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Speculation: LA Kings News, Rumors, Roster Thread 2022-23 Season

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What was/is great about Faber is that he has clearly looked like a set and forget Top 4 since he first set foot on NCAA and International ice in his D+1 year. I always caution about forecasting guys immediately upon being drafted but this is a guy that always had the skating ability and just crushed whatever was thrown at him right from the beginning.

It really jumped out since so many other Blake picks did not immediately improve their stock in their D+1 seasons. When you see a freshman in his D+1 year working his way up the D pairings on a gold medal winning USA team at the WJC, you take notice.

I love Spence but I agree with Herby that he is a better prospect. Like it or not, the size difference matters. Faber is more likely to play in the NHL the way he plays now v. Spence's offensive exploits transferring at a 1:1 ratio, it that makes sense.
 
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Herby said:
You are crazy if you blame it all on injuries. There was some bad luck because in that he was the one (out of about 6 guys) who we now know benefitted from who he skated with in his age-17 season and it could just as easily have been any of the other ones. But even a fully healthy Alex Turcotte was not going to be what you'd be expecting from a Top 5 pick, and that was pretty apparent right away.

Also, many of the injury early injury issues were known before the draft and many of the later injuries were a result of prematurely signing a player not physically strong enough to play at a level they put him in as a teenager. It's not all Blake's fault, there was certainly some bad-luck with injuries and other things, but there were some poor decisions made by the Kings as well.
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Stymied would not be the same as blaming it all on injuries.

It sounds like you have never had a concussion, let alone multiple concussions.

He should have been more cautious entering a league with more mature and bigger players.
Like he was on his recent call up with the Kings.
The Kings should have structured him with that info.

The clock is still ticking on far as what he will turn out to be.

I agree they should have picked someone else like Zegras.

I liked your information breakdown on the Faber process but I can not like your evaluations and conclusion, as is often the case with your posts.

If he is not going to sign with the Wild either it looks like Blake absolutely nailed it as usual, by including him in the now legendary Fiala trade.
 
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Surf Nutz said:
Stymied would not be the same as blaming it all on injuries.

It sounds like you have never had a concussion, let alone multiple concussions.

He should have been more cautious entering a look with more mature and bigger players.
Like he was on his recent call up with the Kings.
The Kings should have structured him with that info.

The clock is still ticking on far as what he will turn out to be.

I agree they should have picked someone else like Zegras.

I liked your information breakdown on the Faber process but I can not like your evaluations and conclusion, as is often the case with your posts.
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His best comp was a Mike Richards type: a smaller player that plays bigger than he is.

That leads to injuries. It was always going to be a concern with him but this isn't even about concussions: the kid has missed weeks at a time from simply falling down on a face off. He's been very much a man of glass so far.
 
BigKing said:
What was/is great about Faber is that he has clearly looked like a set and forget Top 4 since he first set foot on NCAA and International ice in his D+1 year. I always caution about forecasting guys immediately upon being drafted but this is a guy that always had the skating ability and just crushed whatever was thrown at him right from the beginning.

It really jumped out since so many other Blake picks did not immediately improve their stock in their D+1 seasons. When you see a freshman in his D+1 year working his way up the D pairings on a gold medal winning USA team at the WJC, you take notice.

I love Spence but I agree with Herby that he is a better prospect. Like it or not, the size difference matters. Faber is more likely to play in the NHL the way he plays now v. Spence's offensive exploits transferring at a 1:1 ratio, it that makes sense.
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Yup. That is the thing that most impressed me about Faber. From the very beginning in college he just crushed it in the defensive zone. There were no excuses, no blaming the coach, no blaming injuries, no blaming situation, because you didn't need to make excuses for a guy who did his thing that well. Just right from the drop he played his game, and has played it at a very high level across multiple different competitions since being drafted.

And it's just easy to project this type of player into the NHL. He has decent size, he has good strength and he has the hockey IQ in the defensive zone that is going to be there no matter what. And coaches always put letters on him, he captained the WJC team, he is the captain of Minnesota as a junior, so odds are he has the type of leadership skills in the room that teams covet.

And like I mentioned earlier in regards to Clarke and not being "perfect" but still having value. I think people know my views on Hughes and Caufield. And in a way I see Faber in the same light as those 2, when you have a guy who does his thing extraordinarily well, whether it's suppress offense (Faber), transition the puck (Hughes) or shoot the puck (Caufield) you don't fault these guys for what they don't do, you find the right pieces and situations for them to do do their thing. Interestingly enough, Faber and Hughes would themselves be a dream D pairing, maybe one day in International competition.
 
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Look how big those all star goalies are, no coincidence.
Shocking that Thompson and Skinner are all stars selected for the shootout.
Could have been Copley in that case but he did not have enough games.
 
Herby said:
Also, many of the injury early injury issues were known before the draft and many of the later injuries were a result of prematurely signing a player not physically strong enough to play at a level they put him in as a teenager, those are management things.
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He had a back and a hip issue before he was drafted and has had zero issues with those since so I call bullshit. He has had mono twice, once before getting drafted, and appendicitis. He had yet to have a concussion before the draft so his biggest health issue certainly was not known. How are these related to his pre-draft health issues?

