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Former Kings Superstar Defenseman Rob Blake Joins LA Kings Braintrust As Assistant GM

July 18, 2013 by 2 Comments

ROB BLAKE NAMED ASSISTANT GM: Frozen Royalty brings you in-depth coverage of the Los Angeles Kings naming their former superstar defenseman Rob Blake as their new assistant general manager, replacing Ron Hextall. For those who are critical of bringing Blake back into the fold, be sure to read the next story on Frozen Royalty, featuring Dean Lombardi explaining why the criticism is unwarranted.

Former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Rob Blake was named as the team’s assistant general manager on July 17, 2013.
(click above to view a larger image).
Photo: Wendi Kaminski/NHLI via Getty Images
and the Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — July 18 turned out to be a big news day for the Los Angeles Kings, who named former Kings defenseman Rob Blake as their assistant general manager, replacing Ron Hextall, who has accepted the assistant general manager position with the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Kings also signed winger and captain Dustin Brown to an eight-year contract extension. A story on that, with comments from Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi, as well as from Brown, will be published later here on Frozen Royalty.

Blake played the majority of his National Hockey League career with the Kings, who selected him in the fourth round (70th overall) of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, beginning his NHL career with the Kings in the 1990-91 season.

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Playing In Traffic (No, Not Like That) Is The Plan For LA Kings LW Prospect Maxim Kitsyn

July 14, 2013 by 18 Comments

LA Kings left wing prospect Maxim Kitsyn, shown
here at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, June 26, 2010,
at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Since he was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (158th overall) of the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft, left wing Maxim Kitsyn played one season with the Mississisauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League, but has spent the vast majority of that time in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, with the Novokuznetsk Metallurg and the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo.

In Russia, the 6-2, 194-pound left wing (right hand shot) did not seem to be much of a factor in the attacking zone—his best season in Russia was in 2008-09, when he scored five goals and added two assists for seven points in 31 games for Novokuznetsk Metallurg.

Kitsyn got his chance in Canadian major junior hockey during the 2010-11 season, scoring nine goals and tallying 17 assists for 26 points in 32 regular season games with Mississauga (now the Mississauga Steelheads). He stepped up in a big way during the playoffs, scoring ten goals and contributing nine assists for 19 points in twenty games.

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LA Kings 2010 1st Round Pick Derek Forbort Isn’t A Project Anymore

July 12, 2013 by 14 Comments

LA Kings defenseman prospect Derek Forbort
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Back in June 2010, when the Los Angeles Kings used their first round pick (15th overall) to select defenseman Derek Forbort of the United States Under-18 National Team Development Program, they knew they were going to get a prospect who was a “project.”

“He’s clearly raw,” Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi said about selecting Forbort in the 2010 draft. “He’s young. But when you get a defenseman with that size, that range, there’s a lot of upside. We really like where he’s going to be.”

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LA Kings Center Prospect Jordan Weal Continues To Work On Overcoming “Big” Obstacle

August 24, 2012 by 17 Comments

FROZEN ROYALTY EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles Kings forward prospect Jordan Weal took some time to speak exclusively with Frozen Royalty during the Kings’ 2012 Development Camp early last month.

Center prospect Jordan Weal, shown here speaking
to the media during the Los Angeles Kings’
2011 Development Camp.
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — From the time he started playing youth hockey, all the way up to his time in the Western Hockey League, center Jordan Weal has heard the same thing, over and over and over…

…that he was way too small to play junior hockey, let alone at the professional level.

“It’s something I’ve had to deal with all my life, being a smaller guy,” said Weal, who was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the third round (70th overall) of the 2010 National Hockey League Entry Draft. “People have always said that I’m too small to play, even going into the WHL draft, people thought I was too small to make it.”

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Tyler Toffoli Improved His Two-Way Play In 2011-12 Without Sacrificing Offense

August 13, 2012 by 10 Comments

Forward prospect Tyler Toffoli, shown here during the
Los Angeles Kings 2012 Development Camp,
July 6-10, 2012, at the Toyota Sports Center
in El Segundo, California.
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Left wings Dwight King and Jordan Nolan surprised everyone late last season by not only staying with the big club after they were recalled from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League in early February 2012, but also by playing a key role in the Los Angeles Kings making the playoffs, and winning the Stanley Cup just a little over two months ago.

With the two having “graduated” from the AHL, and with serious doubts that center Andrei Loktionov is capable of producing consistently at the National Hockey League level, primarily due to his lack of size and strength, one young player could very well be the Kings’ top forward prospect, even though he has not yet played at the professional level.

That player is none other than center/right wing Tyler Toffoli, who could be the forward prospect with greatest potential to make an impact at the NHL level for the Kings.

Last season, Toffoli, who was selected by the Kings in the second round (47th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, scored 52 goals and tallied 48 assists for 100 points, with a +31 plus/minus rating, and 22 penalty minutes in 65 regular season games with the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League. Read more of this post

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