Bring Back Zeiler

Derek Armstrong- 11:21 TOI, 0 G, 0 A, -3, 0 SOG, 0 PIM

Brian Boyle- 11:19 TOI, 0 G, 0 A, -3, 0 SOG, 4 PIM

Raitis Ivanans- 9:59 TOI, 0 g, 0 A, -2, 0 SOG, 8 PIM



I'm not even mad, I'm impressed.

4th Line Checklist

-Can't score? Check.

-Can't keep the puck out of their own zone? Check.

-Takes 2 penalties, including one when the opposing team has the puck stationary behind their own net? Check.


That Zeiler-Boyle-Ivanans line is terrible. Can make Derek Armstrong a coach, waive Zeiler and bring up Matt Moulson and Ted Purcell?

***

The Maxi-PAD line was matched up against Ovechkin's line all night, with Dustin Brown pretty much shadowing Ovy all night. Ovechkin was getting frustrated and in the third period took it out on Dustin Brown, blindsiding Brown with a little bit of an elbow in front of the net when the puck was in the corner; unfortunately for Ovy, Brown's skate got up and clipped Ovechkin in the ear. He fell to the ice and rolled around for a little while before he got up and realized he was getting a penalty for interference. Suddenly his ear wasn't bothering him that much anymore. Exactly one minute later, Dustin Brown scored on the power play. Hilarious.

***

Does anyone else feel bad for Alex Frolov? He and Kopitar are the opposite: I keep looking at Kopitar's stats and can't understand how he has as many points as he does, while I keep expecting Frolov to have a lot more points than he actually does. He made a great play to get Jarrett Stoll wide open right in the slot but Stoll rang it off the pipe. If we can ever get Anze and Alex going at the same time, the Kings will be pretty dangerous.

***

It's important not to read too much into last night's game. Yeah, the Kings played well and limited the Caps to only 21 shots, but the Capitals were missing this season's best offensive player, their best offensive defenseman and their best checking forward. Plus, the Caps were worn out from lighting up the Ducks so many times the night before. It was a good win but we need to keep perspective about the whole thing.

Would you rather?

So here's what happened, best as I can piece together.

Brian Boyle smashes Rob Niedermayer into the sideboards. Travis Moen skates in to hit Boyle, but is quickly pulled aside by Tom Preissing. Niedermayer comes up swinging, but is wrestled down to the ice by Boyle. Your typical BoC get-together.

Here's the announcer: "Anaheim penalties to #32 Travis Moen, two minutes for roughing. #44 Rob Niedermayer a double minor, four minutes for roughing. Los Angeles penalty to #22 Brian Boyle, two minutes for roughing. Anaheim has the option of playing two men short for two minutes, or one man short for four minutes."

First question: Has anyone ever heard of a coach given an option of how they'd prefer to serve their team's penalties before? Is that even textbook legal, or just something that sort of got slipped in the heat of game action?

But now that it's happened, here's question two: if you were a coach in that situation which option would you choose? Both seem likely to yield a goal, so I guess the question might be which is more liable to yield two goals? Randy Carlyle opted for the 4-minute 1-man-down option (which I think is the correct call the referee should have made), but what would you take as an overpenalized choose-your-own-adventure coach -- two minutes of 5-on-3 or four minutes of 5-on-4? Theoretical answers are welcome in the comments.

Kings Gameday: His First Name Should be Lance

Los Angeles Kings (2-2) vs. Colorado Avalanche (2-3)

7:30 PST, FSN West


Brian Boyle is 24 years old. While others from his draft class are firmly established NHL players by now (Dustin Brown and Patrick O'Sullivan, for example), Boyle is still struggling to find his place in the league. Boyle doesn't have the speed or the hands to really become a top offensive player so the plan was to get him used to playing in a bottom role. The Kings only played him about 9 minutes a game in preseason in hopes that he could adjust and use his body more. The Kings hoped that Boyle join forces with Derek Armstrong and Raitis Ivanans to become a terror to opposing teams.

