LA Kings Development Camp

[Raccoon Jesus]

i went for camp this morning.

Forwards started at 8
d-men at 9:30ish

-Really dug zykov.. noticed my eyes kept locking in on him whenever it was his turn to do the drills. He's listed as 6'2 (a bit generous imo). He's just solid all around w/ all the drills...
-sure they shot on empty nets but it really looks brodzinski was picking corners effortlessly with more zip on his wristers than the other campers.
-I kept getting Wagner and Watson mixed up but i liked both. Watson is another smooth undersize player... great in tight spaces and very agile.
-I was VERY impressed with Schmaltz he didn't look at all awkward with his height while Dergy can look awkward at times.
-out of the invitees i liked Ruuttu the most.

-with the D guys they hardly did anything SKILL-y... so it was really tough to get a gauge on ANYTHING.
the players that looked the most smooth w/ their skating and w/ the puck was Leslie and Ladue.

-Thinking about heading out again tomorrow.. we'll see! i hear the 3pm sessions are 4 on 4 scrimmages.. that might be the more entertaining portion of these days.

Thank youuuuu!

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Thanks, Losingsand.

I was checking Matt Schmalz' stats on Sudbury. Apparently, Sudbury blew dead
apes and won 12 games? But Schmalz was second leading scorer and only
player on the tem over 20 goals, with 24. That's saying a lot, leading the
team in goals, as a 17/18 year old. Will be interesting to follow him this season,
after going through the camps. He had 9 pts his first yr, 8 his second and 40 his third.
Nice jump!

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0008182015.html

Cool to hear good reports on Zykov. I think many here have lost excitement
over him, after he dipped from 40 goals in his draft yr, to 23 the
following year. But he was injured (the last 2 yrs) and played 53 games.
I think with his work ethic and the dev staff working with him, he'll end up
being a very solid 3rd line guy...possible top 6 upside. You never know.
I also agree - he's not 6'2". Maybe barely 6'1". No matter, he's built solid
and can and will play a heavy game.

 

[King'sPawn]

Thanks, Losingsand.

I was checking Matt Schmalz' stats on Sudbury. Apparently, Sudbury blew dead
apes and won 12 games? But Schmalz was second leading scorer and only
player on the tem over 20 goals, with 24. That's saying a lot, leading the
team in goals, as a 17/18 year old. Will be interesting to follow him this season,
after going through the camps. He had 9 pts his first yr, 8 his second and 40 his third.
Nice jump!

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/seasons/teams/0008182015.html

Just as an FYI, this is the season for Schmalz as an 18/19 year-old. He was passed over last year.

I don't know why hockeydb has him listed as 18 years old; if he was born 3/21/96, that would make him 19 years old.

 

[King'sPawn]

Forward group ended. Most impressed with Wagner. Brodzinski, Zykov, and Dergachev were good too. Will post more later.

 

[LAKings88]

Not a fan of the Cernak pick. How has he looked at camp?

 

[417th]

Excellent.

 

[lumbergh]

Excellent.

Perfect avatar for this summer!

 

[Basilisk]

Good things coming out about Zykov...

I would love for Zykov to be put on a line with Kitsyn & Prokhorkin. Maybe Zykov can be the positive mentor/leader those two need?

 

[King'sPawn]

Not a fan of the Cernak pick. How has he looked at camp?

I have some issues with him, but he's a kid. Will explain later.

 

[King'sPawn]

Oh and Toffoli and Pearson were shooting on the goalies with the junior Kings.

 

[LAKings88]

I have some issues with him, but he's a kid. Will explain later.

I'm nitpicking but he reminds me of Forbort in the sense that he is gonna take time. Never a bad idea to have a steady group of defensive prospects but with Forbort, Gravel, Lintuniemi, LaDue, Leslie, Ebert, all in the pipe I'd rather LA had gone with Chlapik or Harkins with that pick.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Is defenseman Paul LaDue the only prospect we have in college right now?

