Crawford Firing Not The Big Story

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On June 10, when the Los Angeles Kings fired head coach Marc Crawford, they clearly indicated a major course change in the direction of the franchise...

...that is, if you believe what many of the pundits and some fans are saying in the aftermath of the firing of the Kings’ 21st head coach.

But don’t you believe it, not for one minute.

Indeed, it seems far more likely that, if anything, the Kings are staying the course that President/General Manager Dean Lombardi set when he was hired more than two seasons ago.

Crawford Out Due To “Fit”

Crawford was hired on May 22, 2006, and earned a 59-84-21 record with the Kings. He was best available option at the time of his hiring, to be sure, he was the “biggest name” available. But his fiery, in-your-face style does not work well with today’s National Hockey League players, especially the youngsters.

“The young players that are in the draft, and as we see more prevalent coming through the system—this is one of the advantages of going out on the road, meeting kids myself, meeting parents—I think the ability to communicate and build trust with young players is critical because the fear factor with young people is not there anymore as it was in the past,” said Lombardi.

“So the question is...is it change your ways or is it adapt to the people we’re dealing with? I think we’ve all had to do that. Even [assistant general manager] Ron Hextall says it’s very different from when he came up through the ranks when dealing with players, the impact the agents now have—these kids have agents at 14 years old. They learn in junior hockey now that if you don’t like going somewhere, you can manipulate the team you want to play for.”

The team plummeting out of playoff contention by mid-December also did not help matters, even though Lombardi said that was not the most important factor in the decision.

“If you’re only going to evaluate it on the past, the season ends disappointingly, sure,” Lombardi explained. “We weren’t as good as we thought. I think we should’ve been better. But is that enough to make a change? I didn’t really think so, particularly with a coach who had a good track record with other organizations. But then you look again, just like a player, where does he fit into your overall plan?

“We’re talking about a guy with a lot of wins,” Lombardi continued. “But this is different from Colorado or Vancouver. This is not an easy team to coach when you have to go out and get bridge free agents to bide time for your young players and build something through the draft and through your system.”

“You have to be realistic in terms of your expectations because you’re not able to build the camaraderie. I go back to free agency back on July 4. Six or seven guys—not the way to go and that’s a harder team to coach. I don’t think Marc ever confronted that type of building scenario, even though he had a wealth of experience. When you’re in that situation, the bridge towards the build, I don’t think he had to face that yet.”

Indeed, Lombardi must share much of the blame, even though he did not have much choice for his actions, for Crawford’s situation last season. Given the fact that Lombardi handed him a roster made up of young, inexperienced talent at the top end and not much else outside of over-the-hill or drastically underperforming veteran players, it is quite clear that Crawford really did not have much to work with—he was going to be hard-pressed to keep his team in the playoff hunt, although his team should have been able to stay afloat until at least the All-Star break and should have been able to stay out of the basement of the league standings (the Kings ended the season tied in points with last place Tampa Bay).

In any case, for the rebuilding Kings, it is clear that Crawford is not the right man for the job going forward as the Kings dive deeper into their youth movement, which is the real story here.

Staying The Course

To be sure, the firing of head coach Marc Crawford, although a big story in relation to the Kings, was really not the biggest story to surface from the Kings on Tuesday. Rather, it was the revelation that the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), who owns the Kings, is supportive of Lombardi’s efforts and vision for the future of the team and is not interfering in hockey-related decisions as they used to do from the time they took over as owners through Dave Taylor’s run as general manager.

“There’s no doubt we’re committed to the way we’re going after my meeting with ownership this week,” said Lombardi. “It’s more evident than ever that they’re committed to building a young core—for the lack of a better term, the old-fashioned way.”

“Ultimately, it comes down to a meeting with ownership and their commitment to staying with this plan, because in the end, their philosophy is what dictates the plan, and they’re not changing the course in terms of building a young core the old-fashioned way,” added Lombardi. “It’s safe to say that we might be accelerating it, so there’s more of a commitment than ever to doing it this way.”

This news is probably shocking to many long-time Kings fans who are skeptical of AEG and their motives.

“The only thing I wanted to hear from ownership was a commitment to stay with the idea of building with young players,” said Lombardi. “That was it. Seeing where some of these young players might be in terms of using them, there is a school of thought that says that, in a perfect world, you completely back off instead of trying to play a 21-year-old or a 19-year-old and use your minor league time to its fullest. That’s not totally irrational, but it’s also not practical at times.”

“When I put all these plans together, the only thing I want to hear from ownership is are you still committed to building through the draft and with young players? If anything, they’re stronger on that now than they were when I got here. The challenge now is to not only get the young players but to keep them because of the way the money is going.”

Lombardi added that many organizations become skittish after a horrendous season like the one the Kings just had.

“The thing you see from organizations time and time again, when it gets a little hard, it’s easy to switch course,” he explained. “When you’re in these situations, ownership has a right to say, ‘this is not what we expected,’ or, ‘we have to make an adjustment here.’ Or the easy thing is to do a hybrid and then get caught in between trying to put together the muscle to win a Cup and ‘let’s try and do it, but let’s do this that might hurt us down the road.’”

“All I heard was, ‘no, you continue on this route to put together a core that’s going to make us a contender,’” he elaborated. “They said to stay with this and, if anything, go even harder at it.”

