Drew Doughty wants to play with Mikey Anderson

[All The Kings Men]

I'm not saying the Kings couldn't benefit from an established "legit' #1 LHD... but Mikey Anderson is a rookie and he and Doughty have paired to become one of the more defensively sound pairs in the NHL. I have to imagine his offensive game will improve as he gains more experience but more importantly... there's this quote from Drew Doughty



So... Doughty likes playing with Anderson and wants to keep playing with him. Does that change any of your opinions about constantly trying to find that perfect #1 LHD?


EDIT: The tone of this post is genuine curiosity not aggressive snark

Click to read more...

 

[Sol]

I'm not saying the Kings couldn't benefit from an established "legit' #1 LHD... but Mikey Anderson is a rookie and he and Doughty have paired to become one of the more defensively sound pairs in the NHL. I have to imagine his offensive game will improve as he gains more experience but more importantly... there's this quote from Drew Doughty



So... Doughty likes playing with Anderson and wants to keep playing with him. Does that change any of your opinions about constantly trying to find that perfect #1 LHD?


EDIT: The tone of this post is genuine curiosity not aggressive snark

Just because Doughty likes playing with him doesn't mean anything. He's essentially talking highly of Anderson. Nothing more. They probably asked about him and he's not gonna roast the kid.

Kings need a lot of help in defense. The mindblowing gaffes they do regularly isn't going to get fixed unless they bring experience and talent

 

[LAKings88]

I think Drew tends to try to pump up everyone he plays with.

That said, Mikey is a good player.

Needs to add strength in the off-season.

 

[lumbergh]

Reminds me of Doughty’s comments on Derek Forbort. Take his words about how good his partners are with a grain of salt.

 

[Sol]

Reminds me of Doughty’s comments on Derek Forbort. Take his words about how good his partners are with a grain of salt.

Mattaa too

 

[All The Kings Men]

Mattaa too

I don't recall any quotes from Drew about playing with Maatta after he had played with him. He said all the right things about him before the games started... I can't recall Drew every saying he'd like to play with Maatta, Forbort, McNabb or Muzzin for 5-6 years or saying that he trusts them enough that he asks them how to play certain situations.

 

[Ollie Weeks]

No reason they can’t get somebody who checks those boxes to run the show on the 2nd pair with Roy.

 

[unicornpig]

well after andersen there bjornfot matta and mcdermid. so yes the kings do need another left shot defenseman.

 

[lumbergh]

Pretty much heaped the same praise on Bjornfot. I’m seeing a pattern.

 

[Fishhead]

I don't recall any quotes from Drew about playing with Maatta after he had played with him. He said all the right things about him before the games started... I can't recall Drew every saying he'd like to play with Maatta, Forbort, McNabb or Muzzin for 5-6 years or saying that he trusts them enough that he asks them how to play certain situations.

I remember during a post game once he was saying how much he liked playing with Forbort. I'll never forget it because it puzzled the hell out of me. Then there was this gem from Drew:

“Forbs is unbelievable at defense. Like, I can’t even explain how good that guy is at defense. He’s so good. The difference between him and Muzz is Muzz might be a little better at moving pucks, and that’s not a knock against Forbs, but Forbs’ defense, he might even be better than me at it."

Wow at that last part

Here's a quote on Muzzin during the 2014 season:

"Muzzin's a great player, he has so much skill and we love playing together," Doughty said. "The one thing we're so good at is, when teams get in on the forecheck, we don't spend time in our own zone, because we use each other to break out the puck. But at the same time we can do it on our own. So that's why we're such a good pair together. He's grown so much defensively that I'm hoping for many years we can be partners together. Once you get used to being with someone so often, you're going to make a great pair."

Then McNabb the next season: “I absolutely love playing with Nabber right now,” Doughty said. “I think he’s a hell of a player, and he’s just getting better and better every game, and I also think I can help him a lot.”

I love me some Mikey Anderson, but yeah, grain of salt.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Pretty much heaped the same praise on Bjornfot. I’m seeing a pattern.
View attachment 417389

Was gonna say I remember this too

But he's not wrong about either of those guys, and though people don't want to hear it, he wasn't VERY wrong about Forbort, he just omitted that he handles the puck like a live grenade.

I DO think he need a dynamic LHD, but not to play with Doughty, to play on the 2nd pairing/2nd PP. YOu get Doughty a partner that goes on adventures himself--see Scott NeiderMaatta--and he ends up hanging back and playing conservatively. Maybe that's something to think about in his late 30s but not now.

 

[LAKings88]

Not sure where this unicorn LHD is out there for them to get.

Any semi decent free agents to be?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Not sure where this unicorn LHD is out there for them to get.