Instead, Boyle's line has been embarrassing and Boyle has accrued a -4 rating in 3 games. That's awful when you consider that Boyle has been playing sheltered minutes and he's only played in home games so far. I think the problem isn't that Boyle isn't using his body like the Kings have asked; the problem is that he doesn't know when it's appropriate. Being physical in hockey isn't just about being able to knock a guy down, it's about being able to knock a guy down and affecting the play. Boyle seems uncomfortable out there because he is playing a completely new role. I think he'll figure it out, because Boyle is a solid player, but right now he needs to either get sent down to Manchester or given a new role on the team.

***

Do you ever wonder why Earl doesn't let anyone write about the Coyotes on this site? This is why.

***

The Avalanche have averaged 4 goals for and 3.8 goals against so far this season. Ruggedly handsome Joe Sakic and just plain rugged Paul Stastny each have a goal and 7 assists this season, but the numbers I like to see are these:

Andrew Raycroft- 2 GP, 3.00 GAA, .875 SV%
Peter Budaj- 3 GP, 4.38 GAA, .824 SV%

I bet Sakic hates both of those guys. Peter Budaj is getting the start tonight.

Prediction: Kings win, 8-6. Goals by Kopitar (x3), Handzus (x2), Frolov, Simmonds and Moller. Peter Budaj and Andrew Raycroft are "accidentally" left in LA after the game.

Kings Training Camp Primer

The Kings are in a state of flux right now. They have a great deal of young talent ready for the NHL right now but they still have a lot of the bridge guys Lombardi signed the last few years on NHL deals. What does this mean? It means the Kings are going to have a pretty interesting training camp. To help educate the ten of you that are actually reading this, I thought I'd go line-by-line and highlight the most interesting training camp battles. Look for news about these guys to see how the team is going to look on opening night. Here is a look at the roster and what spots we can reasonably assume are locked up:

O'Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Stoll-( )
( )-Handzus-( )
Ivanans-( )-( )

As you can see, there's a lot of room for movement on the roster. Let's get started, shall we?

2nd Line RW

Competitors: Ted Purcell, Brad Richardson, Brian Boyle

The Kings' top line is pretty much set: it's Kopitar, Brown and the other guy. The part of the other guy was assumed by Patrick O'Sullivan last year and we can reasonably assume he'll continue in that role once he, you know, signs.* Frolov will keep doing what he does and I imagine Stoll will be given opportunity in the 2nd center role after signing such a big deal in the off-season. That leaves the 2nd line right wing position as the sole top-six spot up for grabs. The three main competitors are all good young players that each bring something different.

*I'm confident he'll sign and it won't affect the Kings at all. What's that? I happen to like the feeling on my skin when I stick my head in the sand, thank you very much.

Ted Purcell is probably the most talented of the three and is an excellent playmaking option. His negatives are that he's not overly physical and the line already has two playmakers in Frolov and Stoll. Plus, him on the line would put three right-handers on one line; that's not necessarily a dealbreaker, but it is a little unusual in the NHL. Brad Richardson is probably the fastest and has the best shot of the three, but he's also the smallest and couldn't do a lot of the dirty work this line will need. Boyle could do that dirty work because he's a large man, but he's also kind of slow. Plus, I don't think the Kings want to derail his progress as a center. I'd probably give Purcell the best chance to win the job, although I wouldn't put it past Terry Murray to put O'Sullivan on that line and put someone like Matt Moulson or Kyle Calder up with Kopitar.

3rd Line LW

Competitors: Matt Moulson, Kyle Calder

This spot was Kyle Calder's for most of last season with generally subpar results. The man named "Grease" (allegedly because he gets dirty or some weird shit) finished the season with 7 goals and 13 assists despite getting ample power play time. Clearly, he's going to have to earn his spot back. His main challenger for the spot is Matt Moulson, the 24 year-old defensive guru that provided a spark for Calder and Handzus when he was paired with them last season. Since Moulson is better defensively than Calder and Calder sucks offensively, I imagine Moulson will win the spot alongside Handzus and...