For a team that has only talked about rebuilding prior to hiring Lombardi but never actually went through with it, rather, going the “hybrid” route that Lombardi described, this is significant. It is a powerful indication that they are committed to rebuilding and, even more important, allowing their hockey people to make the decisions and run the show, something they never allowed before.

And about that rebuilding movement...many hockey pundits and long-time fans are saying that the Kings are switching gears by heading into a total youth movement.

BZZZT! Wrong! Try again!

Clearly, Lombardi has had the Kings on a rebuilding plan since he arrived on the scene on April 21, 2006, and even though he said that here in Southern California, tearing down a team and totally rebuilding it won’t work, it is quite clear that despite what he said two years ago, a total rebuild is exactly what he has been doing all along.

Indeed, if you look at the young core of the team, which includes forwards Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Patrick O’Sullivan, Alexander Frolov and, if he is not traded soon, Michael Cammalleri, they range in age from 20 to 26 years of age—all still young by NHL standards.

In goal, the Kings were horrible once again last season, although Erik Ersberg gave fans a glimmer of hope near the end of the season. Yet unproven, Ersberg could wind up as the Kings’ top goalie while the Kings wait for blue chip prospect Jonathan Bernier to develop further in his first year with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate).

Where the Kings need the most help is on the blue line, where they are still relatively old.

“We have the illusion of being young because our better players are young,” Lombardi explained. “But in terms of our overall make-up, particularly on the back end, there’s a transition that has to take place where we, in fact, become a young team.”

Indeed, with elder statesman Rob Blake likely still in the Kings’ plans and with holes to fill while waiting for young defenseman prospects to develop down on the farm, the Kings’ blue line corps will not be getting a lot younger just yet, even with the likely selection of a high-potential defenseman prospect in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft on June 20.

The Kings clearly have had huge holes on defense and on their third and fourth lines. So what did Lombardi do to fill them? He signed unrestricted free agents such as Scott Thornton, Brian Willsie, Kyle Calder, Ladislav Nagy and Michael Handzus. And knowing that goaltending was a problem, he took a shot in the dark with Dan Cloutier. Lombardi also signed defenseman Rob Blake for a whopping $6 million per year for two seasons.

To be quite sure, trading for Cloutier and then signing him to a contract extension was a blunder of epic proportions, and Blake and Handzus have been major disappointments. The rest were really nothing more than inexpensive placeholders—filling a roster spot, biding time for young prospects to develop and eventually fill those roster spots.

That time is upon us, as a few prospects will undoubtedly move into those roster spots next season.

“We’ve had time, since the playoffs ended in Manchester, to evaluate where those kids are in terms of being in our lineup,” said Lombardi.

And with fifteen selections in the 2008 draft, including the second overall pick, the Kings development system will get a big boost just over a week from now. Indeed, the train that is the Kings’ youth movement is about to hit top speed.

With that second pick, the Kings just might land a youngster who is ready to play at the NHL level already.

Maybe.

“You look at the draft picks that are out there—I spent a lot of time in Toronto and down the stretch trying to gauge whether one or two of these players could be ready [for the NHL],” said Lombardi.

Lombardi Will Take His Time On New Head Coach

Don’t expect the Kings to name a new head coach very soon, as it appears that they are going to be quite deliberate in their search.

“We haven’t had time to look at candidates at this stage,” said Lombardi. “For the most part, we’ll start our search after today and look for what you hope will be the right fit as you project your roster. That’s the hard part that started to become clearer to us in the last month or so—the direction we were going with the timing of the youth, so to speak.”

“We’re not going to rush into anything,” added Lombardi. “This is a critical hire. We’ll get through Development Camp in July and hopefully, make the right gut call in the end. We’re going to take our time, go through the process and hopefully, get the right guy.”

Lombardi indicated that associate coach Mike Johnston was the only one of the current assistant/associate coaches who would be considered.

“There’s two things there,” said Lombardi. “I haven’t had a chance to meet with them yet. I want to talk to Mike Johnston about the possibility of being considered for this role.”

“I think right now we’ve committed to considering Mike Johnston,” added Lombardi. “I think he’s pretty well-respected in the industry and I think that’s where we’re leaning right now, but that doesn’t mean we won’t open it up.”

With big-name head coaches such as Joel Quenneville and John Tortorella out there, presumably looking for new jobs, Lombardi explained the situation that candidates will face.

“Guys that have options—they have to decide which challenge they want,” he explained. “It’s not only a guy who fits with where your team is and where you want to go. But that candidate has a different landscape for every organization.”

“If you go to San Jose or Ottawa, for instance, there’s no question those teams should be Cup contenders.” he elaborated. “Everything’s been built, the infrastructure is in place. Now go ahead, ride everything to the top. Or do you want to get on the ground floor, build with young players, help establish a culture, and maybe go through the hard times but have the satisfaction of starting something from the ground up?”

“The hockey people are starting to look and say ‘hmm...there might be something pretty good there if they can get the back end [established] and keep the youth up front, that could be a good place to go and grow with,’” Lombardi stressed. “That’s important because every [team] brings its own challenge, and that individual has to want that challenge or you don’t want him.”

Lombardi also said that previous experience as an NHL head coach would not necessarily be a requirement.

“I’m not married to [NHL] experience,” he said. “I’m not afraid to hire inexperience if I feel its the right guy and he wants this type of challenge.”

