Frozen Royalty Audio: 2011 Los Angeles Kings Development Camp – Part 1

EL SEGUNDO, CA — The Los Angeles Kings 2011 Development Camp for their young prospects was already well underway by the time their first on-ice session that was open to the public and the media on July 11 came around. Read more of this post

Even Without A First Round Pick, LA Kings Are Looking For Big Things From Their 2011 Draft Class

LOS ANGELES — The 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft, held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 24-25, was expected to be quite uneventful for the Los Angeles Kings, who did not have a pick in the first round after they traded it to the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline in the deal that brought winger Dustin Penner to the Kings.


Logo courtesy: National Hockey League

Despite that, the Kings were more than optimistic about the prospects they were able to bring into the fold with their picks in rounds 2-7 on Saturday, June 25.

“We’re excited,” Kings Co-Director of Amateur Scouting Michael Futa told LAKings.com. “You always talk about that when you’re leaving the draft, about your excitement level, and the energy.”

“Today was a long day, especially for the first time for us, as a group, to go through yesterday without a pick—that was an eternity,” Futa added. “To be active [in the first round the last handful of years], and then to see things fall the way they did [this year], we were thrilled.” Read more of this post

LA Kings Forward Brad Richardson Hopes To Lose Utility Man Label Someday

LOS ANGELES — With the Los Angeles Kings back home from a five-game road trip in which they earned a solid 3-2-0 record, they now find themselves in a rather lofty position, atop the Western Conference standings and second in the overall National Hockey League standings (through games played on October 29).

As one might expect, players such as Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Ryan Smyth, Jarret Stoll and Jonathan Quick have played key roles in the team’s strong 7-3-0 start through ten games. But role players are making solid contributions as well, including versatile forward Brad Richardson, whose strong play has earned him a promotion to the Kings’ top line, skating alongside Brown and Kopitar.

But at the start of that five-game road swing, beginning with a 4-2 loss at Phoenix on October 21, Richardson found himself in his usual spot on the fourth line.

Little did he know that big changes were in store for him, and they came rather unexpectedly early in the second period at Colorado on October 23.

In that game, Richardson, 24, started the game on the fourth line, but Kings head coach Terry Murray, as he is wont to do, decided to tinker with his line combinations, moving Richardson up to play left wing on the first line, while moving rookie forward Andrei Loktionov down to center the fourth line. Read more of this post

LA Kings Head Coach Terry Murray Talks Defense, Goaltending

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: In part 2 of a series of stories based on an interview with Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray, we look at the Kings’ defense and goaltending as their 2010 training camp approaches. Look for the third and final installment of this series on Thursday, September 9.


EL SEGUNDO, CA — As the saying goes in hockey, defense and goaltending is what wins championships and for the Los Angeles Kings, while their goaltending looks to be on the rise, there may be a question or two on defense, despite the presence of James Norris Trophy finalist Drew Doughty and the increasingly confident Jack Johnson. Read more of this post

LA Kings Sign Defenseman Prospect David Kolomatis

David Kolomatis
Photo: Manchester Monarchs

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On September 3, the Los Angeles Kings signed defenseman prospect David Kolomatis, 21, to a three-year entry level contract.

The 5-11, 189-pound native of Livingston, New Jersey played in 76 regular season games with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) last season, scoring eight goals and adding 21 assists for 29 points, tying him for second among Monarchs defensemen in points. He was also tied for second among club defensemen in goals and assists, while ranking seventh in the AHL in points for rookie defensemen.

Kolomatis topped Monarchs defensemen last season with five power play goals. Read more of this post

LA Kings Prospect Kyle Clifford Working To Be More Than A Tough Guy

EL SEGUNDO, CA — When the Los Angeles Kings selected left wing Kyle Clifford in the second round (35th overall) of the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft, it was because he was able to contribute offensively as well as play a tough, physical game and drop the gloves when needed.

The 6-2, 208-pound native of Ayr, Ontario scored just one goal with 14 assists for 15 points in 66 games in the 2007-08 season with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (his first season in the OHL) while racking up 83 penalty minutes.

Clifford, 19, improved in a big way after that, scoring 16 goals and adding twelve assists for 28 points with 133 penalty minutes in sixty games in 2008-09, and topping that in 2009-10 with 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points with 111 penalty minutes. Read more of this post

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,585 other followers