Bernier Heads Back To Juniors
October 15, 2007 Leave a Comment
EL SEGUNDO, CA — On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings assigned rookie goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Kings also assigned center Brady Murray to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate), and they activated goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin from injured reserve.
Bernier, 19, played in four games, earning a 1-3 record with a 4.03 goals-against average and a .864 save percentage.
Although Bernier’s number are very poor, he was the victim of blatant defensive mistakes on virtually every goal he allowed—he performed far better than his numbers indicate.
“It’s not an indictment on his play, it’s more of a reflection of where the team is at right now,” Kings head coach Marc Crawford told Matthew Kredell of the Daily News. “We always are concerned about the long-term development of all our players and, right now, the decision has been that [returning to juniors] probably is the environment that is conducive to his long-term development.”
“He’s going to be a great goalie,” Crawford added. “He is a great goalie. He’s played his heart out here and he has not been at fault for how we’ve played. As a matter of fact, I think he’s played pretty good.”
Bernier cannot be recalled by the Kings this season until Lewiston’s season is over, except under emergency conditions.
To be sure, sending Bernier back to Lewiston for his final season of junior eligibility and assigning Murray to Manchester indicates that the Kings are deeply concerned about the downward spiral their team is stuck in—they do not want their youngest players to be exposed further to the poor play, bad habits and perhaps worse that are plaguing the Kings at the present time.
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