Kings Sign Prospect Oscar Moller

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On April 22, the Los Angeles Kings signed forward Oscar Moller to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Moller, 19, played in 63 regular season games for the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League this season, scoring 39 goals and contributing 43 assists for 82 points with 42 penalty minutes.

Moller’s 39 goals ranked him seventh in the league in goal scoring. He was also tied for tenth in overall scoring and was fourth in the WHL in power play goals (16). He was also tied for fifth with 28 power play assists.

In four playoff games, Moller scored a goal and added two assists. He was also a WHL First Team All-Star.

The 5-11, 179-pound native of Stockholm, Sweden also played in two playoff games for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League this season, recording one assist.

Moller represented Sweden at the 2008 World Junior Championship, where he scored three goals and added two assists for five points in six games, helping lead Sweden to a silver medal finish in the tournament.

Moller scored 32 goals and tallied 37 assists for 69 points in 68 games in the 2006-07 season, ranking third among WHL rookies in goals and fifth among WHL rookies in overall scoring. Moller was also named co-winner of the Bruins’ Rookie of the Year award.

That same season, Moller was the captain of Team Sweden, which won the bronze medal in the IIHF Under-18 World Championships.

Photo courtesy Chillwack Bruins.

Dustin Brown Puts It All Together

LOS ANGELES — Even though Los Angeles Kings right wing Dustin Brown is only 23 years old, he had already played three seasons in the National Hockey League going into the 2007-08 season. But during that time, his play raised plenty of questions and doubts about his future.

To be sure, Brown quickly established himself as a physical player, one who could deliver devastating body checks. But the offensive ability he showed at lower levels eluded him. Indeed, many doubted the first round (13th overall) selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft would ever meet the lofty expectations that the Kings and hockey pundits alike had of him.

Brown played sparingly in his rookie year, scoring a goal and adding four assists in the 2003-04 season. He played for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) during the 2005-06 lockout season, and he gave everyone a glimpse of what could be by scoring 29 goals with 45 assists for 74 points.

It was back to the NHL and the Kings in the 2005-06 season, when Brown scored 14 goals and added 14 assists for 28 points with 175 hits. He improved his offensive numbers in the 2006-07 season with 17 goals and 29 assists for 46 points while ranking second in the league with 258 hits.

Despite his offensive improvement, it was clear that Brown was a fierce hitter, but was not a major offensive threat—a third line winger at best, not the first or second line power forward that he was expected to become. And since teams do not select players for their third and fourth lines in the first round of the draft, Brown was definitely not living up to expectations.

After three seasons in the NHL without making the offensive splash that was expected of him, Brown was at a crossroads in his career, as the whispers around the league were that he was likely to be little more than a third-line checking forward with average or even below average offensive skills. Brown clearly needed to put his entire game together in order to silence his critics.

And although the 2007-08 season was yet another horrific season for the Kings, Brown was a one of the few bright spots, scoring 33 goals while contributing 27 assists for 60 points, and he led the league with 311 hits. Without question, Brown finally put together his offensive game with his physical play.

To be sure, Brown silenced his critics with a breakout season.

Brown’s renaissance began during the off-season when he lost a few pounds and worked on his skating, adding speed and better conditioning to his game.

He also added increased confidence to his arsenal.

“This year, I’ve been focusing on picking up my offensive game and really focusing when I get those chances,” said Brown. “Last year, when I got those chances, maybe I didn’t have the confidence to score. That’s the difference--the experience and the confidence this year.”

“There’s definitely a different feeling for myself,” added Brown. “You come out onto the ice—I remember my first couple of years, questioning or doubting myself, whether I belong, or whether I can score. Now, I just go out there and expect to create offense for this team. I’ve been fortunate enough to get the opportunity and capitalize on my chances.”

“It’s definitely a different mindset for me now. It’s not whether I belong. It’s making a statement.”

Experience also helped him to continue to play a physical brand of hockey while adding the offense at the same time.

“Physicality is still there [in his game],” Brown explained earlier in the season. “But when I have to focus on offense, I’m not taking myself out of the play as much this year, which has helped me get my chances. I’m not worrying about making the huge hit and maybe taking myself out of position by three or four feet. In today’s game, three or four feet is a big difference. Letting the hits come to me, I can still get my hits, but I’m in better position defensively and offensively.”

“A lot of it is confidence and a lot of it is experience, knowing when to turn it up a notch,” added Brown. “Hitting is a weird thing. Sometimes, you can create big hits, but a lot of times, it’s just a matter of letting things come to you.”

This season, everyone stood up and took notice of the “new” player wearing Kings’ jersey number 23, including Kings’ head coach Marc Crawford.

“He’s at the point in his career where he is maybe a little more comfortable with the puck,” said Crawford. “When you’re young and you’re learning the league, when you get the puck on your stick, maybe you force plays or hurry plays a bit more. Dustin has a bit more poise now.”

“As a power forward, it’s about controlling the puck and making a quick decision, and I see a lot more control in his play,” added Crawford. “He’s always physical. He was physical as a young player in this league. He caught people by surprise, but he doesn’t catch anyone by surprise now.”

After a huge breakout season, the expectations for Brown are even higher, both on the ice and off, and that includes being looked at as one of the leaders on the team.

“Let’s face it. It’s going to be Brown in a situation of leadership, [and Anze] Kopitar,” said Crawford. “We’ve already introduced [Lubomir] Visnovsky and [Michael] Cammalleri into it this year. Those guys are going to have to continue to take steps ahead.”

