Confirmed with Link: Nikolai Prokhorkin Signs One-Year Entry-Level Contract with LA Kings

[Choralone]

Am I the only one who finds it weird this kid is so divisive on our boards at this moment?

He didn't have a good enough camp to make the team straight away, but this camp - compared to ones in the recent past - had a lot of emerging talent. He's going down to solidify his North American game and will get a shot again. If he's good enough, he'll stick. If not, he won't, but he likely has a profitable future waiting for him in the KHL. Win / win.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Am I the only one who finds it weird this kid is so divisive on our boards at this moment?

He didn't have a good enough camp to make the team straight away, but this camp - compared to ones in the recent past - had a lot of emerging talent. He's going down to solidify his North American game and will get a shot again. If he's good enough, he'll stick. If not, he won't, but he likely has a profitable future waiting for him in the KHL. Win / win.

I think it's because a lot of King fans see themselves as scouts now.

 

[Bandit]

Am I the only one who finds it weird this kid is so divisive on our boards at this moment?

He didn't have a good enough camp to make the team straight away, but this camp - compared to ones in the recent past - had a lot of emerging talent. He's going down to solidify his North American game and will get a shot again. If he's good enough, he'll stick. If not, he won't, but he likely has a profitable future waiting for him in the KHL. Win / win.

At least for me, it's all about the fact that if you're gonna make demands in order to come over, you better at least be able to back it up with your play. In any case we'll see what happens in the next few months. I hope he proves himself and is able to make a positive impact, just seems like a long shot at this point.

 

[Bandit]

I think it's because a lot of King fans see themselves as scouts now.

Now? This whole board exists because every bozo here thinks they're smarter than every scout, coach and GM in the league...

 

[Choralone]

At least for me, it's all about the fact that if you're gonna make demands in order to come over, you better at least be able to back it up with your play. In any case we'll see what happens in the next few months. I hope he proves himself and is able to make a positive impact, just seems like a long shot at this point.

I guess I'm not bothered by the fact he made demands. Kings always had and have the option to tell him to pound sand. He gets to be another cautionary tale if he doesn't make it, with no real loss for the Kings - at least not more than any other draft pick that doesn't pan out. But if he makes it, hooray.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Now? This whole board exists because every bozo here thinks they're smarter than every scout, coach and GM in the league...

Don't forget Capologist as well. Every signing the fans don't like will surely sink the team financially in a couple seasons yet these teams still go forward. It's unconceivable!

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Am I the only one who finds it weird this kid is so divisive on our boards at this moment?

He didn't have a good enough camp to make the team straight away, but this camp - compared to ones in the recent past - had a lot of emerging talent. He's going down to solidify his North American game and will get a shot again. If he's good enough, he'll stick. If not, he won't, but he likely has a profitable future waiting for him in the KHL. Win / win.

Like I said, I find it totally strange, and it's because if he was Nicholas Pork from Hamilton, Ontario, we wouldn't hear another word.

And frankly most of it is based on a completely unsupportable perception that this organization has a bias against Europeans when really it's just that his performance was shit.

 

[Fishhead]

Like I said, I find it totally strange, and it's because if he was Nicholas Pork from Hamilton, Ontario, we wouldn't hear another word.

If he was Nicholas Pork, I would 100% buy his jersey.

 

[Kingsfan1]

I don’t like giving people the benefit of the doubt but Prokhorkin has skill and goes to the net and can bring something to the table . I just don’t feel he was given the opportunity enough to show what he’s got . He was never given an opportunity with skilled linemates like others did . Why not try him on Kopis left wing in the preseason or at center on the 2nd line . That’s the only thing I didn’t like but hopefully he runs from the start in the A and comes back up and is finally given a chance to showcase what he got

 

[jfont]

Going to be funny digging this thread back up when Kubalik sputters away and returns from whence he came.

Bud Holloway Part II.

Shut the F*** up!

Bud Holloway is a legend!

 

[crassbonanza]

Can anyone link me to the demands that he made? I keep seeing them referenced, but don't remember seeing them. I know he went back to Russia when he was initially demoted to the A and that he has a European escape clause in his current contract Is that what everyone is referencing?

 

[Fishhead]

I don’t like giving people the benefit of the doubt but Prokhorkin has skill and goes to the net and can bring something to the table . I just don’t feel he was given the opportunity enough to show what he’s got . He was never given an opportunity with skilled linemates like others did . Why not try him on Kopis left wing in the preseason or at center on the 2nd line . That’s the only thing I didn’t like but hopefully he runs from the start in the A and comes back up and is finally given a chance to showcase what he got

Who really got opportunities with Kopitar in the preseason, though? Brown and Iafallo? You could pretty much say the same about every newcomer. I think seeing him with scorers would benefit us fans to make an evaluation, but remember the coaches see these guys every single day. Maybe what he was showing in practices didn't warrant him being on a scoring line? Read TM's quotes on the guy, he was definitely struggling with some aspects of the NA game. It would have been neat to at least see him with Kovalchuk, but I think the team knew that they might be in for a long adjustment when Porkins came over, and this is just part of the expected acclimation.

Some may see a guy like Lizotte get put on a scoring line and think it's some sort of preferential treatment, when he got put there from busting his ass and making an impression. I didn't notice forwards like Porkins, Grundstrom, and Wagner all that much, but I did notice Lizotte every single time he was on the ice. Same with Amadio, both of them consistently make things happen. Do Porkins and Grundstrom have a higher ceiling? I think that's a safe bet, but they have to show they can actually reach it.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Who really got opportunities with Kopitar in the preseason, though? Brown and Iafallo? You could pretty much say the same about every newcomer. I think seeing him with scorers would benefit us fans to make an evaluation, but remember the coaches see these guys every single day. Maybe what he was showing in practices didn't warrant him being on a scoring line? Read TM's quotes on the guy, he was definitely struggling with some aspects of the NA game. It would have been neat to at least see him with Kovalchuk, but I think the team knew that they might be in for a long adjustment when Porkins came over, and this is just part of the expected acclimation.

Some may see a guy like Lizotte get put on a scoring line and think it's some sort of preferential treatment, when he got put there from busting his ass and making an impression. I didn't notice forwards like Porkins, Grundstrom, and Wagner all that much, but I did notice Lizotte every single time he was on the ice. Same with Amadio, both of them consistently make things happen. Do Porkins and Grundstrom have a higher ceiling? I think that's a safe bet, but they have to show they can actually reach it.

I really hope people aren't saying this but I'll admit I only glossed over that part if so.

Amadio made an impression in the Vancouver game with powerhouse wingers Mario Kempe and Frk. In that same game, Porkins crapped the bed with Eyssimont and Luff.

Lizotte did the same the previous game vs. VGK with Mario Kempe and Tyler Toffoli, everyone's favorite whipping boy.

In Arizona, Amadio DID have better wingers in Grundstrom and Wagner, while Lizotte was more impressive with again, M. Kempe and Frk, while Porkins was actually playing with the NHL squad in LA with JAD and Luff.

There is no pretending any one of those three players enjoyed some significant advantage. This is the first camp in a long time where we can look at this as a whole and almost reach a consensus about who took the job they deserved. Lizotte earned his spot. Amadio earned his spot and has a bigger body of work, too. Porkins didn't distinguish himself from anyone. End of story. I see no one is mourning Matt Luff, who suffered a similar fate--where's the cry for Canadian bias?

I think he'll be back, as he certainly has some skill, but it would be disgusting if he were on the roster over others.