LA Kings 2011 Training Camp: Goalie Prospect Jeff Zatkoff Approaches 2011-12 Season With Renewed Focus

September 28, 2011 6 Comments

LA Kings goaltender prospect Jeff Zatkoff.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Outside of the years superstar and should-be-Hall-of-Fame netminder Rogie Vachon dominated while toiling between the pipes, goaltending has traditionally been the weakest link for the Los Angeles Kings.

Even goaltender Mario Lessard only had one outstanding season with the Kings in 1980-81. He even played in the 1981 National Hockey League All-Star Game that year, along with the Kings’ “Triple Crown Line,” which featured Marcel Dionne, Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor.

Kelly Hrudey backstopped the Kings during the Gretzky Era, and helped lead the Kings to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1992-93. But that team won by outscoring its opponents, not because of its defense and goaltending. Read more of this post

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2011 LA Kings Training Camp: Scott Parse May Be Playing Himself Out Of A Job

September 27, 2011 6 Comments

LA Kings right wing Scott Parse, shown here during a drill at the
Kings’ 2011 Training Camp, held at the Toyota Sports Center
in El Segundo, California, on September 26, 2011.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — With left wing Dustin Penner looking strong and fit, with center Anze Kopitar and right wing Justin Williams experiencing no difficulties coming off late-season injuries, and with little concern about chemistry developing between forwards Dustin Brown, Simon Gagne and Mike Richards, the microscope has now focused on the Los Angeles Kings’ third and fourth lines during their 2011 Training Camp, which is entering its twelfth day on the ice. Read more of this post

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New On KingsCast: Episode 123 – Is This the Year?

September 27, 2011 Leave a Comment

In the latest episode of KingsCast, Keith Korneluk and Chris Kaliszewski talk about Drew Doughty’s contract holdout, what they expect to see from the Los Angeles Kings in the 2011-12 season, and more. Read more of this post

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Frozen Royalty Audio: Anaheim Ducks JV Team Has Easy Time With LA Kings Varsity In Pre-Season Action

September 26, 2011 1 Comment

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings “varsity” faced the Anaheim Ducks “junior varsity” team in pre-season action at Staples Center on Sunday night, but the results were not what you would expect, as the Ducks were dominant from start to finish, handing the Kings a 3-1 defeat.

Indeed, the Ducks dressed veterans Andrew Cogliano, Jason Blake, and Lubomir Visnovsky, but they surrounded them with young prospects.

Nowhere to be found were the likes of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan, or Teemu Selanne. Read more of this post

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2011 LA Kings Training Camp: Andrei Loktionov Clears The Air While Thomas Hickey, Tyler Toffoli Turn Heads

September 25, 2011 10 Comments

LA Kings center prospect Tyler Toffoli.
Photo: David Sheehan

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The Los Angeles Kings have completed nine on-ice days of their 2011 Training Camp, and, with their third pre-season game coming up tonight against the Anaheim Ducks (6:30 PM PDT, Staples Center), two of their young prospects have already turned some heads.

Center prospect Tyler Toffoli, the Kings’ second round selection (47th overall) in the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft, has taken some big steps forward in his development over the past year, enough to win the scoring title in the Ontario Hockey League with 57 goals and 51 assists for 108 points in 68 regular season games with the Ottawa 67’s.

Although the 19-year-old native of Scarborough, Ontario got off to a bit of a slow start in the split-squad pre-season game at Phoenix on September 21, Toffoli was able to turn things up as the game went on. Read more of this post

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More Than Just A Banana Peel Was Hurled At Philadelphia Flyers Forward Wayne Simmonds

September 23, 2011 16 Comments

LOS ANGELES — With National Hockey League training camps having started this week, this is a time when North American hockey fans in particular should be celebrating the fact that the 2011-12 NHL season is just two weeks away.

Philadelphia Flyers right wing
Wayne Simmonds
Photo: National Hockey League

We should also be celebrating the extraordinary career of one of the all-time greats, center Mike Modano, who will officially announce his retirement at a press conference later today.

NHL fans could also be celebrating new interpretations of rules governing hits from behind and contact with the head, along with pioneering efforts by NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan, to educate players, coaches, general managers, and fans alike through the use of video to explain his decisions in supplementary discipline cases, such as in the recent hitting from behind incident involving Calgary Flames forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, and a separate incident involving Philadelphia Flyers forward Jody Shelley. Read more of this post

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