 

[KingCanadain1976]

looking for some infor on Lintuniemi wondering if there will be much offense from him

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I would love for Zykov to be put on a line with Kitsyn & Prokhorkin. Maybe Zykov can be the positive mentor/leader those two need?

Two guys who will not make it. Why would you love that line? Because they're all Russian?

 

[Basilisk]

Two guys who will not make it. Why would you love that line? Because they're all Russian?

1) How do you know they won't make it?

2) They'd be able to communicate to each other on the ice and nobody would be able to understand them ...... unless they're Russian speakers/listeners!!!!

 

[Captain Mittens*]

1) How do you know they won't make it?

Ziggy is from the future.

 

[King'sPawn]

I'm nitpicking but he reminds me of Forbort in the sense that he is gonna take time. Never a bad idea to have a steady group of defensive prospects but with Forbort, Gravel, Lintuniemi, LaDue, Leslie, Ebert, all in the pipe I'd rather LA had gone with Chlapik or Harkins with that pick.

For his skillset and role, he's closer to Voynov than Forbort. I'm making a post on the forwards now, and will post on the defensemen later.

Is defenseman Paul LaDue the only prospect we have in college right now?

Matt Roy, who the Kings just drafted, is also in the NCAA. Steven Johnson is also in the NCAA.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

1) How do you know they won't make it?

2) They'd be able to communicate to each other on the ice and nobody would be able to understand them ...... unless they're Russian speakers/listeners!!!!

Haha, well, the Kings had that going with Tsyplakov-Khristich-Yachmenev back in the post Gretzky glory days.

I for one would be excited to see a preseason line with Kopitar centering Kempe and Zykov just to see how they perform with a legit center between them.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

The Summer of Zykov *****es!

http://lakingsinsider.com/2015/07/09/clear-purpose-in-zykovs-camp-efforts/

“There’s a purpose to him,” the Kings Director of Amateur Scouting said, referencing the leadership qualities he’s seen Zykov absorb this spring. The 20-year-old is often at the front of the line before drills and has impressed the club’s hockey operations with another year of maturity beneath his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame.

 

[YP44]

1) How do you know they won't make it?

2) They'd be able to communicate to each other on the ice and nobody would be able to understand them ...... unless they're Russian speakers/listeners!!!!

didn't the kings part ways with Prok?

 

[King'sPawn]

Okay, some stuff.
Forward group: No Mistele or Lowry during the drills.
1. First drill was just stickhandling the puck across the ice, but in a puck protection way; far away from body, as if trying to shield it away from a defender.
2. Second drill they would pass the puck, get it back, then carry it out.
3. They would carry the puck into the offensive zone with a defender.
4. They did drill 1 again but at full speed.
5. They skated in from their off wing (righties skated in the left wing, and lefties skated on the right wing), made the same motions to protect the puck, and shot
6. They retrieved the puck deep in the zone and practiced a breakout, by passing to another forward through some obstacles.
7. They set up 3 rebound bars. One in front of the net, and one on either side of the net. The coach shot the puck into the rebound bar, which caused the puck to bounce towards the prospect (who is parked in front of the net). The prospect then had to knock in the rebound. After several volleys with the rebound bars, the prospect then had to skate to center ice and stickhandle around the obstacles.
8. The prospects would skate a figure 8 pattern in the offensive zone, receive passes, and shoot.

To me, the most impressive prospect was Austin Wagner. He is such a smooth and effortless skater, and he had one of the best shots out of the group. Fast release with a hard and accurate shot. The puck protection can use some work, but he looked great.

The prospect who had a rough day was Reid Sturos, the invitee from Michigan Tech. Very frequently, he either mishandled the puck, or the puck rolled off his stick before he took a shot.

Some other observations:
#57 Dergachyev is huge. He doesn't look much smaller than Schmalz. His shot was fantastic as well. His skating was awkward, clunky, and slow though. As in, I don't think I'm far off in saying he's one of the worst skaters in camp.

#38 Zykov did very well. He had one of the top shots, where it just explodes off his stick with little warning. The skating is a work in progress, though.