3rd Line RW

Competitors: Brad Richardson, Ted Purcell, Matt Ellis, Wayne Simmonds

Michal Handzus was tasked with shutting down the other team's top scorer last season yet he wasn't given any help. Handzus and Calder are not very fleet of foot and needed someone who could keep up with the opposition. Having Moulson on one side of Handzus would help, and having the loser of the 2nd Line RW battle would help even more. Brad Richardson is probably the best option for this spot; not only would he help at even strength, he would also provide another quality body on the penalty kill. Ted Purcell could win the spot if he doesn't win the 2nd line RW job but still shows enough to justify NHL playing time, while Matt Ellis is an option if none of the young guys actually step up. An intriguing option is Wayne Simmonds, the young fireplug from Sault Ste. Marie. He's young and needs to put on weight but he's been excellent in development camp and I can honestly see him making the team. Should be something to watch.

4th line C

Competitors: Brian Boyle, Derek Armstrong, Brady Murray

This spot has been up for grabs for a couple years now as injuries have prevented Derek Armstrong from taking the job that belonged to him. The job looks to belong to Brian Boyle this season, who can take a few minutes up on the 2nd line and also play on the power play as well. If for some reason Boyle disappoints (or if he takes a wing position up in the lineup) then Derek Armstrong can step in to the job he was born for. Brady Murray is running out of time with the Kings and will probably sign with someone else if he doesn't make a name for himself in the NHL this season.

4th line RW

Competitors: Kyle Calder, Derek Armstrong/Brian Boyle, Matt Ellis, John Zeiler, anyone really

The final spot can best be solved by thinking about who can be used in a special teams capacity. Calder is useful on the power play, although his spot in front of the net will probably be usurped by Boyle. Matt Ellis can make the penalty kill better, but it might full with Michal Handzus, Patrick O'Sullivan, Brad Richardson and Jarret Stoll already on the team. Or the Kings could just give the spot to anyone who performs the best in camp. It's pretty up in the air.

Here's the way I see the forwards winding up on opening night:

O'Sullivan-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Stoll-Purcell
Moulson-Handzus-Richardson
Ivanans-Boyle-Armstrong
Calder, Zeiler

I see Calder and Zeiler making the team because Calder can be useful in spots and no one cares if John Zeiler never plays. I said when we picked him up that I thought Matt Ellis was on the team to captain the team in Manchester and I'm still pretty sure about that.

Defense

2nd RD Position

Competitors: Denis Gauthier, Peter Harrold, Free Agent

The defense is surprisingly rigid, at least to my eyes. Jack Johnson will take the top spot on the right side. Tom Preissing is the best right-handed defenseman so he'll probably play with Johnson. Greene also plays on the left side so he's set. That leaves his partner to get top-4 minutes. Denis Gauthier is the safe option, while Harrold is the defenseman that can earn the spot. Neither is very palatable, though, and the hope is that the Kings can pick someone up to take that spot. If only there were someone in the area that could come over and help out. Maybe Lombardi could call Brian Burke, see if he could help him out.

3rd LD Position

Competitors: Drew Doughty, Colten Teubert

The dirty little secret in Kings' training camp is that Drew Doughty has to make the team. They're acting like he's not guaranteed a spot and he has to earn it but they're just pretending. The Kings need Doughty for two reasons: one, they need his cap number, and two, they don't have anyone that can play on that left side. All the other options the Kings have are left-handed so it pretty much leaves Doughty or fellow teenager Colten Teubert. My money's on Doughty.

3rd RD Position

Competitors: Denis Gauthier, Peter Harrold, Thomas Hickey, Joe Piskula, Drew Bagnall

The final spot on defense is probably Harrold's, I'm not going to lie. There's other options, like Gauthier, but it's probably best to just give Harrold the spot because he can play on the power play and the penalty kill. Hickey could use one more year to get a little bigger and Piskula and Bagnall are available in case of injury.

