Roster Questions Have Been Unexcitedly Answered

I have returned from Frozen Fury!! The game was... so-so, but they won 5-3 so it was a good ending for Kings fans. I will have a full recap in a day or two, so stay tuned!

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On the news front, according to TSN, all roster questions have been answered regarding who will make the lineup for the season opener.

• Brayden Schenn has been returned to the Brandon Wheat Kings
• Jonathan Bernier has been sent to the Manchester Monarchs along with Thomas Hickey and Kevin Westgarth

This means a few things. The first being the 4th line center position might possibly just go Peter Harrold. Secondly, Erik Ersberg will take the backup role on the bench while Jonathan Quick starts the season in net hopefully being just as awesome as he was at the end of last season. Thirdly, Raitis Ivanans is a better player than Westgarth, which is something I've thought from Day Uno.

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Another update from last week (23rd): Rich Hammond of the Daily News will be newly employed by the Los Angeles Kings to basically do the same exact thing he was doing before. The most important part of this news is he will be able to provide for Kings fans real coverage on the road. The lack of road coverage for almost all teams is pretty despicable so I see this as a GREAT THING. He reiterated that he will not be censored by the Kings and will have full editorial control over his content. Naive me will believe this until his content proves otherwise. I'm really excited for this venture the Kings have decided to take and am happy for Rich Hammond for being the first beat writer to gain this type of recognition, visibility, and clearance by the team.

When the story broke, Frozen Royalty gave immediate props, Jon Moncrief was quick to the draw, and James Mirtle of course took note. Today Puck Daddy wrote an interesting writeup of what this could mean for Kings fans and how they get their team news.

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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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Preseason - Kings 6, Coyotes 4

Tonight marked the official first day of the preseason with a victory against the Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings were able to subdue the desert dogs, but in reality, that was only on the scoreboard. The Kings had the game in the bag at the end when it was 5 to 4 at which time the Yotes pulled their goalie and the Kings scored an empty-netter. The game was, in actuality, closer than the score made it out to be.

I took in my first game as an official season ticket holder, and I must say, it was quite odd. I had never experienced a preseason game before and really didn't know what to expect. I was glad to have Marie by my side taking AJ's seat for the game. AJ was otherwise occupied with her duel piano training with Eddie Izzard somewhere in the midwest. I have no clue; you'll have to ask her about that.

Attendance was predictably sparse and the usual arena commentator was unavailable for whatever reason. Perhaps he wanted to duel it out with some pianos as well, but his replacement was... subpar, for lack of trying to be nice. The evening continued with a questionable rendition of the National Anthem by a typical twig-like blonde and then the puck finally dropped. As the opening shift commenced, I reminded Marie (read: out loud to myself) that this was just a preseason game and that there was no reason to get stressed or angry. Thus, I did not commence my frustrated ranting as I have done in the past when plays were handled in a sloppy fashion or if passes were missed.

Since the roster was split between Staples Center and the game in Kansas City against St. Louis, the Kings in LA had plenty of young talent manning the points and corners. There was plenty to take notice of:

• Oscar Moller is a speedy sniper and I feel like he could be another Daniel Briere. There's definitely a presence about him on the ice, but I'd like to see a bit more weight on his frame so that he can actually withstand any hits aimed his way.
• Richard Clune is better than John Zeiler. When Marie asked who I would rather keep, I said Clune without batting an eyelash. My reasoning? Clune can dish out the hits, break up plays, and is willing to throwdown with anyone. Zeiler, on the other hand, can't skate, lays down crappy hits, and doesn't drop the gloves.
• Thomas Hickey definitely has promise but needs to get some weight on those bones. What is he, 150-nothing? I don't see him making the roster based on the fact that he wouldn't be able to crack the top 4 and his development would suffer in that regard. Back to Seattle, my friend.
• Brian Boyle was looking quite soft. It actually surprised me at how timid he was being in the corners when going to get the puck. He was knocked down a couple of times with apparent ease. I'm not too worried though, once he gets it in his head that it's okay to play with an agressive edge, he'll be fine.
  
• Viatcheslav Voinov. Wow, he needs a LOT of work if he's going to see any real playing time on this roster. But every time either Marie or I started to get tense when watching Voinov fumble around on the ice, I'd say out loud, "He's just a kid... it's okay..."

The big instance that stuck in my mind was how physical the Coyotes were playing. I don't remember any game against them last season being this physical. I think the 3 fights in the first period was a bit excessive, but, man, Raitis Ivanans gave Phoenix's Adam Keefe the business end of his fists about 59 times in once skirmish. I couldn't believe how much action the penalty boxes were seeing just in the first period.