“It’s taking initiative to be the accountable guys,” added Crawford.

And Brown was already talking like a team leader at the end of his team’s season as he lamented one of the reasons the Kings took it on the chin again this season.

“It’s players taking accountability and coming ready to play every night, which I don’t think was the case for every player in every game this year,” he said.

“I believe it’s just taking accountability—each individual,” he stressed. “There have been games this year where little things cost us games, not big mistakes. It’s not chipping the puck in, a turnover. It’s little things like that—short shifts and stuff like that—we got away from as a team in the early part of the year and it cost us games.”

Many have attributed to the Kings’ inconsistent effort throughout the season to the fact that their key players are all quite young. But Brown refused to accept that as an excuse.

“You could look at it two ways,” said Brown. “We’re a young team, but at the same time, if you’re young, you should be excited to play every night. I think there have been instances where there’s players who weren’t excited to play and kind of went through the motions.”

“You can’t do that,” added Brown. “You can’t have any passengers when we’re on the lower end of the talent level. We have to have everyone excited. We can’t rely only on our talent. We have to be hard-working. Hard work and doing the little things would really help this team.”

Indeed.

“Everyone has off nights,” Brown explained. “The effort level wasn’t there sometimes from a variety of players. I don’t think that’s really acceptable if we want to make the playoffs. There’s guys who are going to have off nights. Skill guys—[Alexander] Frolov might have an off night and not be the normal Frolov we all know he can be. One thing we can all do is bring our effort every night. Sometimes, that wasn’t the case."

“It’s a team game, we’re all pulling on the same rope,” Brown elaborated. “You try to support your teammates. I’ve had off nights, or nights where I could’ve worked harder. You look back after the fact and you kick yourself.”

After such a banner year for himself, Brown was especially disappointed in his team’s atrocious season.

“It’s not a good feeling for myself,” he said. “It’s a big disappointment for me. Next year, it’s going to be up to the core guys to take accountability for this team and not let it slip away.”

Brown said that despite their poor season, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“I think experience is a huge part of becoming a winning team,” said Brown. “When you look at our core group, we all got a year’s experience and I think that’s going to pay dividends.”

“It’s my first time in this organization where I’ve come back and there’s the same key players for two years in a row and now we’re coming back for a third year,” added Brown. “I think that’s a huge part of getting a winning mentality around here. The key guys—Kopitar, [Patrick O’Sullivan Frolov, Cammalleri], Jack [Johnson]—they’re all going to be here.”

“Normally, it’s a total [overhaul] after the season, at least since I’ve been here. It’s nice to know that we have that core group that’s been together for three years and we can really build on that.”

Brown will represent the United States, along with O’Sullivan, in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournament, May 2-18, 2008 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Quebec City, Quebec.

After that, it’s back to same grindstone that he put his nose to last summer.

“A lot of the same, I’m not going to try to switch much of it up,” Brown said about his off-season training. “This is where you can make gains physically—in the summertime.”

“It’s tough during the year. If you work hard during the summer—I noticed the difference physically, feeling better on the ice, maybe not right away because you go from being in great shape off the ice to getting into hockey shape. But once you get into hockey shape, it can really help you.”

To be sure, the 2008-09 Kings are going to need all the help Dustin Brown can give them, and if he can improve on his offensive numbers, he can make a big statement towards gaining recognition as one of the league’s top power forwards. That kind of effort could be the difference between the Kings making the playoffs or being one of the league’s also-rans yet again.

Audio: Interview with Dustin Brown (8:19)

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2007-08: Breakout Season For Patrick O’Sullivan

LOS ANGELES — Despite finishing the 2007-08 season 29th in the thirty-team National Hockey League, the Los Angeles Kings are optimistic about their future, and one reason for that optimism comes from a rather unexpected source.

Indeed, no one in their right mind thought that a 5-11, 190-pound winger with some offensive talent but had little in terms of a defensive game would be a major player in the Kings’ future, at least, not in the near future.

But second-year left wing Patrick O’Sullivan turned a lot of heads and left some jaws agape this season by scoring 22 goals with 31 assists for 53 points in 82 games as well as contributing far more on the defensive end than anyone expected.

To be sure, O’Sullivan was not known for his defensive play when he began the 2006-07 season with the Kings. Always a big-time scorer in the Ontario Hockey League and later in the American Hockey League, he scored 47 goals and added 46 assists for 93 points in 78 games with the Houston Aeros in the 2005-06 season.

With the Kings, O’Sullivan found himself in unfamiliar territory, as his defensive play and his play without the puck was lacking, to say the least, and as a result, he did not last long at the NHL level.

O’Sullivan was assigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, to work on his game, and while many young, highly-touted prospects react poorly to being sent down to the minors, O’Sullivan did not sulk. Instead, he put his nose to the grindstone and worked hard, scoring 18 goals and contributing 21 assists for 39 points in 41 games.

On January 25, O’Sullivan was recalled by the Kings, and it appeared that he got the message, as the new Patrick O’Sullivan was effective with and without the puck. He displayed a hard-nosed work ethic in battles along the boards and in the corners, and he was far more dangerous in the offensive zone.

O’Sullivan acknowledged that being sent to Manchester helped his game tremendously.

“Since I came back from my stint in Manchester, I feel a lot more comfortable on the ice,” O’Sullivan said at the time. “I’m certainly playing a lot more and I’m starting to get some points.”

“As the second half went on, I started killing penalties and playing in big, important situations,” O’Sullivan added. “That really got to me. I said to myself, ‘I can play at this level. I can make plays and do the things that I’ve been able to do at every other level.’ To realize that is pretty cool. It’s definitely something I’ve tried to build on.”

But O’Sullivan knew that he had to do more to improve his game, and last summer, he spent a lot of time in the weight room and even participated in the Kings Development Camp, which he was not required to do.

The off-season work paid off in spades, as the sophomore winger came back as very different player.

“I’ve got confidence, I know I can play in this league,” O’Sullivan explained. “That’s half the battle, knowing that you’re able to do it. For a young player, that’s a big step. To get the experience last year was good for me. I also worked hard this past summer. I got into better shape than I was before and I’m starting to feel that.”

“I feel faster, and I feel a little quicker on the ice,” O’Sullivan elaborated. “It’s from some of the training I did over the summer. The team wanted me to work on my conditioning, and I came to camp in a lot better shape than I did last year. I feel it on the ice.”

Despite his size, O’Sullivan has learned how to use his body effectively and he won more than his share of physical battles this season.

“I’m not the biggest guy, but I got stronger and definitely a lot faster,” he said. “The skating improvement has really helped me.”

“He’s still growing up, he’s gaining experience,” said Kings forward Michael Cammalleri. “There’s a big difference from when you’re a rookie. You’re just getting used to the NHL, the best league in the world. Now he knows what it’s like and he’s just getting stronger.”

O’Sullivan started the 2007-08 season in almost strictly a defensive role, playing on the third line and killing penalties. But he played so well—a big surprise, even for the Kings—that before anyone knew it, he found himself playing on the first and second lines and getting time on the power play—he found himself playing in all situations.

To be sure, no one was doubting O’Sullivan anymore.

“It feels really good,” said O’Sullivan, who received the team award for Best Defensive Player. “Any time you have people doubting you, and that was happening last year because it didn’t go as planned for me, but to prove to the organization what I was able to do and more importantly, prove to myself because I always knew what I was capable of doing.”

“To be doubted—that’s happened to me in the past,” added O’Sullivan. “I knew how to handle it, I knew what I had to do to have a successful year. I wasn’t playing much at the beginning. It took me twenty games to get myself a chance to start playing a little more and playing in more offensive situations. Once that happened, it kind of took off.”

“I’m happy that I did it the right way and that I’ve earned everything I’ve got.”

Although no one would categorize him as one of the NHL’s top forwards, O’Sullivan has become a complete player who can be an impact player with or without the puck and in all three zones.

O’Sullivan said that as a young player, he had to learn how to play at the NHL level.

“Until you see something, you don’t really know,” he explained. “You can have people tell you, but until I got here, you don’t know how good the guys are and what it takes to be at your highest level every night. That was the key for me—seeing how it is, getting to know the guys and seeing what it took, not only on the ice, but off the ice, to be the best player you can be.”

“Seeing that and learning from guys is what really helped me and then being committed to follow through and do what I had to do to give myself a chance to have a good year.”

O’Sullivan learned that the intensity and dedication needed at the NHL level requires a quantum leap from what a player can get by with at the lower levels.

“It’s things like one-goal games and that one mistake can cost you a game,” said O’Sullivan. “It’s really hard to be a young player in this league because there are no nights off.”

Without question, O’Sullivan had a breakout season in 2007-08—a bright spot in an otherwise disastrous season for the Kings.

“It’s tough being done,” said O’Sullivan. “Obviously, our team didn’t have a great season and that’s the most important thing. But it was good for me, personally, to have a breakout year and show everyone what I’m capable of doing.”

Despite the fact that the Kings had yet another poor season, like the rest of his teammates, O’Sullivan is optimistic about their future.

“It’s exciting to be on a team with so many good, young players and such a bright future,” he said. “I think the team’s going to have a much more successful year next year. A lot of the pieces are starting to come together and guys are figuring out what they have to do. After everyone has a good summer, I’m excited for next year.”

“The way our team played the second half and more importantly, the core group of young guys that we have, is more experienced and learned a lot of valuable lessons,” he added. “We played in some difficult games and the team had an up-and-down season. All that stuff is something you can learn from. Just the fact that we’ve had two difficult years is really a lot of motivation for us to have a good year next year.”

O’Sullivan said that the Kings’ struggles can be turned into a positive down the road.

“I think it’s the difficult situations we’ve been through that’s going to help us grow,” said O’Sullivan. “When you have tough times you can learn from that and take everything you get from that and try not to have to experience any of that again.”

Even though the Kings’ season is over, O’Sullivan’s season is not, as he will join Kings right wing Dustin Brown in representing the United States in the 2008 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournament, May 2-18, 2008 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Quebec City, Quebec.

After that, O’Sullivan, who will become a restricted free agent on July 1, will begin training for the 2008-09 NHL season, and he will do what worked so well for him last summer—work on his conditioning.

“Absolutely, it’s something you have to do every summer,” O’Sullivan stressed. “I want to continue to improve. I think I can get a lot better in lots of areas. It’s exciting. I’ll take some time off, although I’m going to the World Championships in a couple of weeks, so that’ll be fun.”

“Unfortunately, summer’s going to be a lot longer this year. But that’ll give me more time to work out.”

