September 18, 2011
by Gann Matsuda
TRAINING CAMP COVERAGE: Frozen Royalty’s coverage of the Los Angeles Kings’ 2011 Training Camp begins with details on who might get ice time as a replacement for holdout defenseman Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar’s ankle and how it held up on the first day, more on Dustin Penner’s conditioning, and on Dustin Brown trying to build chemistry with new line mates. Includes 15 audio interviews from Day 1 of training camp.
LA Kings left wing Dustin Penner lost more weight during the 2011 off-season than originally believed.
Photo: David Sheehan.
EL SEGUNDO, CA — The
Los Angeles Kings hit the ice for the first time during their 2011 Training Camp on Saturday, September 17, and, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, or vacationing in a desolate, primitive area, isolated from the hockey world, you know that defenseman
Drew Doughty is in the midst of a contract dispute with the Kings, and is now a holdout.
Indeed, the 21-year-old defenseman was nowhere to be found when the Kings hit the ice at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo, California, their practice facility.
With no end in sight in the Doughty saga, the story was not just his absence, but who might fill his skate boots should he continue to holdout.
“The plans [for training camp] do not change at all,” said head coach Terry Murray. “We’re going to miss Doughty. I wish he was here to be a part of it. He’s a very important player, he’s a big part of the locker room, and a fun guy to be around. He’s a great player for us, but the plans do not change for the training camp. We have to get ready for the start of the year.” Read more of this post