I really don't want to criticize the quality of hockey on display tonight since it was the first game of the preseason, but the amount of broken plays by both squads cause undo strain on my nerves. There was a lot of north/south movement, but not because those were the systems being employed; rather, there were just so many turnovers and missed passes that plays seemed to appear out of thin air from whomever retrieved the puck.

Phoenix swapped out their goalie at the midpoint of the game. The Kings waited until the third period to give Jason LaBarbera some relief in the form of Danny Taylor. I must admit, Barbs let in some soft goals. Kyle Turris got one right on the doorstep, and it was so predictable that the play seemed like it happened in slow motion. There was another goal like that against Barbs but really, what the hell was Matt Greene doing? Talk about being out of position. Instead of being in front of the net protecting, he was picking daisies in the trapezoid. I have no idea what that was about. But, once again, this is just the first game of the season and it can only get better.

Go Kings!

[Update] The Kings have reassigned three (3) players and released one from a tryout agreement.

Byan Cameron
Matt Fillier
Geordie Wudrick

Olivier Legault
(respectively)

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WJC & One In A Row!!!

Some updates:
- I got DirecTV! SWEET ACTION. Now I won't have to listen to the Kings games on the radio. Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans; I love you guys, but I'm going off to enjoy the games (be in misery) with Bob Miller and Jim Fox.

- Player transactions:

• John Zeiler was sent back to Manchester.
• Jon Klemm was recalled.
• I'm pissed.
  

- Team Canada - Has been killing it over in the Czech Republic in the WJC.

• Jonathan Bernier - In the tournament opener (Wed. 26th) he got a shutout (3-0) with 44 saves against the Czech Republic.
• Thomas Hickey - He's been paired with Luke Sheen (who is draft eligible in 2008) and these two have been building noticeable chemistry. While Sheen may be physically bigger, Hickey has been getting his job done in the corners. This boy's got some sweet moves.
• Wayne Simmonds - The surprise addition to the roster has been adding needed energy for the bottom lines. At the end of Thursday's game against Slovakia, coach Craig Hartsburg shortened his bench, thus Simmonds saw limited ice time toward the end of the game.
• Oscar Moller - I can't seem to find much info on Team Sweden, but I'll scour some more...

Team Canada update: Sweden defeats Canada (Sat 29th) ending their 20-game winning streak that began in 2004. Moller scored a power play goal for Sweden ending Bernier's shutout in the third period. Canada falls 4-3 against Sweden.


Kings Game Day:
- So a noon start for the game today? Wack. I would have NOT known this fact unless I'd read RudyKelly's post at BofC. The Kings battled the Aves in Denver.
- Will Ratti play more than 4 minutes and 16 seconds like the last game?
- Jon Klemm is recalled and is a scratch?? What's the point???

1st Period:
I don't see too much difference in the way the Kings come out at the first faceoff from the other games. One thing I DO notice is JJ takes the puck from Aubin's goal line all the way to the Aves' goal line by himself, TWICE. His individual efforts (frustrations) are noticeable.

The Aves get on the board making it 1-0 at 12:35 by Jordan Leopold. Kings have 4 shots on compared to the Aves 13. Damn.

2nd period:
Jim Fox put it best by saying that the Kings are pacing the game how they wanted; slowing the flow and not allowing the Aves to take control. The only exciting part of this period is during the second half with Ratti and McLeod dropping the gloves. With Ratti being 53 pounds heavier than McLeod, I wonder who was the big boy in this fight. They both go off 5 minutes for fighting and continue to jaw at each other from the penalty boxes and their skate to the bench is slow and tense. McLeod gets on the bench and throws as many F-bombs as he can over to Ratti. Ratti is standing there throwing eye daggers back. McLeod stalks off to the locker room getting a 10-minute misconduct. Second period ends.

Shot total: 22 (Aves) - 10 (LA). Aves still up 1-0.

3rd Period:
Pace is still slow. Kopi gets a high stick to the face from Smyth and gets cut on his upper lip but there's no call. Kings Goal by Army (3) at 10:13. Fro moves into the zone first but the puck gets deflected into the air. It goes back to Army who is crossing the blue line; he grabs it out of the air, puts it at his feet, slaps it to the net, and it's tied at 1-1.

2:17 later it's a Kings Goal again by Thornton (3) at 11:30. 3 Aves follow Giuliano behind the net leaving Thornton wide open at the left wing. Manchester Boy stop and pushes it in front of the net; Thornton gets it and puts it past Theodore. Kings up 2-1.