As for how he started in the AHL, a 19 year old putting 19 points in 32 games is pretty good. Sure, others did better but that doesn't mean he played poorly.
 
Herby said:
I don't think he is quite at the caliber of QB or Clarke. Because defensive d-man are always going to be a bit less valuable players, even ones who are elite at suppressing offense like Faber is. His offense has picked up a bit this year on a very loaded Gophers squad, but not sure it's going to translate to the NHL. Faber is going to be the type of guy you stick with a Clarke type anyways, so he won't be counted on to score, but to let a guy like Clarke freely play his game.

But he IMO is clearly at a tier above Spence, Turcotte and Laferriere the three players directly after the Kings Big 2.

I think that Faber might be Blake's best value pick as GM. He is the most NHL ready player in college hockey right now, even more than Luke Hughes, IMO.
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I don’t disagree massively to be fair, I certainly rate him and was disappointed we lost him but I expected we’d lose someone I didn’t want to see go. Whilst I wanted 100% to keep Faber, I think it was a smart deal even without knowing if he ever intended to sign. I think that’s overblown and irrelevant to be honest because I’d make that trade regardless. If Fiala hadn’t signed I’d have felt very differently about it.

I think where we differ is that I’d put him right next to Spence in terms of tier.

YP44 said:
Is the value of Faber a moot point if he was not going to sign in LA anyway?
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We have zero idea on that. It’s the same level of speculation a conjecture that concluded QB had no hockey IQ and wasn’t coachable.
 
32 thoughts (Canadian hockey podcast) host Friedman reported at the end of the podcast that Blake has been working the phones recently. He tries to have his deadline deals done well before the actual date.

Pretty knowledgeable and connected person. Called the Horvat trade to the Islanders well before the deal was done.
 
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kilowatt said:
I don’t necessarily disagree, but does that mean Durzi goes? Or that one of Spence or Clarke is in the AHL? We have a RHD problem: Doughty, Durzi, Clarke, Spence.
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To me it’s easy trade Durzi He should have been traded the past offseason as everyone knows Spence can fill his spot and Clarke should be on the Kings next season.
 
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go4hockey said:
To me it’s easy trade Durzi He should have been traded the past offseason as everyone knows Spence can fill his spot and Clarke should be on the Kings next season.
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The thing is if you want Clarke and Spence in the lineup that means you need to unload all 3 of Roy, Durzi and Walker. I wouldnt mind it but really cant see them trading all 3 in the offseason.
 
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Schmooley said:
The thing is if you want Clarke and Spence in the lineup that means you need to unload all 3 of Roy, Durzi and Walker. I wouldnt mind it but really cant see them trading all 3 in the offseason.
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One of the reasons i said earlier (maybe elsewhere) that I could see one of the prospects going instead....one roster player one prospect to make room or to convert one into an equal/better LHD
 
Driving and can’t access the Atheletic but they had a recent article about Faber. Try and pull it up when I get home.

Sheds a bit of light
 

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funky said:
Driving and can’t access the Atheletic but they had a recent article about Faber. Try and pull it up when I get home.

Sheds a bit of light
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I'm sure most players dream of playing for their hometown.

But these players are also professionals. They don't just refuse to sign with a team that drafted them because they want to play closer to home. They work their way up, then maybe ask for a trade, and in the absence of a trade, pursue free agency.

Thousand Oaks native Trevor Moore signed with Toronto. Waterloo native Cal Petersen signed with LA. Madison native Phil Kessel signed with Boston. John Tavares, who "always dreamed of being a Leaf" and was drafted first overall signed with the Islanders. Indianapolis native and Red Wings fan Jack Johnson signed in LA.

It's very possible he never would sign with LA. But continuously citing how he subconsciously rooted for the Wild in a puff piece isn't evidence.
 
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Schmooley said:
The thing is if you want Clarke and Spence in the lineup that means you need to unload all 3 of Roy, Durzi and Walker. I wouldnt mind it but really cant see them trading all 3 in the offseason.
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Yea we have a crazy amount of depth at RD If I was running thing I would have traded Durzi last off season and played Spence this year and most likely moving him this offseason for Clarke. The tough one is Roy if we move him we have nobody in the system that fills his roll so my RD after this season would have been Drew, Clarke and Roy. But now we still have them all so it will be interesting to see what Blake does.
 
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Raccoon Jesus said:
One of the reasons i said earlier (maybe elsewhere) that I could see one of the prospects going instead....one roster player one prospect to make room or to convert one into an equal/better LHD
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So for example you mean Spence and Walker for a left dman?
A team your trading with would need two left dmen unless you are talking someone further away like Grans.
Also youd still have Doughty Roy Durzi still no place for Clarke.
 
Schmooley said:
So for example you mean Spence and Walker for a left dman?
A team your trading with would need two left dmen unless you are talking someone further away like Grans.
Also youd still have Doughty Roy Durzi still no place for Clarke.
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Everything this front office and coaching staff has shown says Clarke is spending the vast majority (if not all) of next year in Ontario.
 
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