov after he's played for them...

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Prospects Camp - Week 1

Due to something called "work," I haven't been able to get out to the rink to check out the prospects for as long as I'd like. But I have been able to get out there a couple of times and was out there this morning, with my new camera in tow. I had been reluctant to take any serious notes since we're essentially looking at an unfinished product with these prospects feeling each other out and getting back into the groove of being out on the ice for 2-a-days.

Since I had the time today, I took a few notes. They're not extensive by any means, but here they are:

Jonathan Bernier - He has been one of the few that has easily impressed me with his work between the pipes. He's so calm and doesn't make many overly panicked movements. His lateral movement across the goal line and around the top of the crease is impressive. He knows exactly how much push he needs in order to get from one post to the top of the crease down to the other pipe. The control of his legs is really something worth taking note of.

I thought he engaged in good, clear communication with his defenders. For example, after one drill was finished, he called a defender back to him and it looked like they hashed out what Bernier needed from him in that situation. That type of communication is definitely a quality in a player that I like seeing. There was one drill that was a breakout drill starting with the goalie going around behind the net and either passing the puck out to a defenseman or leaving it behind the net. I thought Bernier's puck-handling abilities were controlled enough. I don't remember ever looking at that specific skill so I can't really gauge his improvement in that area. All in all, Bernier has continued to impress even though he let in some pucks here and there. Although, I'd attribute that to the skills of the forwards.

The plain white helmet is a little creepy...

Jeff Zatkoff - In the drill that I just mentioned, I was definitely not impressed with anything Zatkoff was doing behind the net. The way he was holding his stick made him look uncomfortable while he was behind the net. Sometimes he wouldn't even be able to control the puck, which you could attribute to being a bouncing puck, but still...

Drew Doughty - What can I say about this kid; he's just impressive to watch. His skating is so smooth that he looks like he's floating over the top of the ice. His positional play makes me just shake my head because it just looks so easy for him. If anyone has any doubts as to why he was picked 2nd overall, please go to the camp Sunday or Monday and watch him skate. Plain and simple, we struck gold with this kid.

DREW!!!

Justin Azevedo - He definitely looked to have more confidence out there today than at the beginning of the week. His face didn't show the frustrations that were present a few days ago, which I'll take as a good sign. But I still couldn't ignore the fact that he was still getting easily pushed around while on the puck. Perhaps he could stay a little more steady around the corners if he hit the gym this summer while focusing on his core. His center of gravity is already lower than everyone else's but it doesn't really help when you get cross checked on the side of the head. I think if he was 3 or 4 inches taller, that cross check he got from another prospect would have been on his shoulder instead. I wasn't too impressed at the beginning of this week, but he has shown progress and I just have to keep reminding myself that these are raw prospects.

New short stack

Geordie Wudrick - If you don't yet know, this is the kid that talks a mile a minute in interviews that make them absolutely hilarious to watch. He definitely has some sweet skills but I think his excitement with getting the puck makes him kind of go all over the place. Saying that, I thought the speed with which he got his shots off was decent. He also had quick feet while staying smooth around corners.

Colten Teubert - Besides Bernier, Teubert has been the big stand out for me. I can already recognize his skating/movement style, which is very in-your-face. He hasn't been letting down in any of the drills I've seen him do and he's got that steely look on his face that tells you he means business as he's plastering you to the glass. I can already see him becoming a favorite of mine, and I'm sure he's forcing management to take notice of him. He's only 18 and would have to go back to Juniors if he didn't make it onto the Kings roster for next season. In any case, I'm very excited to see how he does at training camp. As a side note: he has a presence about him where I'd be perfectly okay with ripping all his clothes off.

Umm, yes please.

Oscar Moller - This kid is pretty easy to recognize out there. Just look for the shorter kid that can hold his own against the guys that are over six feet tall. The way he's built at 5'11" reminds me a bit of how Lubo skates, nimble with efficient strides. He's got a quick release and is also adorable in the face.

Martin Nolet - This is a defenseman out of the college ranks. The only reason I really noticed him was because he got hit square in the mouth with a puck on Friday and was wearing a full face shield/cage today. I felt bad for the guy, definitely, but I'll give him some props since he definitely held his own out on the ice.

Nolet in the mask and Moller with the puck

Garrett Roe - Didn't really pay too much attention to him, but I noticed that he was a speedy little guy who fought for every puck.

Viatcheslav Voinov - After getting his visa taken care of, he was out on the ice today. For some reason, his movements kept making me think he was a forward. I don't know why, but I had to make an effort to remember that he was a defenseman. After just one day, I can only say that I hope he stays through next week in order to get some practice time in with the other prospects. The other Russian prospect, Andrei Loktionov is still in Russia dealing with visa issues apparently.

There have been 4 German kids that have joined the Kings prospects in this camp; Florian Busch, Frank Hordler, Alexander Weiss, and Andre Rankel. The one that I've noticed the most out of these four is Busch. During any type of one-on-one drills, he definitely utilized his quick shot toward the goal. I thought he also had good maneuvering skills while handling the puck.