The Kings have scored twice in 2 minutes and 17 seconds on 3 shots. After Army's goal, the Kings pick up the pace of the game and the passing becomes sharper and quicker.

With less than two minutes remaining, Colorado pulls Jose Theodore and gets the extra attacker. Kings Goal by Anze (16) on an empty net.

End of Game:
Kings 3, Avalanche 1. Kings snap their 8-game losing streak. The Kings outshoot the Aves 13-8 in the last period. (Ratti played 9:28 this game.)

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Mini-Rant – 4 - And Updates

This will be some updates on the Kings and a rant or two. I think I'll start with the rants first. Here we go.

1) Who is the first person up on my Mini-Rant? I'll give you one guess; his name starts with an “A” and ends with “very.” I was reading this article on NHL.com minding my own business and I get to the bottom of the page and what do I see? This terrible picture with an equally terrible quote.

(Courtesy of NHL.com )

Just call me Mr. DBag

This picture makes me want to knock him over bully-style. He is Milhouse and I'm a cuter/smarter Nelson. Not only is the picture atrocious, it makes me wonder if those are real prescription glasses or if they’re the original plastic lenses and he’s just putting up a front. “Hey, look at me guys! I look smart! I also pee sitting down!”

Sean does this to himself; he should know that wearing this type of frame is going to produce ridicule from yours truly. I literally can’t stop laughing at this picture. At the same time, I feel disgusted that his frames look suspiciously like mine. Although I should feel okay about this since my frames don’t make me look like a wacky hipster. In any case, they make me want to punch him in the face even more.

On to the quote: Around the Atlantic -- Outspoken Rangers forward Sean Avery came up with one of the best one-liners of the season when he was asked if he would take a reconditioning assignment when he returns from a wrist injury, saying; “You have a better chance of seeing God.”

BAG OF DOUCHE

2) So apparently the Stanley Cup is going to be riding on a float at the 2008 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade. Do I want to wake up ass early and watch this? I think not; I've had enough of Pronger's gap-toothed mug. Instead, I think I'll be sleeping in, watching the Winter Classic, and then heading to the Staples Center to see my Kings take on the Blackhawks. Toews, Kane, and Havlat (if healthy) are going to be the ones I'll be looking for.

3) Hey Teebz! Did you notice that Bucci doesn't have a mail-bag this week? Damn...maybe next week. Perhaps your email caused him to crawl into bed with a gallon of ice cream and not want to touch his computer.

Follow up: So Bucci decided to get his mailbag out today instead of yesterday (someone f-ed up in the web department) and once again, it sucked major ass. Not only does this DBag NOT answer questions, he spouts off random crap in hopes that the reader won't notice that he made absolutely no attempt at even feigning an answer!! Why is this guy even allowed to have a mailbag? Every week it's riddled with grammatical errors and is terribly written. Am I being too hard on him? Well, gee, I thought if you were getting paid to write, you'd at least have the writing skills of someone in middle school. I'll just put ONE of his many stupid responses here:

Hi John,
My wife and I are expecting our first child in 2008 and I'm looking for ideas for a good hockey name. So far, I've come up with "Teppo Newman" if it's a boy, but I'm open to your suggestions.
Matt Newman
Newcastle, Maine

Willie Travis Newman.
Hockey fact: Henri Richard has won the most Stanley Cups as a player (11).

Ok, naming your kid "Willie?" Are we in 1893? And what does Henri Richard have to do with Mr. Newman's question? Am I the only reader that sees Bucci as asinine?

4) I found this picture on Ken Henderson's blog of artwork. I think it's pretty self-explanatory.

Updates:

1) As of 12.14.07, the Kings currently sit tied for last in the NHL. The Kings (12-18-2), Caps (12-17-2), and the Yotes (13-16-0) all have 26 points a piece, but in the last 10 games the Yotes have gone 4-6-0, Caps have gone 6-3-1, and the Kings have registered 3-6-1. Hmm, this does not sound that good. Can you tell me what the F they have to do to get two wins in a row?

2) On a MUCH HIGHER note, the Kings currently have 3 prospects who have been selected to Team Canada for the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship tournament. They are goalie Jonathan Bernier, defenseman Thomas Hickey, and forward Wayne Simmonds.

Also, prospect Oscar Moller will be playing for Team Sweden. (They probably couldn't have taken a more adorable picture. He looks so happy!)

3) Not only is Jonathan Bernier the next hottest thing in net (move over Ricky Di), but he's also awesome.

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