Ontario Reign 2016/2017

[King'sPawn]

I'm catching the game up here in San Jose. I'm not an expert on evaluating players, but I'll keep an eye on the players who stand out.

If any of us were experts, we'd be employed by a professional team

Enjoy the game and don't let anyone discourage your thoughts. Unless they're silly like "Jack Campbell was held without a point. Why did the Kings bother trading for him?"

 

[Sleeping Dog]

If any of us were experts, we'd be employed by a professional team

Enjoy the game and don't let anyone discourage your thoughts. Unless they're silly like "Jack Campbell was held without a point. Why did the Kings bother trading for him?"

They got him for his skating ability. Great back checker.

 

[Fishhead]

I'm kind of surprised a team hasn't given him a shot yet. I remember when Campbell eventually got called up and got 30 odd games in with the Coyotes, and I think LoVerde is a cut above Soupy. But I guess as tough as it is to be a smallish forward, it's even tougher for a d-man under 6' unless you have one heck of a skillset.

 

[kingsboy11]

Got back from the game. Reign lost 4-1 and overall looked flat all night long. LoVerde was out tonight as he suffered an injury in the game against the Gulls the other night. Not one player stood out too much, but I have a few notes:

LaDue is solid with the puck. Excellent first pass and solid defensively

MacDermid is a load and was great on the penalty kill tonight.

Brodzinski didn't show much offensively tonight, but had a few good shots right at the end and he can really rip them.

Kempe took 2 penalties off faceoffs which really stopped any possible momentum the Reign were getting.

Auger covers so much area on the penalty kill with his reach and makes him an effective penalty killer. Had a semi breakaway at the end and drew a slashing penalty which probably should've been a penalty shot tbh.

Leslie likes to join the attack a lot. Can sometimes get caught up the ice too much.

I'm curious to see Amadio's TOI because I didn't see him out there all that much. He was out there with Ciampini and Shore most of the night and had a few pp shifts.

Kempe was on a line with Sutter and Brodzinski and found themselves trapped in the defensive zone several times.

That's about it for the rest of the night. Bjorkstrand got a tip in front to net the lone goal assisted by Hensick. I'll be attending the Reign's next trip in San Jose in April.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

No one stood out too much? Not a good thing. Last year Mersch could be counted on to put the team on his back. We need Brodzinski and Kempe to do that while Mersch is out. Brodzinski has been good overall from the sound of it, but this is the second straight game they've lost 4-1. The Reign have dropped to 3rd place.

From Bus Texts with Stothers, at LAKingsInsider.com:

ORI: Were there any positives you could take away from tonight?

Stothers: Bjorkstrand scored. We came out injury free. And their media room serves Diet Dr. Pepper.

ETA:

[Tweet]831016350898278400[/MEDIA]

Ontario struggled mightily to get anything going in the second period. The team only had two shots on net, and it took them nearly 19 minutes to fire the first puck on net.

Bjorkstrand may not have played often this year, and when he does he may see limited minutes, but the young forward looked good on Sunday.

Despite the rash of injuries, which includes the team captain and one of their top defenders in LoVerde, the Reign still play terrific defensive hockey. All night, the team forced San Jose into taking shots from the perimeter and allowed Campbell a clear viewing lane on the puck. Much of this is a credit to the coaching staff, who is among the best in the AHL. People around the Kings talk a lot about how coach Mike Stothers was a breath of life into the team’s development squad, but don’t underestimate the importance of his assistant, Chris Hajt. Hajt runs the defense for Stothers and the duo have quite the thing going down in Ontario.

Good quality reporting and more to come later this week. I miss CNS' articles, I admit.

 

[regulate]

Besides the consistency problems, Kempe is guilty of so many infractions, particularly high-sticking, his favorite. He spends way too much time putting the team shorthanded.

 

[Mike Carr]

hope we see a big change in the team next year - too many old non NHL players - hope to see we lose quite a few of the older guys and promote lots from juniors - we should get Watson, Wagner, Luff, Chaz Red, Cernak and maybe one of Moevare, Clague, Friend.

 

[johnjm22]

I'm kind of surprised a team hasn't given him a shot yet. I remember when Campbell eventually got called up and got 30 odd games in with the Coyotes, and I think LoVerde is a cut above Soupy. But I guess as tough as it is to be a smallish forward, it's even tougher for a d-man under 6' unless you have one heck of a skillset.

It would be interesting to see if LoVerde could play at the NHL level. He's 5'11 205lbs, which is undersized by NHL standards but not terribly so.

I read somewhere that 66 defensemen under 6ft have played in the NHL since 2010.

If I was him, I would have gone to Europe or Russia by now.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

hope we see a big change in the team next year - too many old non NHL players - hope to see we lose quite a few of the older guys and promote lots from juniors - we should get Watson, Wagner, Luff, Chaz Red, Cernak and maybe one of Moevare, Clague, Friend.

I'm sure we will. It's kind of a 'rift' year where a lot of our younger prospects were on the cusp but not quite AHL ready while others graduated. Gotta stock the farm somehow, and next year it will be with our own.

It would be interesting to see if LoVerde could play at the NHL level. He's 5'11 205lbs, which is undersized by NHL standards but not terribly so.

I read somewhere that 66 defensemen under 6ft have played in the NHL since 2010.

If I was him, I would have gone to Europe or Russia by now.

