After today’s second round of cuts, here’s how the Kings’ roster looks:

GOALIES
Jonathan Bernier
Erik Ersberg
Jonathan Quick

DEFENSEMEN
Drew Bagnall
Andrew Campbell
Drew Doughty
Davis Drewiske
Matt Greene
Thomas Hickey
Jack Johnson
Alec Martinez
Sean O’Donnell
Joe Piskula
Rob Scuderi

FORWARDS
Dustin Brown
Marc-Andre Cliche
Kyle Clifford
Richard Clune
Alexander Frolov
Gabe Gauthier
Michal Handzus
Peter Harrold
Raitis Ivanans
Anze Kopitar
Trevor Lewis
Teddy Purcell
Brad Richardson
Brayden Schenn
Brandon Segal
Wayne Simmonds
Ryan Smyth
Jarret Stoll
Kevin Westgarth
Justin Williams
John Zeiler

For those counting, that’s 35 guys. Among those remaining are perhaps some surprising names. Essentially 12 more have to go before the regular season begins in just under two weeks. It’s easier at this point to talk about who I think goes than who I think stays, as there are some interesting battles left to be won.

Of the defensemen who are left in camp, Campbell, Bagnall and Piskula are almost certain to be sent to Manchester sooner than later. While I think Piskula could end up being a spare part, 7th D-man at the NHL level eventually, Campbell is still a project in the works and Bagnall is nothing more than a decent AHL defenseman at this point. If you assume (and rightly) that Johnson, Doughty, Greene, Scuderi, O’Donnell are all shoo-ins, that leaves Drewiske, Hickey and Martinez competing for one, possibly two roster spots if the Kings decide to carry 7 defensemen (unlikely since Peter Harrold can be inserted on D if needed, though not preferred). All three of these guys have impressed me so far and this is going to be an interesting battle. In my mind if anyone has a leg up, it’s Davis Drewiske for coming up and playing well at the end of last season. Hickey looks very close if not ready, but the organization can afford to be patient and give him some more experience in Manchester. Alec Martinez end up being the odd man out here.

Of the remaining forwards, it seems pretty certain that Kopitar, Smyth and Williams will be the Kings’ top line on opening day; Purcell, Stoll and Brown are likely the second line; and Frolov, Handzus and Simmonds as the third line.

Guys who are a relative certainty not to make the team in my mind: Gabe Gauthier, Marc-Andre Cliche, Trevor Lewis and Brandon Segal. Some of the other candidates for the 4th line openings:

Brayden Schenn – VERY promising. Kid does all the right things, and truth be told, could probably play in the NHL right now as an 18 year old. That said, I think before camp ends, he will end up being returned to Brandon of the WHL for another year of junior experience and an opportunity to play in the Memorial Cup this season. Based on what experts said at the draft, I had an expectation that Schenn was two or three seasons away from being a regular NHL player. Based on what I’ve seen with my own eyes, that’s a long time to wait for a guy with this much talent. Schenn will not only be an NHL player within two seasons, he’ll be a VERY good one.

Kyle Clifford – A hard nosed, hard working kid. I’ve been very impressed with Clifford’s game. Not afraid to get dirty in the corners. Not afraid to drop the gloves. Going to the the type of player other teams hate having to face in the near future. A little bit raw yet though. Can’t wait to see what he looks like in camp next year.

Richard Clune – Love him as an agitator. Plays the same role as Jon Zeiler but in my opinion, does it better. Not afraid to mix it up. Given the Kings’ glut of 4th line forwards, he’ll probably end up in Manchester

John Zeilier – Not sure what the organization’s love affair is with Zeilier. Occasionally effective an an energy player but adds nothing on the offensive end and takes a lot of unnecessary penalties. If it were up to me personally I’d stick him in Manchester and leave him there. Don’t see what good he is to the Kings.

Brad Richardson – Love his wheels, and he was a productive player in junior, but he looks absolutely snakebitten around the net. Can’t even finish during drills. Hard to believe we gave up a 2nd round pick for him. Should wear a nametag that says “Hi, My name is: Healthy Scratch”.

Peter Harrold – Like him much better as a 4th line forward than I do on defense. Based on how he’s been skating in camp, might end up centering the 4th line.

Kevin Westgarth – In today’s NHL, the hybrid type enforcer who has some hockey skill to boot is a good commodity. Westgarth is fearless and is a much better skater and puckhandler than Raitis Ivanans. If I’m choosing between one of our two “enforcer” types, Westgarth gets the nod.

Raitis Ivanans – Has one job to do: fight. Only one problem: When the Kings needed him to come to the aid of his teammates last season, he was invisible. Puck Bunnies wear his jerseys but in reality Ivanans is the most expendable and probably least talented player on the team. Slow skater, not good with the puck. Clogs up the neutral zone for his own teammates. Find a team like Washington who doesn’t have an enforcer and deal him for a late round pick or another spare part forward.

Regardless of what I think, the 4th line will probably consist of a rotating combination of all the above guys, with a probability that Clune and perhaps Westgarth start the season in Manchester.

Now for the goalies. Here’s where it gets really interesting. All three guys remaining on the roster are probably NHL ready. Quick looked very good despite allowing perhaps a questionable goal in his lone preseason appearance, and Bernier has looked solid in two complete games – outstanding in last night’s 4-1 win over Anaheim. Ersberg has played but half a game but is expected to start one of the next couple games. If I’m basing my decision about who stays and who goes to Manchester solely on talent and upside Quick and Bernier are on the opening day roster. Bernier looks by my estimation to be ready to make the jump to the NHL, however it won’t hurt him to get another year of AHL experience. It wouldn’t make much sense to keep him in LA to back up Quick, so the only way Bernier stays is if he wins the #1 job outright. With two weeks of camp left, that’s not out of the realm of possibility, but I have a feeling he will get to carry the load in Manchester with Jeff Zatkoff backstopping the Reign in Ontario again.

Tomorrow I’ll talk a little bit about some of the Kings’ regulars and what I think can be expected for the upcoming season.

-JS

The Kings rookies began training camp back on Sunday, September 6th and a week later on September 13th, the veterans reported to officially kick camp off. There have been two rookie games against Phoenix (a 6-1 loss and a 4-0 win) and 4 preseason games (2 wins, one loss and a shootout loss), a couple of injuries/players out, trade rumors and 2 rounds of cuts since that date. I will try to get everything caught up as best I can right now.

Now where to start…

The Kings have two players temporary out of the lineup. Jaret Stoll has been suffering from arthritis pain and began skating middle of last week. Coach Terry Murray has said Stoll will play as soon as he says he’s ready to go, possibly as soon as Kansas City on Tuesday. Alexander Frolov has a slight groin injury suffered in last Thursday’s shootout loss to San Jose in Ontario, but he is skating and says he is ready to return to action. More on Frolov later.

With camp a week old, there have been two rounds of cuts. Through today, the following players have been trimmed from the Kings’ training camp roster:

Returned to Junior:
G Jean-Francois Berube (Montreal, QMJHL)
G Martin Jones (Calgary, WHL)
RW Brandon Kozun (Calgary, WHL)
RW Linden Vey (Medicine Hat, WHL)
D Nicolas Deslauriers (Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL)
D Colten Teubert (Regina, WHL)

Released from Tryout Contracts:
F Dennis McCauley
F Tyler Maxwell
D Radko Gudas
D Milan Doczy

Assigned to Manchester (AHL):
Justin Azevedo – C
Corey Elkins – C
Bud Holloway – LW
Dwight King – LW
Andrei Loktionov – C
David Meckler – LW
Juraj Mikus – C
Oscar Moller – C
Patrick Mullen – D
Jordan Nolan – C
Scott Parse – RW
Michael Pelech – F
Viatcheslav Voynov – D
Geoff Walker – RW
Jeff Zatkoff – G

Really none of these moves is particularly surprising. Having had a chance to watch these guys in camp and a couple of live preseason games, some impressions of the first batch of kids on the way to Manchester:

Oscar Moller – Played with the Kings all last season but at this stage in his development he will benefit greatly from a year at the AHL level. He needs to get stronger, and, if the Kings’ intend to use Moller as a center (where he has played most of camp and the preseason) he will need to improve in the faceoff circle.

Viatcheslav Voynov – Has a cannon point shot and seems to have an NHL skillset. Makes good decisions and hits like a freight train. Probably a season away from being a full-time LA King.

Andrei Loktionov – Excellent vision. Sees the game at a very high level, just needs to get the physical skills up to par with his brain. Looks like he’s going to be a solid NHL player in the future.

Corey Elkins – Didn’t see him personally in any game action but was very impressed with Elkins as a checking forward in camp drills/scrimmages. Of the kids just turning pro, he was the only one who seemed to make life difficult for the Kings’ established centers. Would like to see him in game action.

Patrick Mullen – Perhaps a bit on the “Project” side of prospects, but he had some solid moments. Got some looks on the Power Play and the Penalty kill and looked confident in both situations. A little surprised he was sent down before Andrew Campbell who was significantly less impressive.

Next up, a look at the remaining roster and some thoughts on who will be next to get sent down/returned to junior, and a look ahead to the regular season.

Many thanks to LAKings.com and Inside the Kings for some of the preceding information.

Yet more roster moves being announced by Lakings.com:

KINGS ANNOUNCE PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have announced the following player transactions:

Assigned to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL):

Drew Bagnall – D
Jonathan Bernier – G
Trevor Lewis – C

Returned to Junior Team:

Mike D’Orazio – D (Owen Sound – OHL)

The Kings have 36 players remaining on their 2008 Training Camp roster (21 forwards, 11 defensemen and four goaltenders)

This would lead me to believe that the hip flexor injury Bernier sustained in training camp may be more serious than originally though. It’s also fueling speculation the the Kings may be about to sign Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, who was placed on waivers today. Kings GM Dean Lombardi has stated over the summer that he isn’t interested in Khabibulin, so we’ll see if he’s had a change of heart. One scenario that would prove interesting would be if Khabibulin clears waivers and is sent to the AHL and recalled. The Kings would then be able to get him for a discount. I’m not anticipating the Kings making a move for the once talented Russian keeper, but I’ve been wrong before.

The most surprising move in regards to the goalies is what they haven’t done. With Bernier, Zatkoff and Taylor being reassigned; non contract invite Martin Jones from Calgary of the WHL is still in camp. That he hasn’t been signed to a contract and sent to Manchester or returned to junior yet is kind of a head scratcher. I’ll be more surprised if this doesn’t happen in the next couple of days.

It’s now a 3 horse race in LA, with Jon Quick looking to unseat either Jason LaBarbera or Erik Ersberg for a roster spot with the Kings. If you’ll recall, I’ve said since camp started that it wouldn’t be a reach to see Quick make the team. Provided the Kings don’t take a flyer on Khabibulin, Quick as a King in 2008-09 is looking more and more likely.

-JS

Lakings.com has released the following statement regarding player transactions for Monday, September 29th:

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have announced the following player transactions:

Assigned to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL):
Justin Azevedo – C
Andrew Campbell – D
Paul Crosty – D
Vladimir Dravecky – RW
Gabe Gauthier – C
Bud Holloway – LW
Josh Kidd – D
Brady Murray – LW
Marty Murray – C
Scott Parse – RW
Daniel Taylor – G
Eric Werner – D
Jeff Zatkoff – G

The Kings have 40 players remaining on their 2008 Training Camp roster (22 forwards, 13 defensemen and five goaltenders).

Most of these aren’t a surprise. Many of these players will probably end up with Ontario or Redding of the ECHL by the time final cuts are said and done.

-JS

Spent Friday at the Toyota Sports Center in El Segundo watching the Kings camp, so I thought I’d offer some thoughts and analysis on what I saw there.

First off, the Kings returned goaltender Linden Rowat to Regina of the WHL. Didn’t see him in uniform there so I presumed this is what had happened and confirmed it when I got back home last night.

Kings skated in two groups. Most of the heavies skated in the first group, which was run by head coach Terry Murray and assistants Mark Hardy and Jamie Kompon. Standouts amongst the veterans:

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown: These two seem to have ESP to help them communicate on the ice. Both knew where each other was at all time during drills and did a great job finishing each other passes. It’s no wonder these guys are 2/3 of the top line.

Denis Gauthier: I wasn’t expecting much of Gauthier but he has a mean streak and is willing to hit anything that moves. If there was a hard hit made on Friday, chances are that Gauthier was involved. Does seem to take some unnecessary risks at times but dud make some outstanding plays as a result of this.

Matt Greene: Wasn’t hammering people like Gauthier was but was playing the body well and his long reach lends itself well to pokechecking. Laid Kopitar out as he was trying to cross over the middle on one drill and got a big smile from Terry Murray for it.

Jaret Stoll: As is the word on him, he has an absolute cannon of a shot. Was doing faceoff drills against a couple of other centers and was absolutely dominant. Seems to see the ice well.

Jack Johnson: Has definitely bulked up a LOT in the offseason. Wasn’t playing the body much in practice but he seemed to be taking care of the puck well and his passing was excellent on the breakout. He was paired with Gauthier for a lot of the morning.

Michal Handzus: Looks extremely healthy and really did look like he was out to prove himself. More Speed than I remembered him having.

Standouts among the youngsters:

Oscar Moller: Was on the top line with Kopitar and Brown on Friday and didn’t seem to miss a beat. If I was Patrick O’ Sullivan I’d be ready to sign and get my butt to camp, a couple of these kids are making him look expendable.

Wayne Simmonds: Really impressed with this kid. Was all over the ice and has lots of hustle. Finished more often than not when he got the puck near the net. May need to get a little bigger before he’s ready for the big time but he has the skillset to be a contributing player if not a very good player in the NHL. On one drill he skated around Drew Bagnall like he was standing still, absolutely undressed him. I like this kid a lot.

Matt Moulson/Teddy Purcell/Brian Boyle: I’ll put them all in one category because I had the same opinion of all 3 of them. These kids are ready to jump into the NHL and contribute. They didn’t stand out like, say Kopitar and Brown, but they didn’t look like rookies out there either. They had Boyle playing the wing on a line with Derek Arstrong and Kevin Westgarth and he looked pretty good there. I’m of the opinion that he might be better suited to play the wing with his size.

Drew Doughty: Worth all the hype. Looked very solid defensively and his puck handling and skating skills are outstanding. During special teams drills he was on the first Power Play unit with Stoll on the point and he created a ton of opportunities. Looked 100% better in any category than Pressing did. Kid is special. No way he doesn’t make the team.

Peter Harrold: Looked good on the second PP unit. Seems to second guess himself in certain defensive situations but didn’t make any glaring mistakes.

Kevin Westgarth: Stood out for the wrong reasons. Absolutely useless. Couldn’t hit the side of a barn door with his shot and he is slow. I kept wondering why the hell he was even in camp. Don’t we already have an enforcer? Waste of space on the ice.

And the goalies (Jonathan Bernier is still out nursing a sore hip):

Jason LaBarbera: Looked pretty good I thought overall. Still not doing a great job controlling rebounds which has always been a problem for him, and his lateral movement is still an issue in my mind. If he didn’t have to move he was unbeatable but if forced to move laterally he is as good as dead. Needs to find a way to get stronger pushes when moving side to side. During drills when he had to share the net with Quick this was really obvious, the difference was night and day. Wasn’t handling the puck much on dump ins during drills.

Erik Ersberg: Also looked pretty solid. Nothing in his skillset will make your jaw drop but he stops the pucks he should stop and doesn’t give up rebounds. Pucks stick to him like he’s made of velcro. During breakout drills he handled the puck pretty well. So calm and composed you almost wonder if he has a pulse. Not as calm as Bernier but moreso than the other guys.

Jonathan Quick: Looked fantastic. Is the quickest goalie in camp (pun intended) and moves with the most fluidity. Rebound control is better than LaBarbera but not on par with Ersberg, the difference between Quick and LaBarbera is 1. Quick’s lateral movement is fast and fluid and 2. Quick is extremely athletic and in cases where he gave up rebounds he was able to make second saves. Also handled the puck better than the incumbents I thought. Seems to be playing with a lot of confidence. Only criticism I have of Quick is that he uses a bit of wasted motion. His movement, while very smooth isn’t the most efficient sometimes. If he continues to look this good the Kings will have a difficult decision on their hands soon.

Coach Terry Murray runs a pretty intense practice and focused a lot of defense and defensive play. Even if this defensive group is young, Murray and Mark Hardy will have them playing hard on a nightly basis. As you would expect, most of the veterans were pretty loose and the kids decidedly more nervous, with the exception of Doughty who was laughing it up with the vets pretty often.

Nobody who skated in the second group struck me as very impressive, save Matt Ellis who has some serious wheels. Marty Murray, a career minor leaguer, looked like Gretzky against most of these kids. Scott Parse looked completely uninspired as did Drewiske and Josh Kidd. Piskula was the best of the second group defensemen. As far as standing out for the wrong reasons, Paul Crosty is another one of those guys who makes me scratch my head a bit. He is slow and clumsy on skates and looks like he would struggle in upper division men’s league games, I’d venture to say he flat out doesn’t look like he belongs on the same surface even with a group of kids who don’t stand a chance in hell of making the NHL this season.

With that said about the forwards, Daniel Taylor was the most impressive of the goalies in the second group but even he was getting torched consistently. It seemed like every time Marty Murray went in on any of the 3 goalies he absolutely smoked them. When you then consider that the affore mentioned Murray is a career minor leaguer, that kind of puts things in perspective. Jeff Zatkoff looked great on the first day of development camp back in July and has looked terrible since then. His body language on the ice tells me that he knows this as well. He looks almost discouraged after the first couple get by him. He’s a prospect I had high hopes for and hopefully he can figure out how to get his game in the next gear. Right now he seems to have punched himself a ticket to the ECHL for this season. The kid Martin Jones from Calgary of the WHL, a non contract invitee looks somewhat promising. He moves around well and his size makes him tough to beat on a straight shot for the most part, but he needs to work on his body control. Jones I thought did a pretty good job of eating up rebounds. All in all, the second group are guys that will be in the AHL at best this season with the exception of Ellis who I think makes a good 4th line guy in LA.

Didn’t notice Raitis Ivanans or Brad Richardson on the ice. Doesn’t mean they weren’t there, but they weren’t noticeable in a good or bad way. One criticism I have of the Kings this time around in camp as opposed to development camp in July, none of the players had numbered jerseys. Some of the guys were hard to identify with just the numbers on their helmets. I love that camp is open to the public but it would certainly be more fan and media friendly if the players had numbered jerseys. Just a little complaint.

I took a few photos, some turned out well and other not so much. If you’d like to check them out you can do so HERE.

Puck drops on Frozen Fury 11 in Las Vegas against the Colorado Avalanche in about 40 minutes. I’ll have the post game report shortly after the game ends.

-JS

Despite reports earlier in the week, the Kings have yet to agree to a new contract with Patrick O’Sullivan. Camp opens for veterans tomorrow, Friday the 19th and Rich Hammond of the L.A. Daily News reported earlier today that O’Sullivan didn’t report to medical exams today with the rest of the vets and has been asked not to attend camp until a contract is worked out.

Hammond has an interesting conversation with Lombardi regarding that you can read HERE. Of concern is that, while fans have felt this may have been the case for weeks now, Lombardi admits that the two sides are “not very close…”.

Of note is that O’Sullivan is represented by agent Don Meehan, whom Lombardi has had trouble negotiating with in the past. The Kings have expressed a desire to get O’Sullivan locked into a long term contract, while Meehan may be looking to get his client a shorter deal so that he can angle a pay raise sooner if his performance merits. It’s unknown what Meehan is asking for salary-wise for O’Sullivan at this time but it seems obvious that Meehan and Lombardi are playing hardball. Meehan may be trying to milk the fact that the Kings need to sign O’Sullivan to reach the cap floor.

Despite the apparent impasse, I would expect the Kings to get O’Sullivan signed before the season begins. O’Sullivan is considered part of the team’s young core and the club will almost certainly retain his services despite the fact he’s been linked to unsubstantiated trade rumors with several teams.

More as it develops.

-JS