Here's the way I see the defense on opening night:

Preissing-Johnson
Greene-(Free Agent)
Doughty-Harrold
Gauthier

Goaltending

Labarbera
( )

Other Goaltending Spot

Competitors: Erik Ersberg, Jonathan Bernier, Jonathan Quick

Labarbera is pretty much guaranteed a spot since he's so great. (Oh, and he has a one-way deal.) That leaves Ersberg and Bernier to battle it out for the other spot. Bernier is going to have to greatly outperform Ersberg to win a spot. He's basically going to have to win the starting job, a tall task for a 21 year-old. I think Ersberg will win the job while Bernier gets a healthy number of games against AHL competition. Quick isn't really a competitor, I just figured his parents might scan this and see his name added and feel better. I'm a giver.

Whew, I'm tired. I'm making a sandwich. You want one? You can't have one, you're virtual. Or you're not, but you're reading this virtually. Something like that, I don't understand the internet. Goodbye.

Season Review: Brian Boyle & Ted Purcell

AHL

Brian Boyle: 70 GP, 31 G, 31 A, -2, 87 PIM
Ted Purcell: 67 GP, 25 G, 58 A, even, 34 PIM

NHL

Boyle: 8 GP, 4 G, 1 A
Purcell: 10 GP, 1 G, 2 A

Last Season

Brian Boyle and Ted Purcell would have been in the NHL last year if Dave Taylor had still been the general manager. All three were and are better hockey players than Brian Willsie, Jeff Giuliano and Scott Thornton, yet they toiled in the AHL last year because Dean Lombardi likes to slowplay his prospects. Slooooowwwwpllllaay. Ted Purcell had a great year in the AHL last season, winning AHL rookie of the year and being named the MVP of the All-Star Game. Boyle also had a great year; after being converted back to forward from defense, he averaged over a point a game while also finding an edge to his game. Still, none of that matters to Kings's fans. According to them, Boyle will easily win the 2nd center job while Purcell will likely spend all next year in the AHL. Why do they think that? Because they're idiots. Because they only trust their eyes.


Brian Boyle was the least favorite prospect among fans in the Kings' organization last year. Drafted in the 1st round in 2003, he spent 4 years at Boston College and didn't do too much while guys like Patrick Eaves, Corey Perry and Kevin Klein were all making their mark in the NHL. At the beginning of last season, the Kings were going to move Boyle to defense because they didn't think he had the speed to play center in the NHL. Then he converts back to center, scores 4 goals in 8 games in the NHL, and everyone thinks he's the best prospect in the organization. It's not like he's gotten faster or anything, or suddenly become better defensively. He knocked Dion Phaneuf down, which is awesome, but that doesn't make me feel any better about his prospects over 82 games.


Ted Purcell couldn't be more different. Undrafted as an 18 year-old, Purcell went to the University of Maine and played outstanding, accumulating 43 points in 40 games. He was highly regarded as a free agent but signed with the Kings. Dean Lombardi once slotted Purcell to a first line with Frolov and Kopitar, showing how highly thought of he is by the Kings' organization. He was the key offensive player on the Monarchs last season and has proven himself time and time again. Then he plays 10 games in the NHL, looks kind of timid on the puck, and now no one thinks he can hack it in the NHL.

Next Season

I am much more confident about Ted Purcell than I am about Brian Boyle going into next season. Purcell's career in the AHL maps out similarly to Patrick O'Sullivan: both scored a huge amount of points in the AHL and won AHL Rookie of the Year, then struggled a little to adjust to the NHL game. I expect Purcell to be used similarly to how O'Sullivan was used last year: he'll probably start out on a line with Handzus and then work his way up to a line with either Frolov or Kopitar by the end of the year. Boyle, on the other hand, is probably going to be a liability at even strength and would be best served centering the 4th line most of the year, while occasionally centering Frolov when Stoll has been out on special teams.


It's not that I think Brian Boyle is a bad player or anything; I just think fans tend to factor in what they see way more than what they read. Brian Boyle had a lot of issues going into last season that don't just disappear because he looked good in 8 games. Plus, he's the same age as Ryan Getzlaf, so it's not like he's going to improve a ton over the next few years. I'm not 100% that Purcell will have a better season than Boyle, but I have a feeling fans are going to give Boyle way more benefit of the doubt than they'll give Purcell. And that ain't right.