Any semi decent free agents to be?

Agreed, the only ones out there that would be a significant upgrade aren't available for trade.

The ones that are, aren't a significant upgrade.

UFAs aren't much either.

Mayors' Sanheim call is an interesting one but I think that's more expensive than it's worth as most young top-4 guys will be (and wouldn't, imo, be some unicorn upgrade vs. Anderson, Bjornfot, even Clague.)

 

[BigBrown]

Here's a quote from Drew about playing with McNabb:

“I absolutely love playing with Nabber right now,” Doughty said. “I think he’s a hell of a player, and he’s just getting better and better every game, and I also think I can help him a lot.”

Defense can improve, but high McNabb praise from Doughty - LA Kings Insider

He was very complementary of Määttä in training camp as well, how excited he was to play with him and they think the game the same and so on.

Doughty always pumps the tires of his partners and that's a good thing, but I don't read too much into it.

Mikey is doing very well all things considered. He's playing against the highest competition on the top pair in his rookie season, that's impressive! Hopefully he's learning all sorts of lessons and becoming better every day, if he does he'll be a stud in no time.

 

[bland]

Mikey Anderson has all the compete you could ask for, but his puck skills are problematic for a defenseman who plays 20+ a night.

 

[kingsboy11]

If we want to compare Doughty's partners over the years, I think Mikey is probably the player that best suits his style of play the most. It felt like when he was playing with McNabb, Forbort and Maatta he played the game a little safer. When he was with Muzzin they both had a good understanding of when to push the play and when not to and then obviously when he was with Scuderi he played with a lot more freedom. I think Mikey reminds Drew a lot of Scuderi and he feels more comfortable this year to go up the ice more and contribute more offensively.

All that being said I still think we need another puck moving defenseman in the system. I'm a big fan of Bjornfot and Anderson, but they're not going to put up a lot of points. I think long term Bjornfot will end up being Doughty's partner and I think we'll get a another defenseman to help contribute on the powerplay

 

[Telos]

Drew Doughty is the Wayne Gretzky of interview soundbites for defensive prospects, but at the very least, Anderson is a lot better of a partner/prospect than what he usually has to play with. Both he and Doughty at least have the vision and skating to move the puck up the ice and make good, quick, decisions with the puck. In the end, I expect the Kings will want Anderson solidifying the second pairing eventually though, and putting Toby up there with Drew.

 

[DoktorJeep]

The real question is how does Drew feel about Matt Roy being voted the teams best defenseman last season.

 

[verbalkint47]

Drew Doughty is the Wayne Gretzky of interview soundbites for defensive prospects, but at the very least, Anderson is a lot better of a partner/prospect than what he usually has to play with. Both he and Doughty at least have the vision and skating to move the puck up the ice and make good, quick, decisions with the puck. In the end, I expect the Kings will want Anderson solidifying the second pairing eventually though, and putting Toby up there with Drew.

When I saw the title of this thread I immediately came to post a Gretzky joke haha

 

[Statto]

There’s nothing wrong with him talking highly of the young guys (or any team mate), in fact I expect it. He’s showing support and giving encouragement, what else is he meant to do? Publicly pick holes in their game?

 

[All The Kings Men]

I guess for me the kicker was that he specifically compared this partnership to the previous ones and stated that he would like it to last longer than the previous ones.

This didn't feel like idle praise to my ears. Drew Doughty strikes me as a very different person than he has been in the past and these comments struck me as different as well.

 

[Sol]

Drew is like Gretzky when it comes to talking about the people he plays with. He compliments a lot of his turrible past partners so it's only right to take his opinion with half a grain of salt.

 

[Get North]

Doughty is like a single parent trying to take care of 5-6 toddlers. He needs some help right now and the Kings should use some futures to bring another quality veteran. They could sign somebody, but free agency is usually scraps. Guys like Leddy/Chiarot will raise the play of Roy/Anderson.

 

[Lt Dan]

Doughty is like a single parent trying to take care of 5-6 toddlers. He needs some help right now and the Kings should use some futures to bring another quality veteran. They could sign somebody, but free agency is usually scraps. Guys like Leddy/Chiarot will raise the play of Roy/Anderson.

Here's the story
of a defenseman Doughty
Who was used to playing to playing with NHL d-men
All of them got old or got traded
The Russian one deported

Here's the story of a GM Rob
He was trying to rebuild a team
So he drafted and signed free agents
Until they had a team

'Til the one day when a pandemic happened
and they kept having to call players up
And this group would somehow form a d-squad
And that's when they all became the Doughty Bunch!
The Doughty Bunch! The Doughty Bunch!

That's the way we all became the Doughty Bunch!