Audio: Interview with Patrick O’Sullivan (5:23)

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Prospects Holloway, Moller Sign Amateur Agreements

MANCHESTER, NH — On April 15, the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League signed Los Angeles Kings prospects Bud Holloway and Oscar Moller to amateur tryout agreements.

The Monarchs (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) begin the AHL playoffs at Providence on Wednesday.

More details on Holloway and Moller...Monarchs Sign Two Draft Picks.

New On HockeyTalk: Here’s To A Great King

LOS ANGELES — In what has been a disastrous year for the Los Angeles Kings with, mercifully, just one game left in their season, here at HockeyTalk, we thought a change of pace was in order. As such, here is a different kind of story related to the Kings, a story about a Kings fan favorite who will be returning to post-season play after a long drought with the Kings.

That player is none other than Dallas Stars veteran defenseman Mattias Norstrom, who toiled for ten years on the Kings’ blue line before he was traded to the Stars at the trade deadline last season.

Norstrom, 36, served as team captain in his final four seasons with the Kings, is easily one of the best players ever to patrol the Kings’ blue line.

For Norstrom and the Stars, things started off very well this season, but they hit a major snag a few weeks ago and started losing games in bunches, including an embarrassing 4-2 loss to the Kings on March 22 in Dallas.

In that game, the Stars gave up three goals in the final 3:01 of the game, gift-wrapping a win for the lowly Kings.

“For us especially, we’ve been struggling for awhile and all of a sudden, we’re looking a little bit behind us at the teams who can actually catch us,” said Norstrom after the Stars got a bit of revenge in a 7-2 bombing of the Kings on March 29 at Staples Center. “But two nights ago and today were two big games for us and we got three out of four points, so we feel a little bit better about ourselves now.”

“You want to go into the playoffs playing good hockey and establish a lot of positive things,” added Norstrom. “We still have time to do that. But looking around, you have a few teams playing real well right now, especially San Jose. For us, it was a real good test two nights ago [at San Jose] and today, it was good that we got a big win and little confidence going.”

So what was the problem?

“It is that same old boring thing that you guys hear over and over again,” he explained. “We tried to take shortcuts to get things done and it was back to finding our game again. If we can match or outwork the other team we have some real skilled guys who can put the game away.”

“We have to bring that work ethic every single night,” he elaborated. “We can’t just rely on skill. We can do that one or two games, but then it turns around in a hurry. For us, the challenge has been to find our game again and you don’t do that overnight.”

Thirteen months after he was traded to the Stars, Norstrom finds himself in somewhat unfamiliar territory—preparing for the playoffs.

“We find ourselves in the playoffs,” said Norstrom with a grin. “I haven’t done that in a few years. The team, pretty much from October on, has been above .500. We’ve been in the top four or five the entire year. I know how these guys feel in [the Kings’] locker room when you’re not.”

Norstrom highlighted the wide gulf between playing for a contender as opposed to a team that is merely trying to keep its collective head above water...

To read the full story, click: Here’s To A Great King

Listen to the interviews with Norstrom (includes some comic relief courtesy of Luc Robitaille) and Taylor:

Mattias Norstrom (6:42):

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Daniel Taylor (1:55):

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Photo courtesy Dallas Stars.

Kings Prospect Is The AHL’s Top Rookie

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On April 4, the American Hockey League named Los Angeles Kings right wing prospect Teddy Purcell as the winner of the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s Rookie of the Year for the 2007-08 season.

Purcell, 22, leads all AHL rookie forwards with 59 assists and 77 points in 64 games, going into Friday’s action.

The 6-3, 177-pound native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team on April 2, and was selected as an AHL First Team All-Star on April 3.

Purcell leads the Manchester Monarchs in scoring with 22 goals and 55 assists for 77 points going into Friday’s action.

"This is a great honor for a young hockey player who continues to make great strides as a professional," said Kings Assistant General Manager/Monarchs General Manager Ron Hextall.  "We congratulate Teddy and the entire Monarchs organization on this prestigious honor."

Purcell was also the RBK Edge/AHL AHL Rookie of the Month in November, and was the most valuable player in the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic.

Purcell signed with the Kings following a standout freshman season at the University of Maine in 2006-07, when he was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Year and helped the Black Bears reach the NCAA’s Frozen Four.

Purcell made his National Hockey League debut with the Kings on January 15, 2008, and recorded a goal and two assists in ten games with the Kings.

Kings Move Goaltender Prospects Within Their System

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On April 3, the Los Angeles Kings assigned goaltending prospect Jonathan Bernier to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey league, their primary minor league affiliate, and they recalled goaltending prospect Daniel Taylor from the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Bernier, 19, just finished the 2007-08 season with the Lewiston MAINEiacs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League where he earned an 18-12-3 record with a 2.73 goals-against average (second in the QMJHL) and a .908 save percentage (fifth in the QMJHL).

Bernier represented Canada in the 2008 World Junior Championships where he went 1-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA, had a .947 save percentage and one shutout. Canada won the Gold Medal.

The 5-11, 177-pound native of Laval, Quebec began the season with the Kings. He was selected in the first round (11th overall) in the 2006 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Taylor, 21, bounces his way back to the Kings after being assigned to the Royals on April 2 when he played just one second in the Royals’ 4-1 loss to Johnstown.

Taylor has been going back and forth between the Kings, Monarchs and Royals because he needed to play two more games for Reading in order to be eligible for the ECHL playoffs. Last night's game fulfilled that requirement.