What Now? Part 2

Last time, I outlined why the Kings' defense is fucked and how they can go about fixing it. To cheer us (read: me) up, let's take a look at the offense. As expected, the Kings didn't sign anyone and are expected to fill holes from within. Those unfamiliar with the Kings might think that they're fucked on offense too, what with them losing 3/5 of their top power play unit* and all; however,** I think the Kings are going to score more than they did last year. A lot more. There's a couple of reasons for this: one, the Kings have all the important people coming back, and two, the Kings' bottom six is going to be infinitesimally better than last year's. Also, since everyone good on the Kings is young, the gradual improvement that comes with age should help too. Shall I go painfully into detail, fully aware that no one reads this but my brother and my parole officer? Sure, why not. What else am I going to do, take a dump? I can multitask.

*Of course, that power play finished 17th in North America... well, 18th. What, the Guadalajara Guerrillas have an amazing team.

**I had a teacher that claimed you couldn't start a sentence with "however," that you had to start it with a semi-colon. Is that bullshit or what? Seems like I've seen that before. Oh well, I'll just claim creative license.

This picture seem out of place? Creative license!

The Kings losing Rob Blake and Lubomir Visnovsky is going to hurt their offense. Losing Lubo especially, because he was basically the only player Frolov had to play off last year. The power play system the Kings ran last year didn't require a power play quarterback on the blue line, though, so losing them doesn't hurt too much on that front. As long as the Kings have Kopitar and Frolov, their power play will be fine. Acquiring Jarret Stoll will basically replace Cammy on the power play (hopefully he won't hold onto the puck so Goddamn long) and planting Brian Boyle in front of the net will kick ass. The Kings still need another guy that can help out on the power play, but overall I think they'll be fine.

The 1st line is the 1st line. Kopitar and Brown will be amazing and even better than they were last year. I'll leave it at that because if I try to write more it'll end up being 30 pages of love imagery and no one wants to read that.

The Kings' 2nd line will be in a state of flux, as it's mostly been Frolov-Armstrong-Cammalleri the past 2 years. This year, Jarret Stoll will likely step into that 2nd line center role. He's had a rough few years and I think the best thing for him would be to just stick him there all year and let him leech off Frolov. C'mon, he's gotta be better than Derek Armstrong, right? Cammy will be a little touger to replace, but the Kings can probably put either Ted Purcell or Patrick O'Sullivan in his spot and not skip a beat. His talent is tough to replace, but his output from last year isn't.


The Kings will be replacing Scott Thornton, Brian Willsie, Matt Ellis and Jeff Giuliano with Brad Richardson, Brian Boyle, Ted Purcell and Matt Moulson. The old 4 combined to score 12 goals in 207 games. The new 4? 12 goals in 62 games during limited call-ups last year. They're not regular rookies, either; they're all older than Kopitar and they're going to be running full-speed from day 1. Purcell in particular should probably be a Calder candidate next year and I imagine Brian Boyle will have a season very similar to Dustin Penner's rookie year. The Kings' offense is going to be bigger, faster, and non-Brian Willsie'd next year. Most importantly, they are going to be very young and very hungry. Michal Handzus, Kyle Calder, Raitis Ivanans and Alex Frolov are going to be the only forwards over the age of 25 next year. It's going to be kind of amazing to watch.


It's funny, the Kings were 15th in goals last year but I look at that team and I think, "They should've scored a lot more." Think what would have happened if Cammalleri hadn't ripped his rib muscle or if Ladislav Nagy hadn't been hit by that turnip truck. (What the hell happened to that guy anyway?) I think the biggest difference between this year and last is that the Kings will actually have depth. If Brown gets hurt the Kings won't have to put Scott Thornton on the top line; they'll have Matt Moulson or Gabe Gauthier ready to step in. They may have a shitty defense, but the Kings offense is going to break a lot of hearts next year.



Just for shits and giggles*, here's an early guess as to what our offense will look like next year:

Moulson-Kopitar-Brown
Frolov-Stoll-O'Sullivan
Calder-Handzus-Purcell
Ivanans/Armstrong-Boyle-Richardson


*Do people giggle while they shit? Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Building That Kings Tradition

The Manchester Monarchs got swept in the first round of the AHL playoffs by the Providence Bruins. They lost 3 of those games in overtime, which, for a Kings fan, brings back painful memories of the '93 finals. (My brother heard that and put a blanket over his head while whispering, "The horror," over and over again.) Losing 3 games in overtime seems like bad luck to me, so I guess it's not too bad. Plus, the Monarchs were losing their leading goal scorer, Brian "Millionaire" Boyle, who was out with a knee injury.

Doesn't Brian Boyle look like Joe Millionaire?

The biggest disappointment was Ted Purcell, who tallied 3 points (all assists) in 4 games and ended up -9. Peter Harrold had 1 assist and was -8. Both guys will probably be on the Kings next season. Basically, what I'm trying to imply is that we're not making the playoffs next year.

On the plus side, Jonathan Bernier played 3 games and had a respectable .908 Sv%. Also, personal hero Marc-Andre Cliche had an assist and ended up only -1, which means he did a good job shutting down the other team's top player. (God I want that kid in LA next year.) Also, last year's 2nd round pick, Oscar Moller, had an assist on a beautiful play in game 4. He signed an entry-level deal with LA, but he'll probably be headed back to the WHL next year because Canadian Junior teams are more concerned with their profits than with helping player's development. He should be in the AHL next year. Oh well.

Kings Gameday: They're Dropping Like Fries!

LA Kings (durr) @ New York Rangers (27-22-6, 7th in East)

4:00 PST, FSN West

(Wait, what? "Flies?" That doesn’t make any sense.)

Happy Election Day! I hope all of you go out and participate in the democratic process. I voted for Lubo because of his "Pro-Cookie" policy. Despite it being one of my favorite days, I'm still a little bummed because the Kings dicked me over. The problem with the current newspaper situation in Los Angeles is that no beat reporter travels with the team, so when something happens we don’t find out about it until right before the game. Hence, the gameday post I wrote for the game against New Jersey was outdated before the puck was dropped. (Now I know how newspaper reporters feel.) What I missed:

Do you need a healthy ankle to shoot 10 feet wide?

Rob Blake is out for two weeks with a broken ankle. I’m not really quite sure what to think of this. Is he sitting out so he’s rested when he gets traded to a contending team, or is he sitting because he's not going to be traded and they want him rested when they trade everyone else? The mind reels, my friends. (Also, how does Blake miss 2 weeks with a broken ankle, yet Sidney Crosby is out 6 with an ankle sprain? This once again proves my theory: Sidney Crosby is a pussy.)

Scott Thornton is out with a mysterious "sore neck." I think Todd Bertuzzi has struck again!

I'never thought I'd see those 3 celebrating a goal.

Brian Boyle and Peter Harrold were both called up. Boyle played well, tallying a goal and an assist. Man, is he a big mother fucker. I’ve always heard that he skates like shit, but I didn’t really think so. He has a long stride, but that doesn’t mean he’s slow. I’m pretty sure his playing means that Hugh Jessiman is the only 1st rounder from the 2003 NHL Draft that has not played in the NHL. Way to go, jackass. Harrold was okay; he played the fewest minutes of any Kings defenseman. I think they were just trying to get his feet wet, so hopefully now they’ll give him a shot on the power play.

So yeah, I don’t know what’s going on. This is a crazy team. (Also, they still haven’t called up Purcell to take Willsie’s spot. You have 3 days, Mr. Lombardi.) The Rangers have been playing well lately, winning 6 of their last 10 games. The New York media is attributing this recent success to the return of Sean Avery. Sigh… let me tell you how this is going to go. You’ll think he’s a little bit of a spark plug and sign him to a reasonable longer-term deal in the off-season. Then he’ll start doing stupid shit and maybe get into a fight with Marek Malik or call Georges Laraque a monkey again. You’ll start losing a little and then suddenly he won’t be that fun anymore. Eventually you’ll get tired of him and ship him off to some other team, where the cycle will repeat again. Good luck with that.


Prediction: I desperately want Dustin Brown to paste Sean Avery. That’s not really a prediction, I guess so here’s one: I will be very happy if Dustin Brown pastes Sean Avery.