German kids

Since today was the first day of seeing the second group of guys that are going to be here all next week, I didn't really take any notes on them. I will say the early standout is Wayne Simmonds and that he's in desperate need of some protein shakes. 6'1" at 162 pounds = lanky as hell.

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2008 NHL Draft - Day 1

To start:

The Nokia Theater at LA Live is a fantastic venue. But it was hot outside and the last thing I want to do when it's hot is stand in the sun waiting for the doors to open. I had never been to Nokia before and currently do not have any suggestions to management on what they could have done to make Kings fans not feel like cattle. But I, along with my entourage, hung out in the TeamLA store across the street in the air conditioning.


On to the meat:

This morning I came across the news that Dan Cloutier had been placed on waivers. All I have to say is, "It's about freaking time!" But I'm going to be nice and give Clouts some advice: Don't talk crap about the organization that pays your salary. It's a privilege to play in the NHL, not a right.

The Kings made a trade before the draft started that got the crowd hootin' and hollerin'. This is officially the 2nd transaction between the Kings and Ducks. But it turned into somewhat of a threesome with Calgary joining in the trade.

To the Ducks went Calgary's 17th pick (2008) and the Kings 28th pick (2008)
To the Kings went Calgary's 2nd round pick (2009) and Anaheim's 12th overall pick (2008)
To the Flames went Michael Cammalleri and the Kings' 48th pick (2008)

When this was announced I was in a bit of shock because I didn't think the Kings would move Cammy this early. I was thinking maybe he would have been moved at the trade deadline in 2009 since he would have hopefully upped his trade value to make himself more attractive to other teams. Turns out Calgary was eyeing our 5'9" short stack already. I thought this was such a good move by Lombardi and he definitely still has my full support.


2nd pick:

I was completely nervous watching DL and Co. walk up on stage. Even as they were walking up the stairs, I had no idea who he would pick. But when Drew Doughty was chosen, the feeling of relief came over me and we all watched him pull that beautiful jersey over his head. This was definitely the pick that we needed. I know I said that I wanted Luke Schenn, and I still kind of do; but watching Doughty being interviewed after he was chosen and then seeing Bob Miller and Jim Fox talk to him on the speaker phone was great. This is definitely the kind of mindset that will beyond endear him to Los Angeles:

"I saw Dean Lombardi shaking hands with the Calgary GM. I kind of buried my head in my hands and said, 'Oh, no.' I really wanted to be a L.A. King.''

I think the thing that shocked me the most was how much weight he has lost. I knew he was dropping the weight, but I didn't he would lose 24 pounds! That's a couple of Thanksgiving turkeys! I am super excited for Doughty to make his way over to the west coast and start the process of making the roster next season. In looking at the blueline, I feel that he could definitely make an immediate impact. I don't want to jump the gun by believing that Thomas Hickey will be on the roster as well, but I can't help thinking about that scenario. I hope everyone realizes that the Kings now have 4 prospects from the Team Canada roster that won gold at the World Junior Championships in 2008. The Russian Super Series? Killed that too.

SIIIIIIICK

12th pick:

The Kings trade down to the 13th pick. Buffalo gives up their 3rd round pick in 2009. Good old Deano. Always looking to stockpile. Well done.

Great quote from Lombardi to Rich Hammond:

"Finally I went to (Buffalo) and said I won't trade with this other team if you tell me who you're taking. So we wrote down who we both wanted and kind of turned the paper over. Sort of like blackjack, showing your cards. We didn't have the same player written down, so we made the trade.'"


13th pick:

The Kings select Colton Teubert (D Regina Pats). The thing that stood out to me while looking at the reviews of this kid was this particular quote from an unnamed scout through The Hockey News.

"He's not as polished with the puck as Schenn, but he's meaner than Schenn. He's a nasty guy to play against."

I was so happy reading that because instead of getting Schenn, we get a player who could gain the necessary skills to make himself a top flight defenseman AND he's force in the defensive zone. Oh yeah, we also got Drew Doughty!


The aftermath:

After about the 15th pick, Bob and Jim were joined by Marcel Dionne and Jonathan Bernier up on stage. Obviously I flipped out a touch when Baby Bernier walked out on stage, but the whole situation was made even better when Luc came out and sat down next to Marcel. Great job to the Kings staff for making the event a memorable one. Although it was irritating when I wanted to take a picture with the gigantic Kopi mural at the end of the event. I wanted to get on the stairs to get some height on this vertical mural thing but was denied. Dude, security staff guy, you need to chill out. I just wanted to stand on the stairs and get my picture taken with the picture of Kopi.

To the CMO: Thumbs up on the ice block in the lobby. People probably passed by without a second glance, but it was a very nice 1st class-type of touch to the event. Your asking means that you really care what the fans think, and I really appreciated that.


On tap:

A bunch more picks for tomorrow. Bright and early!

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