I'm kind of shocked no one has given him a shot--think of guys like Campbell and Bagnall in the past--but watch his Black and White episode. He seems to truly love the org and want to fight through it here. He's undersized height wise but the dude is a ****ing tank, one of the biggest hockey players I've ever seen, kinda like Justin Faulk. The problem is he's just not all-around 'good' enough even if he doesn't really have any deficiencies. I don't see any reason he couldn't masquerade as a depth guy like the aforementioned guys but reality is he'd likely get passed up by a younger prospect. But I'd love to see him get a cup of coffee especially with us for being such a damn soldier.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

I re-watched the 2015 Manchester Monarchs Calder Cup Championship video. The players on that team now in the NHL - JF Berube, Colin Miller, Nick Shore, Derek Forbort, Kevin Gravel, Nic Dowd, Jordan Weal - plus Michael Mersch, Adrian Kempe, AHL MVP Brian O'Neill, LoVerde, Backman and others. What a team.

 

[regulate]

hope we see a big change in the team next year - too many old non NHL players - hope to see we lose quite a few of the older guys and promote lots from juniors - we should get Watson, Wagner, Luff, Chaz Red, Cernak and maybe one of Moevare, Clague, Friend.

Watson, Wagner, Luff, Reddekopp and Cernak have legit shots at making the team. Clague and Moverare are not old enough. Friend has an outside shot.

 

[Fat Elvis]

Watson, Wagner, Luff, Reddekopp and Cernak have legit shots at making the team. Clague and Moverare are not old enough. Friend has an outside shot.

Could also sign Johnson who turns 23 this June or Roy who turns 22 in a few weeks. That's if either are parts of DL's plan.

Looks like there are options next season for Ontario, just not a lot of top minute options.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

Watson, Wagner, Luff, Reddekopp and Cernak have legit shots at making the team. Clague and Moverare are not old enough. Friend has an outside shot.

Moverare can go to AHL next year since he was drafted out of Europe. He is not subject to the CHL-NHL agreement. Clague is subject to that agreement and must be NHL or CHL.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Watson, Wagner, Luff, Reddekopp and Cernak have legit shots at making the team. Clague and Moverare are not old enough. Friend has an outside shot.

And Schmalz, eh?

What did you thing of last night's game?

 

[regulate]

And Schmalz, eh?

What did you thing of last night's game?

Not too optimistic about Schmalz. I doubt the Kings sign him. Maybe the Reign, but we really don't need another less skilled Auger.

Very proud of the guys last night. Truly a hodgepodge line up. What about that Crescenzi eh? Played defense and looked very solid. Kudos to him, he saved the day. Campbell can't buy a shutout, and would of had one last night except for a very ill-advised pass by Leslie will the Reign were on the PP the last 3 minutes of the game.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Not too optimistic about Schmalz. I doubt the Kings sign him. Maybe the Reign, but we really don't need another less skilled Auger.

Very proud of the guys last night. Truly a hodgepodge line up. What about that Crescenzi eh? Played defense and looked very solid. Kudos to him, he saved the day. Campbell can't buy a shutout, and would of had one last night except for a very ill-advised pass by Leslie will the Reign were on the PP the last 3 minutes of the game.

Yeah, I read the LAKingsInsider.com and MayorsManor.com recaps and saw that they stuck Cres as the 6th D. I've said it before, but Crescenzi has turned out to be a real asset to the Reign. I thought he was a throw-in in the Kozun trade but he has turned out to develop into a strong face-off and PK guy as well. Also, I saw Someone on the blog comment that Campbell should have gotten more credit for a strong game.

How are the ECHL guys looking?

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

Maybe with our lack of prospects, Schmalz will have a chance. Dunno.



I've lost count. Do we have more prospects, vets, or guys we've called up from the ECHL on our team?

Welcome, Craig!

 

[Reaper45]

Not too optimistic about Schmalz. I doubt the Kings sign him. Maybe the Reign, but we really don't need another less skilled Auger.

Very proud of the guys last night. Truly a hodgepodge line up. What about that Crescenzi eh? Played defense and looked very solid. Kudos to him, he saved the day. Campbell can't buy aId shutout, and would of had one last night except for a very ill-advised pass by Leslie will the Reign were on the PP the last 3 minutes of the game.

I'd be shocked if they signed Schmalz, no progression.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I'd imagine we'd make major plays for the college FAs this year too.

 

[damacles1156]

Brodzinski hit the 20 goal mark, guy is a machine. He is now on pace for 28/29 goals in the season.

Best player in Ontario if you ask me.

 

[Basilisk]

Brodzinski hit the 20 goal mark, guy is a machine. He is now on pace for 28/29 goals in the season.

Best player in Ontario if you ask me.

At this point, what's stopping him from playing for the Kings?

 

[Sacha Baron Corbin]

Personally I would send Kempe back down with a list of things to work on and call Brodzinski up

 

[damacles1156]

At this point, what's stopping him from playing for the Kings?

Nothing really,

I thought he should of been called up over Kempe.

 

[PJ Kings Hockey]

The Reign lost 4-3 in regulation to the Bakersfield Condors. From Bus Texts with Stothers:

Stothers: We have some pretty good, experienced players missing from our lineup. Because of that we have others playing out of position or playing in situations that they are not always able to handle. Every player has a slot or fit that is best suited to their strengths. Alterations to the lineup can then be exposed over the course of time. The players that are playing are trying but at times become overwhelmed. Matchups are difficult and sometimes the slot or fit isn’t ideal for the individual.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Amadio scored his 12th goal last night. Looking at his stats, one thing just jumped out;
12 goals on 65 shots?? That's about 20% shooting percentage. Seems they need to tell
him / work with him to shoot more.

http://theahl.com/player?playerId=6363&season=54