Boyle, Purcell Receive AHL All-Rookie Honors

SPRINGFIELD, MA — The American Hockey League announced its 2007-08 All-Rookie Team and two Los Angeles Kings’ prospects, center Brian Boyle and right wing Teddy Purcell, were named to the team.

Boyle, 23, currently leads all AHL rookies with 28 goals and ranks second in the league with 58 points in 67 games. He also leads AHL rookies with fifteen power play goals, six game-winning goals and 228 shots.

Boyle was named as the RBK/Edge AHL Rookie of the Month for January.

The 6-7, 248-pound native of Hingham, Massachusetts also played in eight games with the Kings after being recalled from the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) on February 2, scoring four goals and contributing an assist.

Boyle was signed to a two-year contract with the Kings on April 16, 2007.

Purcell, 22, is fourth in the AHL in assists (55) and points (77) in 63 games with the Monarchs this season.

The 6-3, 177-pound native of St. John’s, Newfoundland was named as the RBK/Edge AHL Rookie of the Month for November and was the Most Valuable Player at the 2008 AHL All-Star Game, where the recorded the hat trick and scored the shootout game-winning goal to lead Canada to a 9-8 win over PlanetUSA.

In ten games with the Kings this season, Purcell has scored a goal and has added two assists.

Purcell was signed by the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on April 27, 2007.

Taylor Heads Back To Reading

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Los Angeles Kings goaltending prospect Daniel Taylor continued his beach ball act, bouncing his way back to the East Coast on April 2 when he was assigned to the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

As reported on March 31 when he was recalled for the second time by the Kings, Taylor is bouncing back and forth between the Kings, the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) and the Royals (also a Kings’ affiliate) because the Kings want Taylor to be eligible to play for the Royals in the ECHL playoffs.

Taylor needs to play in one more game with Reading in order to be eligible, and will likely see action on Wednesday when the Royals host Johnstown.

If Dan Cloutier is unable to backup Erik Ersberg on Thursday when the Kings host the San Jose Sharks, do not be surprised if Taylor is recalled from Reading prior to the game.

Taylor Knows What a Beach Ball Feels Like

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Los Angeles Kings goaltending prospect Daniel Taylor has turned into a beach ball of sorts.

After making his Kings and National Hockey League debut on March 29 when he started the third period in a 7-2 loss to the Dallas Stars at Staples Center, Taylor was assigned back to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, only to find himself recalled today (March 31) under emergency conditions.

Taylor is bouncing back and forth between the Kings, the Monarchs and even the Reading Royals of the ECHL (also a Kings’ affiliate). In fact, once he returned to the Monarchs, Taylor was immediately assigned to the Royals and he got 1:24 of ice time during the third period of the Royals’ 3-2 loss to Cincinatti on Sunday.

The reason? The Kings want Taylor to be eligible to play for the Royals in the ECHL playoffs, and after getting into Sunday’s game, he needs to get into one more, so he will likely be headed back to Reading in short order.

Taylor is the seventh goalie to play for the Kings this season, tying an NHL record. The 1989-90 Quebec Nordiques and 2002-03 St. Louis Blues also used seven goalies in one season.

Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier continues to suffer from a groin strain.

New From KingsCast: March Madness

KingsCast, the official fan podcast of the Los Angeles Kings, is back with another edition of their always humorous and quite pointed look at the Kings’ recent games and everything else happening with the team.

In the current edition, Keith Korneluk and Chris Kaliszewski look at Kings rookie defenseman Jack Johnson’s first full season in the National Hockey League, they provide an update on the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate, and they look at the Kings’ “March Madness” promotion.

Always recommended listening.

You can listen to the podcast here: March Madness

Taylor, Zeiler Head Back To Manchester

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On March 30, the Los Angeles Kings assigned winger John Zeiler and goaltender Daniel Taylor to the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, their primary minor league affiliate.

Zeiler, 25, was recalled on March 21. He played in two games on this stint with the Kings, recording no points. He has one assist in 36 games with the Kings this season.

Taylor, 21, was recalled on March 27, and made his Kings and National Hockey League debut on March 29 when he started the third period in the Kings' 7-2 loss to the Dallas Stars.

New On HockeyTalk: A Glimpse Of The Future?

LOS ANGELES — With the Los Angeles Kings mired in last place in the league standings and eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth straight season, the only thing left is to start looking at what might be for the 2008-09 Los Angeles Kings, and two young prospects are already making a case for roster spots with the big club next season.

ERSBERG EXCEEDING ALL EXPECTATIONS

Since he was recalled from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) on February 21, Kings goaltender Erik Ersberg has been, in a word, incredible.

To illustrate, Ersberg has played in eleven games for the Kings this season, earning a 5-3-3 record with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage—both eye-opening numbers, especially for a rookie who came into the Kings’ dressing room with no expectations of him whatsoever.

And to top it all off, Ersberg stepped up his game even more this week, with stellar efforts at Anaheim in a 2-1 shootout loss on Wednesday, followed by a 4-0 shutout victory over the Phoenix Coyotes at Staples Center on Thursday.

In the two games, Ersberg allowed just one goal spanning 123:10 of ice time. His shutout on Thursday was his second of the season, his first coming in a 2-0 win over the Ottawa Senators on March 6.