Edit: Son of a bitch, I wrote this entire thing and then saw on Inside the Kings that Brown is taking a leave to be with his pregnant wife. Lord knows why he'd want to be there, it's disgusting. Has he seen Children of Men? Anyway, they'll probably call up Purcell now. Hopefully. For the love of God.

Edit #2: You have got to be kidding me. Cammy is coming back. Good lord am I bad at this.

The State of the Farm System, Part I

(I decided to write a post about the King's farm system; 1,700 words later, I figured that it'd be better if I split it into two parts. The next one will go up tomorrow. Be sure to check out Earl's post below, which is admittedly far better than mine.)

I know Earl could care less about prospects and all that, but when you’re a Kings fan you have to take what you can get. I know I can be somewhat negative (I think I've earned the right), but I’m very optimistic when it comes to the King’s future. The Kings farm system is in the best shape since, well, ever. There is elite talent at every position and good depth in most locations. As such, the Kings are in a unique position for a team in the draft; they are bad, but they do not really have a need because every position is in fairly good shape. (If I had to pick a position that needed help, it’d be defense, but just because there are 6 spots to fill.) I’m going to take a little jaunt through the Kings’ farm and fill you guys in on some of the highlights.

(Note: This is more of an introductory post for those who are unfamiliar with the Kings' prospect system, so if you check Hockey's Future 30 times a day like I do it might not be that informative.)

Left Wing: Patrick O’Sullivan is the top prospect on this side of the ice. O’Sullivan is a little weird for a left winger since he’s not all that defensively responsible and is known more for his scoring ability. (He’s kind of like Luc Robitaille, if you subtracted Luc’s devilish good looks and added a crazy father.) He had a little trouble adjusting to the NHL game, like many young scorers do, but he seemed to pick it up last year after he moved to the center position. It will be interesting to see if he was more comfortable carrying the puck up ice (like he did after Kopitar was injured) or if he’s just better as a center. If he’s not here, the Kings are pretty weak on the left side.

There are a couple of other prospects worth mentioning, like Scott Parse (if he signs like expected) and Matt Moulson. Parse played for Nebraska-Omaha in the NCAA for three years and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker last season. Parse is not generally rated as an elite prospect, but he just seems like one of those guys whose going to make it while more highly-touted prospects flame out. I have no real proof to back it up; it’s just a hunch. Matt Moulson is another college player who has a legitimate chance to make a difference this next season. He ended up with 57 points in 77 games last year in Manchester. Neither of these guys will be elite difference-makers in the NHL, but they are nice guys to have around because if they pan out, great, and if they don’t, oh well. Finally, Danny Roussin is a former linemate of Sidney Crosby who will probably spend the season at Manchester. He has offensive skill, but it appears likely that he won’t make too much of an impact in the NHL. Shay Stephenson is also there, but he sucks, so let’s just move on.

Either the NCAA uses nets that are 9-feet tall or Scott Parse is kind of short.

Center: Even though he’s no longer a prospect, one has to start any talk of Kings’ centers by mentioning Anze Kopitar. I don’t want to spend too much time on Kopitar, so let me just say that he is awesome and I love him. Behind Kopitar, the Kings have two good prospects that could fill that number 2 center spot in the years to come. First is Brian Boyle, a giant of a man who is not really known for much else. He’s not a great skater and he isn’t known for his offense prowess; he’s just fuckin’ huge. There’s talk the Kings might move him to defense, which would certainly be cool, but I would personally like to see him set up in front of the Ducks’ net, battling with Chris Pronger, and I use a lot of commas. Boyle is definitely a guy to keep on eye on, because he could either fail spectacularly or end up becoming as big an impact as Zdeno Chara.

They should have asked the Michigan goalie to join, just to be nice.

The other top centerman prospect for the Kings is Trevor Lewis, who was chosen last year with the pick the Kings received from Minnesota in the Demitra trade. Lewis played in the OHL with the Owen Sound Attack and did well, scoring over a point a game. He then played a few games with Manchester and tallied 6 points in 8 games. (Small sample size and everything, but it’s a little encouraging.) Both Lewis and Boyle will likely begin the season in Manchester, but do not be surprised if either (or both) end up in LA for at least a little while next season.