#43 Marchment didn't show very good hands, but he was also the first player on the ice who started doing stretches, even without having the coaches telling them (which was absent from the defensemen)

#83 Schmalz, for his size, is not very good at transferring weight into his shots. He's also not as refined of a skater as Justin Auger.

#76 Brodzinski, next to Wagner, was among the top performers. Strong skater and great shot, who was able to pick his corners. He fumbled the puck a couple times during puck protection drills, but overall very good.

#52 Amadio either was unable to backhand the puck or he, on multiple occasions, held onto the puck too long to fire off a shot. Even then, they weren't very strong shots.

#46 Watson. I wasn't impressed with him. He's smaller, but he didn't show exceptional skating ability today. He also had one of the weakest shots.

Will post more later.

 

[King'sPawn]

For the defensemen, it was a much harder read. The pace was a bit slower compared to the forward drills for the most part. Or maybe it was just less chaotic.

1. The defensemen skated backwards in pairs, passing back and forth to each other. They added to this drill by having the defenemen do a head fake before passing to his partner.
2. The defenseman had to retrieve the puck in the corner and skate the puck out.
3. They practiced one-on-one drills of doing quick poke checks.
4. They practiced battling for the puck in the corner. Leslie did not participate in this drill, as he still had the red no-contact jersey.
5. They practiced skating in a figure 8 pattern in the neutral zone, while protecting/controlling the puck
6. They skated around cones placed around the face-off circles, while looking forward the entire time, before turning to retrieve the puck in the corner and passing the puck up the wing.
7. They skated in a "T" pattern (from starting point, move left, return to starting point, move back, return to starting point, move right, return to starting point) before receiving a pass and shooting.

Observations:
#62 Leslie - To me, he was the best overall performer among the d-men. Granted, he didn't participate in the puck battle drills, but he is just so naturally gifted with his abilities.
#81 Roy - I would say he is the best skater out of the defensive prospects in the camp. He moves very well, and even though he was battling with Roach for the puck, who has a good 3 inches and at least 20 lbs on him, he was able to stay on his feet.
#56 MacDermid - He's as mean and merciless as advertised. He was paired against Reddekopp for the puck battles, and he was pretty rough against the newcomer. But...
#82 Reddekopp - battled back. He played just as mean a game. His skating is below average compared to the other prospects.
#45 Lintuniemi - He was otherwise unremarkable. He lacked focus, at times, but he still moves very well for his size.
#58 Cernak - His age really showed. First of all, he has the most raw skill, in my opinion, out of any of the defense prospects. So, there's a lot to be excited about. On the other hand, in between his turns, he would always spend time playing with the puck, and not pay attention to the other players. It was bad enough that he stayed on the wrong side of the ice during one of the drills until just before his turn. Focus is a huge question mark. But again, this is a symptom of him being 18 years old. Especially since he's not very strong with English, he would benefit more from paying attention.

 

[SCARFACE909]

1) How do you know they won't make it?

2) They'd be able to communicate to each other on the ice and nobody would be able to understand them ...... unless they're Russian speakers/listeners!!!!

Prokhorkin isn't in the Kings plans anymore.

Then, last summer, he bought his way out of his KHL contract and led the Kings to believe he was bound for North America, only to re-sign with CSKA Moscow. Enough is enough, we’ve been told, as the Kings don’t plan on perusing him any further.

http://mayorsmanor.com/2015/05/la-kings-say-goodbye-to-pair-of-prospects-one-on-hold/

 

[Captain Mittens*]

You are awesome King'sPawn

 

[regulate]

Thanks King's Pawn. The Mayor reported yesterday that Mistele has a broken bone in his ankle and is wearing a walking boot. Not sure when that happened. I hope Lowry is not having more back problems. The Kings have until the 15th of August to sign him if they want to.

I agree that I believe Leslie is going to be a very good offensive puck mover if he can get himself healthy. He may be a surprise to many this year in ONT. I watched Watson play in the rookie camp games in Glendale AZ last year and he did pretty well. Scored a couple of goals against bigger and more experienced pros as I recall. He was sneaky quick in competition with a shoot first mentality. Hope he looks better in camp.