Indeed, Ersberg has been virtually unbeatable in his last two games, stopping a combined 77 shots. Even more impressive...over his last four games, Ersberg is 3-0-1 and has stopped 129 out of 137 shots.

“He’s been playing great the last couple of games,” said Kings center Anze Kopitar. “He deserved the shutout today. He was sharp all the way. He made some big saves, too. I’m really glad for him because coming into the league, not knowing how he’s going to play, the way he’s playing, it seems that he’s really comfortable. That’s really good for us.”

“I can’t complain,” Ersberg said about his performance against the Coyotes. “It was a good night for me. They had to give everything they’ve got to make the playoffs. They threw a lot of shots at me, but we played a great game defensively. I saw almost every shot and they were there for me on the rebounds, too. They helped me out a lot.”

Speaking of being unbeatable, Ersberg is now 2-0 against the Coyotes this season, having beaten them on March 20, a 6-5 shootout victory in Phoenix.

“You have to give him credit, he played well last game, he played well tonight,” said Coyotes forward and team captain Shane Doan. “He’s a good goalie. You have to get a little bit more traffic in front of the net, but you have to give him credit.”

Ersberg, who became the first Kings rookie to earn multiple shutouts in one season since Cristobal Huet did so in the 2003-04 season, has started to turn heads and make people stand up and take notice. To be sure, Ersberg has exceeded all expectations.

By a long shot.

“I don’t think any of us were expecting that he would play the way he is right now,” said Kopitar. “That’s really comforting to us, knowing that he’s going to make some key saves in the game. That’s really positive for our club.”

Crawford explained that Ersberg’s play has worked wonders for solidifying his team’s defensive play...

To read the full story, which also features Kings prospects Peter Harrold and Daniel Taylor, click: A Glimpse Of The Future?

Cloutier On Shelf Again; Taylor Recalled

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On March 27, the Los Angeles Kings recalled goaltender Daniel Taylor from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League (the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate) under emergency conditions. He will serve as the backup goaltender while Dan Cloutier recovers from a groin strain.

Taylor, 21, has played in 23 games with the Monarchs this season, earning a 13-5-2 record with a 2.40 goals-against average (GAA), a .921 save percentage and four shutouts.

The 5-11, 186-pound native of Plymouth, England was named the AHL’s Goaltender of the Month for January after earning a 5-0-0 record in six games, with three shutouts.

Taylor also played in three games this season for the Reading Royals of the ECHL, also a Kings’ affiliate, earning a 3-0-0 record, a 2.64 GAA and a .917 save percentage.

Taylor was selected by the Kings in the seventh round (221st overall) of the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He will wear jersey number 46.

Calder Out, Zeiler Returns

EL SEGUNDO, CA — On March 21, the Los Angeles Kings recalled winger John Zeiler from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, the Kings’ primary minor league affiliate. Zeiler will replace left wing Kyle Calder, who suffered a broken finger during Thursday’s game at Phoenix.

Calder will miss the remainder of the season.

In 37 games with the Monarchs this season, Zeiler, 25, has scored four goals and has contributed four assists for eight points with 29 penalty minutes.

In 34 games with the Kings this season, Zeiler played in 34 games, recording one assist with 23 penalty minutes.

The 6-0, 193-pound native of Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania has played in 57 National Hockey League games, all with the Kings, scoring a goal with three assists for four points while racking up 45 penalty minutes.

Zeiler, who was assigned to Manchester on December 28, was signed by the Kings as an unrestricted free agent on February 17, 2007.

New On HockeyTalk: Emergency Call-Up Ersberg Shines For Kings

LOS ANGELES — Now that the distraction of the trade deadline has come and gone, the Los Angeles Kings can now finish their regular season and look ahead to the future in earnest.

Part of that future might be rookie goaltender Erik Ersberg, who was recalled under emergency conditions from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League on February 21.

Ersberg shined in his first four appearances, earning a 1-1-2 record with a 1.68 goals-against average (GAA) and a .952 save percentage. His win, which was his first in the National Hockey League, came on March 6 in a 2-0 shutout victory over one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, the Ottawa Senators.

In that game, Ersberg was the number one star of the game, stopping forty shots and swallowing up rebounds as if he was covered with some kind of adhesive. Pucks seemed to stick to him, something that was a common theme for him throughout the four appearances.

“I try to challenge guys,” Ersberg explained. “I’m not so big, so I have to take away more of the net, move fast and take away rebounds.”

To be sure, making pucks stick to him certainly helps his team in a big way.

“It makes it a lot easier,” said Kings right wing Dustin Brown. “One, we don’t have to clear the rebounds and two, we get a lot of whistles, which allows us to get the right people out there in the right situations.”

Ersberg’s play has certainly made people stand up and take notice.

“It was a great effort by our team, but you can’t start talking about this game without talking our young goaltender,” Kings head coach Marc Crawford said after his team’s victory over the Senators. “That’s a terrific performance for him. He was just a calming influence all night.”

“When they had their chances in the third where they really put on their charge, they were throwing everything at us and getting all their people into the attack,” Crawford added. “I thought he was just so calm and collected back there. It was very, very nice to see that, coming from such a young goaltender who’s never won a game in the National Hockey League.”

“It’s always wonderful to get a win, it’s always wonderful for a goaltender to get his first win and you do it with a shutout, it’s got to be even more special. Then you do it against one of the top teams in the East—that’s terrific...”

To read the full story, click: Emergency Call-Up Ersberg Shines For Kings