LA Kings Draft Hits, Misses and Comic “Relief”

June 24, 2016 by Leave a comment

2016 NHL DRAFT: Frozen Royalty’s coverage of the Los Angeles Kings and the 2016 National Hockey League Draft continues with a look at some of the Kings’ hits and misses in recent drafts, and one hilarious draft story.

LOS ANGELES — One look at the Los Angeles Kings’ record of drafting and developing their young prospects will show that they’ve been very, very good at it since Dean Lombardi took over as President/General Manager in April 2006.

Indeed, 18 players selected in the draft by Lombardi and his staff between 2006 and 2012 have made an impact in the National Hockey League, with ten contributing to the Kings winning the Stanley Cup in 2012 and/or 2014, and more are likely coming from subsequent drafts. Given Lombardi’s stated goal of selecting at least two players who would be able to play in the NHL in each draft, his amateur scouts and development staff have achieved a remarkable record of success.

Read more of this post

Filed under Audio/Video, Exclusives, News, Prospects Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

LA Kings Kill Two Birds With One Stone In Lecavalier-Schenn Trade

January 7, 2016 by 2 Comments

Newly-acquired LA Kings players Vincent Lecavalier (left) and Luke Schenn (right).
(click above to view larger image)
Photos courtesy National Hockey League

LOS ANGELES — In a season that has seen relatively few trades so far, the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers gave us the first legitimate blockbuster deal since the 2015-16 season began last October, when the Flyers sent center Vincent Lecavalier and defenseman Luke Schenn to the Kings on January 6, in exchange for center prospect Jordan Weal and a third round pick in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft.

To make the deal work, the Flyers retained 50 percent of both Lecavalier’s and Schenn’s salaries ($2.25 million and $1.8 million, respectively).

Also making the deal work is that the 35-year-old Lecavalier will retire at the end of the season.

Read more of this post

Filed under News, NHL News Tagged with , , , , , , ,

LA Kings Dustin Brown’s Class And Leadership Is Rewarded With Eight-Year Contract Extension

July 19, 2013 by 4 Comments

Los Angeles Kings forward and captain Dustin Brown.
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: David Sheehan/FrozenRoyalty.net

LOS ANGELES — When he signed a new, eight-year contract extension on July 18, valued at $47 million (a $5.875 million annual salary cap hit), Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown provided another example of why he has become one of the most highly regarded captains in the National Hockey League.

You could even make a case for him being the best captain in Kings franchise history, even with the likes of Dave Taylor and Wayne Gretzky having worn the captain’s “C” for the Kings in years past.

No, Brown is not the demonstrative, loud, vocal captain who wears his emotions on his sleeve, traits that so many mistakenly believe are necessary to be a good captain.

Instead, Brown usually lets his actions do the talking, and negotiating his new contract extension on his own was a prime example of his leadership of the Kings.

“I think it’s well known that Brownie [negotiated] his own contract,” said Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi. “But the bigger thing, I think, is we’re starting to have all the blocks in place. We’re [a team] where a player truly wants to stay. Everything’s in place for him, in terms of a good team, a team that has a chance to win, is still relatively young, he’s very much adapted to Southern California, he wants his kids in school here. Every facet that a player looks at, in terms of where he wants to play, was in place. Now, it’s just a matter of coming to a fair number.”

Read more of this post

Filed under News, NHL News Tagged with , , , , , ,

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.

Read more of this post

Filed under News, NHL News Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New LA Kings Matt Frattin, Ben Scrivens Make A Quick Stop In Southern California

June 25, 2013 by 1 Comment

Matt Frattin (left) and Ben Scrivens (right)
(click above to view larger image)
Photo: Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — On June 24, one day after being acquired by the Los Angeles Kings in the trade that sent goaltender Jonathan Bernier to the Toronto Maple Leafs, right wing Matt Frattin and goaltender Ben Scrivens made a quick stop in the Los Angeles area to tour the team’s practice facility, meet the staff, and undergo medical examinations.

Talk about a whirlwind 24 hours.

“I was out at the lake this past weekend, and I got a call from Dave Nonis, who is the GM (general manager) with Toronto, and he relayed the message to me that I got traded to L.A,” said Frattin. “A little later after that, [Kings assistant general manager] Ron Hextall gave me a call, too, and kind of just tried to set up some stuff for me to come down after that.”

“Personally, I did not know there were too many trade talks,” added Frattin. “I mean, you hear rumors within the media, but you don’t try to think too much of it, because Toronto—the media is pretty crazy up there. But other than that, most of it was probably behind closed doors, and I don’t think too many people knew about the trade rumors.”

Read more of this post

Filed under Audio/Video, News Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts