prospect#5

Vyacheslav Voynov D,
6′0, 190 lbs, Voynov is 20 years old and was drafted by the Kings in the 2nd round 32nd overall of the 2008 draft, he hails from Chelyabinsk, Russia. Voyonov has had a strong AHL career and looks like he should get a good shot to make the Kings next year. An all around defencemen, who excels in the offensive zone, but is responsible in his own zone. He will make the smart safe move over the risky dangerous move 9 times out of 10.

Voynov has the ability to quarter back a powerplay and make smart passes, he also posseses a good slap shot. He always is calm and cool no matter what the situation is. Voynov will use his body to be physical. He could use his size more effectivley. Voynov is well positioned in his own end and in the opponents end, however he can sometimes get lost in the neutral zone. Voynov also seems to be strong on the puck in traffic, and he is naturally confident. Voynov understands the game and makes smart plays with and without the puck.

Voynov needs to work on his exceleration and foot speed if he wants to keep pace with the speed of the NHL. He also needs to make quicker adjustments in the neutral zone,

Voynov will get a long look in training camp bext season, he may be up and down year for him, He will go through some growing pains, but in the end Voynov will proove his worth. Expect to see Voynov see a decent amount of time with the Kings next season. The one advantage Voynov does have is he has been playing against men since he was 16 and playing in Russia. He just turned 20 and he almost has 2 years of Hockey in the AHL under his belt,

Voynov has the potential to be a top pairing defencemen who will quarterback a powerplay and see time on the penalty kill.

Luton

the playoff race!

The Kings snapped out of their losing skid in a big way last night, hammering Columbus 6-0, Fredrik Modin continued his strong play for the Kings, since being acquired from Coloumbus. Modin had a powerplay goal and an assist against his former club. Modin’s strong play against his old club overshadowed the fact that Alexander Frolov had a career game scoring a goal and adding 3 helpers. Frolov has been strong in the last little while, and basically forced Dean Lombardi not to trade him at the trade deadline. If that wern’t good enough Jonathan Quick also picked up his his 37th win of the season and 3rd shut-out of the year.

The Kings also got strong performances from Randy Jones, Michal Handzus, Wayne Simmonds, Drew Doughty, Brad Richardson, and Jarret Stoll. Jeff Helpern looked good in his new defensive roll with the Kings. He had the task of covering the Nash line. Nash took an awkward hit from Jarret Stoll, and then a slash from Jeff Helpern, which caused the star forward to leave the game and did not return.

The Kings sit in 5th place, 1 point back of Phoenix, but have 1 game in hand, which if the can earn 2 points from that game in hand they could leap frog them into 4th giving them home ice advantage in the playoffs. As it stands now the Kings would be facing the Coyotes in the first round of the playoffs.

The Coyotes are similar to the Kings as they have not been in the playoffs in a long time, they have picked up a few veterans to help their core of young players, and seem to be able to bounce back no matter what the situation is.

I can picture this playoff match up being intense, and a new rivalry will be hatched. of coarse there is still lots of time for the standings to change and you have to keep an eye on teams like Colorado and Vancouver who are all possibilities for the Kings to face. I like most of you are extremely excited to see how it all plays out.

Luton

All the new Kings men

The trade deadline has come and gone. The Kings have made a few adjustments, nothing to major to mess with their chemistry, but the moves they did make gives them a little depth for a longer push into the play-offs. The Kings picked up 2 veteran forwards, Jeff Halpern, and Fredrik Modin. For Jeff Helpern the Kings had to give up Ted Prucell and and a 3rd round pick in the upcoming NHL draft. For Modin it cost a conditional 7th round pick.

Lets start with Jeff Helpern. Helpern is 33 years old and is a solid 2-way forward who is an excellent face-off man. He brings veteran leadership to a relatively young team, he has playoff experience to help make a push deeper into the playoffs. Freddy Modin is another veteran who is a natural goal scorer. Modin has battled injuries his whole career. Also 33 years old, but if Modin can manage to stay healthy for the rest of the season he can help provide some offence, In just over 800 career games Modin has scored 222 goals and has 225 assists in his career. Modin has also played in over 50 playoff games while notching 11 goals and 11 assists in that time. So with Helpern and Modin in the Kings line up along with other vetrans such as Smyth and Scuderi. The Kings seem poised to not only make the playoffs but to push through more than just the first round.

The Kings had to give up 24 year old Teddy Prucell a Newfoundland native. Prucell was a propsect who was successful in the minors, and has shown he has the skills to stay in the NHL. Prucell just seemed to have a hard time to find consistancy within the Kings roster, one night he was the best player on the ice the next night you wern’t sure if he was playing. Prucell has spent time as a healthy scratch. The Kings can afford to give up Purcell and his potntial with the prospects that they still have. With players like Oscar Moller, Scott Parse, Richard Clune, Trevor Lewis, and newer prospects like Brandon Kozun, Kyle Clifford, Linden Vey, and their top prospect arguably Brayden Schenn. So the loss of Purcell isn’t so bad with these 8 prospects coming in the next few years the Kings could afford to lose one of them, meanwhile they added depth to what appears to be a playoff bound team for the first time since 2002.

Overall I believe as long as Modin can stay healthy, Modin and Helpern should make this team stronger than they already are. after a strong first game back from the Olympics the Kings beat Dallas 5-1 and watch for the Kings continue their strong play with their new forwards against Nashville on Thursday night.

The one player that the Kings were thought to be moving was Alexander Frolov due to the fact that he is a UFA at season end, but Frolov is a key factor in the Kings push towards the play-offs and it wasn’t worth risking the chemistry he has had with the Kings.

Congratulations to Team Canada for winning Gold at the Olympics against the U.S. Congratulations to Drew Doughty for winning a Gold Medal, and to Dustin Brown, Jack Johnson, and Jonathan Quick on winning silver medals.

Luton

Prospect #6

Andrei Loktionov C
Loko as he is referred to by his former teamates from HC Lokomotiv plays center and shoots left, he is 5-11 and roughly 190 lbs. Loko is 19, and will be 20 on May 30th. Loko is from Moskow, Russia and he was drafted by the Los Angelas Kings in the 5th round 123rd overall in 2008. It is looking more and more like Loko was a steal. He had a stellar rookie season in the OHL with the Windsor Spitfires and helped them win the OHL championship and the Memorial cup.

2009-2010 Loko started playing for the Manchester Monarchs, he startded off strong and earned a call up to the Los Angeles Kings. Unfortunatly, in his first game he took a blow to the shoulder and has been out of hockey ever since. The good news is Loko is expected back soon.

Loko is a solid 2-way forward, he is a good face-off man and can play the penalty kill, and he can also play on the powerplay as a set up man. He uses his linemates effectively. He prefers to pass than shoot. Loko is projected to be a future second line center, who will play in all situations. Loktionov needs to work on shooting more and some times holds on to the puck too long. Once he works on this he should be able to crack the Kings line-up. Look for him to get a shot in 2010-2011.

Luton

KING OLYMPIAN!

The U.S. have looked solid thus far in the 2010 Olympics, however they showed that they do have weaknesses. The States played Norway in theire second game and they had the pressure of knowing that Canada had beat Norway 8-0.
Despite beating Norway 6-1 it was 3-1 for much of the game and the Norde’s put the wheels to the U.S. Norways keeper Pal Grotnes was incredible. Quick has yet to see action, however Johnson has had a strong tournement for the States and Brown has been his usual self.

Handzus and the Slovakes along with former Kings Stumpel and Palffy were fantastic and upset the Russians who many consider to be the favorite but the best player from the Kings so far has been Doughty. Doughty is just so smart at all aspects of the game. He controls the tempo on the power play, and makes it easy for everyone on his team to know where to go yet, the opositon has no clue what is coming next from Doughty.

Finally with all this going on and all the superstars playing in the Olympics 2 players who need much needed R&R for the Kings are getting a break. Ryan Smyth, is getting to rest up his battered body and hopefully when the league resumes Smyth will be healthy and fresh. Kopitar, one of the best players in the NHL and the leader of the Kings is also off. The Slovanian national team didn’t qualify for the olympics, so he gets to stay home and rest up to so while other superstars where themselves out, Kopitar will be rearing to go.

We have seen it before, the emotional highs some of these super stars are feeling now playing in the Olympics can sometimes lead to a struggle when they first return to the NHL. This is where hopefully guys like Kopitar, Smyth and other guys like Simmonds, Frolov and Stoll can take advantage.

Luton

To trade, or not to trade!

The 3pm trade freeze before the Olympics has come and gone, rumors swirled the last few days that the Kings were hot after Ray Whitney, but nothing came of it… Yet remember there is still 3 days in March and anything could happen. Dean Lombardi is looking at making a move but he isnt willing to jeoperdize the chemistry or the future of his club. If something can be worked out Lombardi will pull the trigger.

One move that is suspected to come about is trading Frolov. Frolov is a UFA at years end and it is expected that Lombardi will move him to bring in help and depth rather than lose him in July for nothing. Sean O’Donnell is also rumored to be on his way out. The last rumor of the day, was Moller and Jones to the Sens for Cheechoo and Lee. I laughed when I heard this one, however Lombardi does have ties with Cheechoo back from their San Jose days. Lombardi was willing to take on Cheechoo’s contract, Jombardi feels thatin the right situation Cheechoo could be affective. Lombardi would have wanted the Sens to take on Jones’s contract. Bryan Murray was also asking for Moller and Lombardi doesn’t seem to be willing to let go of him, even if Murray added Lee.

Lots of speculation is going to swirl over the next 2 weeks and even more rumors will be read about. I was expecting a trade when the Kings waived Segal and he was picked up by the Dallas Stars. The Kings have also felt that Scott Parse is struggling and they have sent him down to Manchester. The Kings have re-called Richard Clune from Ontario of the ECHL. Clune is an agitator with some skill but is fast, and might give a suprising boost the way Parse did when he first came to the Kings.

Luton

Lucky #10

The Kings will go for their 10th win in a row tonight against Anahiem. So far in 3 meetings, the Kings are 3-0, hopefully their success against the Ducks will continue. If Quick who is proving me wrong, continues to play the way that he has the Kings should have a good chance at getting their 10th consecutive win in a row. They will need help from other players other than Quick. Kopitar, Smyth and Brown need to continue their strong play while Handzus and Frolov have been holding hot sticks these days both having 2 or more points each in the last 2 games. Doughty has been kept off the score sheet the last few games, but its only a matter of time before he snaps his streak. Luckily for the Kings Doughty is more than a 1 dimensional player, and is still logging big minutes.

Jones is likely to be in the line up as Drewiske is still day to day with his injury. With guys like Drewiske injured and Jones struggling, The Kings are thin on D. Harrold can suit up but he seems to have found a groove as a forward and Alec Martinez can fill gaps. Top end prospects Teubert, Hickey, and Voinov aren’t quite ready to crack the big team. With all the trades starting to flow the Kings should look to find some spare D that can fill in when called upon and not be worried about them. The Sharks who the Kings are chasing, have done that, as they aquired Niclas Wallin from Carolina and all though he willl see regular shifts, it gives them depth at that end.

The Kings should be looking to do the same. Some candidates could be Garnet Exelby, Steve Staios, and Cam Barker could all be had. Barker would cost a little more but would be worth the bait, as he has a Booming shot, he is quick and can play top 4 minutes, right now he is on a 3rd line pairing due to numbers. Sopel from the Hawks could be available as well. The Kings could also get Ben Eager in a deal. Eager is tough, but he can also play with talent. I think of him as a Chris Neil type of player, he too has a cannon. Eager is RFA at seasons end, and with the hawks tight to the cap especially next year, they may not be able to fit a new contract for Eager in their salary cap. Eager would be a safer more reliable player to have in their line up than Raitis Ivanins.

The Kings are playing well, I think tinkering with their line up slightly is something they should consider, nothing to major to mess with chemistry but a defencemen or 2 and some roll playing forwards would help out especially if the Kings want to go far into the playoffs.

LUTON

Kings prospect #7

Colten Teubert,

Colten is 19 years old, he is a 6′3 181 pound defencemen out of White Rock B.C. He plays junior hcockey for the Regina Pats. Colten is a stay at home defencemen who packs a heavy punch. He dishes out thundering hits and isn’t affraid to get dirty in the corners. Colten seems to play his best when he is up against the best players in the league and even better when its against the players in the most important games. Colten was a 1st round selection, 13th overall and he will compliment other Kings first round picks Doughty and Hickey who will provide the offence, Tuebert will keep the offence out of his end.

Teubert is going to be a solid defencemmen. He does need to work on his skating and his speed before he can become an NHL defencemen. Teubert does posess a pretty good shot, but rarely uses it. He will chip in a few points here and there but for the most part he will do his damage killing penalties, and blocking shots. Teubert also has to learn to control his emotions and become more disiplined. Teubert is known to take a penalty here and there and drop the gloves every now and again. Although poolies who want a player to pick up like the fact that he gets penalty minutes be waery. In order for Teubert to get a spot on the Kings he will have to keep his emotions in check, otherwise he wont get the ice time he otherwise would deserve.

Colten currently has played 41 games for the Pats and he has 9 goals and 22 assists which is very good so far, but don’t expect to see these kind of #’s in the NHL. He also has 74 penalty minutes which is pretty high considering the season isn’t over yet.

Colten Teubert is going to be a solid defencemen for the Kings for years to come and he will become a leader and a champion. This is only my opinion but he has gotten better and better every year, and will settle in nicely alongside Doughty, Hickey, and another soon to be newbies like Viacheslav Voinov will be hard to beat.

Luton

Trade Mill!!!

The Atlanta Thrashers are ready to trade Ilya Kovalchuk, the problem is their price tag is quite high. Don Waddell the GM for the Thrashers is currently asking for 4-5 players/prospects/ and draft picks and it was rumored that the players he was intersested in from the Kings are Jack Johnson and one of Wayne Simmonds or Oscar Moller, Schenn, Teubert or Hickey and Loktionov or a 3rd round draft pick. Needless to say although Kovalchuk would be a great addition to the Kings, Dean Lombardi is not willing to pay such a hefty price tag for Kovalchuk who could walk away from the team come July 1st. It is believed that Waddell set the price tag high so when it came to negotiations there was some give with out too much comprimise. Most GM’s would do the same.

Dean Lombardi will continue to negotiate with Waddell, but Lombardi is not stupid and will walk away if Waddell continues to try and fleece him. Other teams that are apperently in the running for Kovalchuk, are Boston, New York, Washington and Chicago. Boston and New York don’t have as much of a shot due to the fact they are in a tight race with Atlanta to get the last couple of spots for the playoffs. It is more likely that Waddell would have to lower his want list. Maybe something like Johnson, Moller, Teubert, and a 4th round pick. That is just my speculation. However, Waddell probably wants Schenn to be apart of that offer.

I wouldn’t be suprised if Waddell can’t move Kovalchuk, his price tag is really high, and it is a lot to give up for a player who might walk away at years end. As much as I don’t want to think it. Do the Kings give up that much for a flight risk, and although it would likely get you into the playoffs, it is still far from a guarentee that this move will win you the Stanley Cup. In 2 or 3 years when Moller, Schenn, Teubert or Hickey or Loktionov are in the NHL and the Kings still ace guys like Kopitar Brown and Doughty leading the way the Kings will be a scary, scary Hockey team.

I would walk away from this deal unless you can resolve a reasonable price tag soon, and I would look into what else there is available that won’t cost you your future.

Look at teams like Carolina, Toronto, St. Louis, and Columbus to make some moves, these teams all have something to offer.

Luton

A Kings update

A 0 for 27 drought on the power- play was ended last night when Drew Doughty blasted a shot from the point midway through the first period. Doughty was under the microscope from the Canadian media as he played his first game close to his home. Doughty played a solid game and added an assist along with his power-play goal which gave him 2 points on the night. Doughty wasn’t the only player to have a good game. Captain Dustin Brown chipped in 3 assists, and was a threat every time he stepped on the ice. Ryan Smyth had the game winner late in the second however Toronto made it close but couldn’t complete the comeback. Frolov added the insurance goal late in the 3rd into an empty net for the much needed 2 points.

The Kings are now in 6th with 63, Nashville is in 7th 2 points back, and Detroit has moved into 8th with 59 points. The once powerful Calgary Flames are burning themselves out of a playoff spot and now sit in 9th with 58 points. Rather than looking at who is chasing them for a spot the Kings should be looking at who they can pass next. The Coyotes have played some good hockey but the Kings are only 2 points behind them and they have a game in hand. The Canucks are tied for 3rd in points with Colorado and they both have 66 points, but Vancouver has the 4th spot due to the tie breaker. The Kings only need 4 points to pass them to take over 4th. After that they would have to catch divisional leader San Jose who already have a wopping 78 points. The kings should set their sites on 4th.
Finally in the rumour column, the buzz is the Kings are one of a few teams in the hunt for Ilya Kovalchuk, again this is just a rumour, and although it sounds great, at what cost will Dean Lombardi have to pay? The Thashers want players prospects and draft picks in the package for what could be a rental player. It will be a big gamble to take especially with the Kovalchuk being a UFA at seasons end. Tomorrow I will discuss some of the possibilities of who and what the Kings would have to give up in order to get Kovalchuk.

Luton