I would feel better about Lewis' chances if he didn't look like Ed Norton in "Red Dragon."

After those two, there is a pretty significant drop-off in talent. The next name is probably John Zeiller, who is 26. He might catch on with the Kings as a 4th-liner and made some fans last season with his hitting, but I don’t really like him that much. He doesn’t really have a point and I think the Kings could easily replace him. There’s also Gabe Gauthier, a California native (and from what I’ve heard a really good roller hockey player), but it’s not likely that he’ll ever be more than an answer to a trivia question.



Tomorrow: The Thrilling Conclusion!

Kings Gameday: The Return of Mattias Norstrom

Los Angeles Kings (25-34-14, 13th in West) vs. Dallas Stars (43-24-5, 7th in West)

7:30 PST, FSN West

The Kings have had a little bit of a break after their whirlwind tour last week (where they played 5 games in 8 days). They were relatively successful, too, going 3-0-2. A lot of credit has been given to the younger guys (and deservedly so), but I think a big part of the Kings’ improved play recently has been the fact that our older guys have stepped up a little bit. I’ve liked the way Brian Willsie has been playing (who knew he could shoot?), while Scott Thornton and Jamie Lundmark have actually given the Kings a little scoring from their third line. Maybe Dean Lombardi was right after all and these guys can be legitimate hockey players.

In other news, it’s going to be interesting to watch in the next couple weeks as both Brian Boyle and Jack Johnson should be winding down their college hockey careers. Boyle’s team, Boston College, kicks off against St. Lawrence on the 24th and then will probably play New Hampshire on the 25th. If BC loses either one of those games, look for Boyle to sign with the Kings and possibly play with Manchester. Boyle is intriguing because he’s a 6’7” center, but there’s been talk of possibly making him a defenseman. He might not sign this season if the Kings decide they don’t want to mess up the chemistry in Manchester as they head towards the playoffs, but I’m really excited about this guy come training camp next season. He's definitely a project, but he could end up being one of the Kings' best players when it's all said and done. I mean, he's huge!

Brian Boyle Jack Johnson (left)

Jack Johnson and Michigan play North Dakota and then probably Minnesota on their side of the bracket, so it’s likely that they’ll lose by the 25th and then he’ll either join the team on the road or they may have him wait and open with the team at home on April 1st. I’m not as excited about this guy as other Kings fans are (meaning that I don’t get weak-kneed every time his name is mentioned), but he sounds like a guy who can be an anchor on the blue line for a couple years to come. With him, Blake, and Brown, the Kings should be a team to be feared come next season. The Kings may not want to sign him for all sorts of weird CBA issues, but I think they might just because of the publicity.

The Kings get a blast from the recent past tonight when they play the Dallas Stars. Mattias Norstrom is expected to play tonight for the first time against his old team. (The Kings played the Stars once before after the trade, but Norstrom was recovering from an injury.)

At first, I was glad that the Kings traded Norstrom; from a salary cap perspective, it was a good move, and I always thought Norstrom had gone from being underrated earlier in his career to overrated now. Still, I love that guy. If there was one player in the NHL who could be transported back to the 10th century and totally fit in, it would be Norstrom. This is a guy who once spent his off-season building a deck back at his home in Sweden. (Meanwhile, I can’t even make toast without losing my eyebrows.) For some reason, I find that endearing. On the ice, I liked Norstrom because he was not a dirty player at all but was unafraid to give a guy the business if he did something dickish.

I’m not going to be able to see the game tonight. Ordinarily I'd be pissed, but this is the first time I can remember where I don’t really want to watch a game because I don’t think I could handle seeing Norstrom wearing a Stars jersey. I mean, the Stars? I guess that makes them my favorite Pacific division team besides the Kings, but I’m not happy about it.

Oh, and I also heard that there's going to be a guy in a Guinness shirt at the game who threatened to kill Anze Kopitar, so any Kings fan who sees him should attack.