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Tyler Toffoli Is Expected To Get A Long, Hard Look At Left Wing For LA Kings

September 6, 2013 by 1 Comment

LA Kings forward prospect Tyler Toffoli, shown here during the team’s 2013 Rookie Camp, at the Toyota
Sports Center in El Segundo, California.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — A mild surprise during the 2012-13 season for the Los Angeles Kings was that rookie right wing Tyler Toffoli, who had not even spent a full season at the American Hockey League level, got more than the typical handful of games at the National Hockey League level, and on top of that, he did not look out of place, not one bit.

But a few months later, Toffoli knows that he is not necessarily guaranteed a spot on the Kings’ 2013-14 roster, so he dedicated himself to a rigorous off-season training regimen, something he talked about back in July.

“I don’t want to just be in good shape,” said the 21-year-old native of Scarborough, Ontario. “I want to be in the best shape I can, so I have to keep working hard.”

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2013 Late-Round LA Kings Draft Pick Defenseman Zach Leslie Did His Best To Get Noticed

August 8, 2013 by 12 Comments

Defenseman prospect Zach Leslie, was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Gann Matsuda/FrozenRoyalty.met

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Traditionally, players who are selected by National Hockey League teams in the later rounds of the annual draft are overlooked until they move up a team’s depth chart significantly, and defenseman Zachary (Zach) Leslie, who was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round (178th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft, is no exception.

Indeed, there was no media coverage when he was announced as the Kings’ sixth round pick. No television, radio, web or print interviews. But fast forward a few weeks, and like so many of the other Kings prospects, the 6-1, 172-pound native of Ottawa, Ontario jumped at the chance to get noticed at the team’s annual Development Camp in July.

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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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2013 NHL Draft: LA Kings Net Seven Prospects, Maybe Even A Couple Of Gems

July 1, 2013 by 12 Comments

LOS ANGELES — Despite not having a selection in the first round of the 2013 National Hockey League Draft, held on June 30 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, the Los Angeles Kings appear to have made the most of their ten picks in this year’s draft, adding seven new prospects to their system.

The Kings watched the cream of the 2013 prospect crop skate past them in the first round as a result of the acquisition of forward Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Jack Johnson and a conditional first round pick in the 2012 or 2013 NHL Draft, on February 23, 2012. At the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, the Blue Jackets opted for the Kings’ 2013 first round pick, leaving the Kings on the sidelines until the second round.

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Passed Up Twice On Draft Day, LA Kings Prospect Tanner Pearson Reaches NHL Ice Faster Than Expected

May 20, 2013 by 7 Comments

VIDEO: Includes exclusive video of the May 19 media interview with Tanner Pearson.

LA Kings left wing prospect Tanner Pearson.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

EL SEGUNDO, CA — After watching young left wing prospect Tanner Pearson make his National Hockey League debut on May 18 against the San Jose Sharks in a second round playoff game is quite the surprise. After all, it was not all that long ago that his future in hockey was rather murky, and that’s putting it mildly.

Indeed, even though he became eligible for the NHL Draft in 2010, he went undrafted for two years before the Los Angeles Kings selected him in the first round (30th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft.

In fact, Pearson’s career in Canadian junior hockey did not have an auspicious start, as the vast majority of legitimate NHL prospects coming out of Canada go right to major junior hockey at 16 years of age. Although Pearson was selected by the Barrie Colts in the 2008 Ontario Hockey League Priority Draft, the fourth round (266th overall) selection saw the writing on the wall.

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