Recommended Reading For The “Lull:” Growing Up Hockey

July 30, 2009 6 Comments

LOS ANGELES — Every hockey fan knows that the weeks immediately following the July 1 unrestricted free agent signing frenzy is a painfully dull, slow time in terms of news about their favorite National Hockey League team, or even general news related to the sport.

Indeed, barring any extraordinary circumstances, things are horribly slow for hockey addicts for about seven weeks from early July until the first week of September when the NHL and their teams, along with the hockey media throughout North America, starts to gear up for training camps to open.

So yes hockey fans, we are smack dab in the middle of that dreaded lull and with the only significant NHL-related news being the new ownership of the Phoenix Coyotes—yes, I can hear you all yawning as I write this—it is time to look elsewhere for some good, interesting reading material for the hockey fan. Read more of this post

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LA Kings Sign Forward Prospect Juraj Mikus

July 21, 2009 6 Comments

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On July 21, the Los Angeles Kings signed unrestricted free agent center Juraj Mikus to a two-year, entry-level contract. Read more of this post

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LA Kings Sign Teddy Purcell, Justin Azevedo, Drew Bagnall

July 20, 2009 1 Comment

LA Kings winger Teddy Purcell (right). Photo courtesy Los Angeles Kings/National Hockey League.

LA Kings winger Teddy Purcell (right).
Photo courtesy Los Angeles Kings/National Hockey League.

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On July 20, the Los Angeles Kings signed right wing Teddy Purcell, center Justin Azevedo and defenseman Drew Bagnall to new contracts.

Purcell and Bagnall were signed to a one-year contracts while Azevedo was signed to a multi-year, entry-level deal.

Financial terms of the contracts were not disclosed, but Purcell’s contract is reported to be a one-year, one-way deal worth $600,000.

Purcell, 24, scored four goals and contributed twelve assists for sixteen points in forty regular season games with the Kings last season. He also played in 38 regular season games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate), scoring sixteen goals and adding 22 assists for 38 points with twelve penalty minutes. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings Sign Defenseman Jack Johnson To A 2-Year Deal

July 18, 2009 7 Comments

Jack Johnson. Photo courtesy Los Angeles Kings/National Hockey League

Jack Johnson
Photo courtesy Los Angeles Kings/National Hockey League

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On July 17, the Los Angeles Kings signed restricted free agent defenseman Jack Johnson to a two-year contract that is reportedly worth $2.85 million, averaging $1.425 million per season.

In 41 regular season games last season, the 6-1, 225-pound native of Indianapolis, Indiana, scored six goals and added five assists for eleven points after missing 41 games after suffering a torn labrum on October 13, 2008, an injury that required shoulder surgery.

In the 2007-08 season, Johnson scored three goals and added eight assists for eleven points with 76 penalty minutes in 74 regular season games. Johnson was named as the Kings’ Best Newcomer (Mark Bavis Memorial Award) and as the team’s Outstanding Defenseman that season.

In 120 career National Hockey League regular season games, all with the Kings, Johnson, 22, has scored nine goals and has added thirteen assists for 22 points with 140 penalty minutes. Read more of this post

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NHL Finally Catching Up On Missed Marketing Opportunity

July 17, 2009 5 Comments

As the National Hockey League and their teams have gotten more and more Internet savvy in recent years they have improved both the look and feel of the league and individual team web sites as well as the information they provide.

In fact, the NHL’s web site and each of the team web sites are loaded with content these days, whether it’s written news stories, videotaped interviews and features, podcasts and much, much more.

Team web sites have even been offering downloadable regular season schedules. But there was one problem…the schedules were either in Microsoft Excel format, which is not very useful for a schedule, and in a printable PDF file (requires Adobe Reader, available for Windows and Macintosh).

NHL teams also offer a downloadable version that imports the schedule information directly into Outlook, Lotus Notes or a Palm handheld device. The cool thing about this version of the schedule is that it can be updated automatically when there are changes to the schedule.

On the downside, the software needed to make use of this schedule was only available on Windows, leaving Apple Macintosh and Linux users out in the cold. Not only that, who wants to download and install yet another software application just for downloading and updating your favorite NHL team’s schedule?

Fortunately, things appears to be changing for the better. Read more of this post

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Los Angeles Kings 2009 Development Camp Wrap-Up

July 16, 2009 8 Comments

DEVELOPMENT CAMP: Here’s a look at couple of the Los Angeles Kings’ lesser-known prospects along with head coach Terry Murray’s thoughts as the development camp wrapped up on July 12.

David Kolomatis. Photo courtesy Owen Sound Attack.

David Kolomatis
Photo courtesy
Owen Sound Attack

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Each summer at the Los Angeles Kings annual development camp for their young prospects, fans ooh, ahh and gush about the players who were highly-touted first round picks, the massive hulks who throw a big hit or two to get the attention of the coaches and management, not to mention the occasional late-round draft pick who scores a highlight-reel goal and wows the crowd.

But outside of that relative handful of young players, the majority of the prospects are long shots to make it to the National Hockey League—that goes for the prospects of every single NHL franchise. But they aren’t the proverbial chopped liver, either, so Frozen Royalty spoke with a couple of the Kings’ young prospects who are not on most people’s radar.

Although the Kings were focused on big, tough physical players during the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, one of their draft picks did not fit that mold.

Puck-moving, offensive defenseman David Kolomatis caught the eyes of the Kings’ scouts with a solid third season with the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League, scoring eighteen goals and contributing 28 assists for 46 points with 52 penalty minutes in 63 regular season games. Read more of this post

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