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Photo Credit: Assistant Head Coach John Stevens was kind enough to take the picture.
My middle son and I traveled to Phoenix for the Kings-Coyotes Rookie Tournament held the last two days. Day one was a challenge parking and getting into the bar at B-dubs since every place was jammed due to a One Direction concert being held at the football stadium next door. Moms and Dad's with a gazillion teenage girls. Day two had the remnants of Hurricane Odile come through town just before the start of the game with a deluge of rain for about a half hour.
Gila River Arena (new stadium name) provided game rosters and had one concession stand open. The turnout was pretty sad, with a few hundred people in the building. There were a few Kings fans there on day one, I didn't see any Kings jersey's on day two. I went to the Kings-Ducks rookie game at the Honda Center last year, with an estimated attendance of 8,000+ (they had to open the upper deck since the lower bowl was full). Sutter, Stevens, Payne and Ranford sat together in chairs in the handicap seating area, essentially right with the fans and were not guarded or separated from the few fans in attendance. We sat close by, but not close enough to bother them. We stopped by and said hello in-between periods of game one. Sutter was kind enough to take a picture with us and I said thanks to the whole staff for the great job they have done (as a long suffering Kings fan since 1976).
The lack of a PA announcer was the big issue. You generally could figure out who scored, but assists and penalty calls were difficult to follow at times. I was surprised since 4 years ago the Yotes had a PA announcer at the contest. I believe the referees were from the WHL, and while some obvious calls were missed the in the games, they did and okay job overall.
Game One
The Kings rookies struggled with a combination of trying to do too much to impress the coaches (individual vs team play), being rusty, new system for some, and quite frankly, the Yotes top players were faster and quicker than us. Bartosak was hung out to dry a few times, in fact overall our goalies didn't play bad at all. A lot of defensive breakdowns by our whole unit. The Kings did not generate much offense at all, in fact, the lack of a dominate forward carrying the puck into the zone, and the lack of a premier puck distributor was very evident. Only bright note was the Kings PK looked good, and one time the Yotes had a two man advantage which the Kings killed (good job by Shore). Overall, the Coyotes had better talent displayed on the rink and carried the play most of the game.
Game Two
What a difference a day makes. The Kings switched out all six on D (since they brought 13 D with them), while the offense had three new players. This was a different team. The Kings came out taking the body big time in the first period and played very physical. The Kings completely dominated this game from start to finish. I can only remember one time when we were hemmed into our own end for a few minutes. We had one mistake on D when a player pinched on the wall in our own end, which let to a quick 2 on 1 and nice goal against Bartosak. Watson (forehand, upper right corner from the slot), Zykov, from Roach and Raine (open net on a rebound from a point shot, right side near the crease), and Mersch (empty net from near the attacking blue line from the left wing) scored for the Kings. Phoenix goalies played very well, we had numerous great chances, especially in the 3rd period. The PP and PK looked solid. Kings players didn't try to do to much, played better within the system, and the breakouts were much improved. To be fair, I think the Yotes sat a lot of the more talented players in game 2.
Players who impressed
Roland McKeown: I would have to say the player I was most impressed with was Roland McKeown, and not because he scored the Kings lone goal on a backhand shot while he was in deep. It was evident that he has the skating and puck handling skills to compete at a higher level. He is just very smooth. You kinda get the feeling you are watching a Doughty or Voynov that is evolving. He made some mistakes on D in the game he played (the puck hopped over his stick while trying to keep the puck in the O zone, leading to the go ahead goal for Phoenix on the breakaway, and he was defending the player breaking down the left wing on Phoenix's third goal, although that was a nice shot). I would say the Kings got an NHL player here for the future if he can play consistent defense.
Justin Auger: I am surprised as anyone to be writing this, because I was not a fan of this pick. Auger just seemed to be able to find the seem to receive the puck, or was in the right place at the right time, but he a pretty steady offensive force for the Kings. While he didn't score, he just missed (game one), or was robbed a couple of times (game two). He is not a great puck distributor, and I question his hockey IQ, but he is faster than you think, used his size reasonably well, and although it takes a couple of strides to get up to steam, but he makes up ground quickly. He played his heart out, obviously hoping for a contract. He was very noticeable.
Players I watched closely
Derek ForbortI don't think he is ready yet. I am not saying he played poorly. He was steady and used his body at times, but had a tendency (IMO) to not keep his feet moving and just poke with his stick. It will be interesting to see how he does in camp.
Kevin GravelWell, since Gravel seems to be a legend in these parts, I wanted to see how he actually played. I would give him a good grade because he 1) stayed within himself, didn't try and do too much 2) was very steady on the back end and along the boards. Overall, I was impressed. We'll see if he earns an NHL contract at Manchester. Reminds me of a Willie Mitchell type player.
Other notables
Zykov, Dowd and Shore played well, especially in game two. Dowd is the kind of player that might surprise, and his game is very similar to Shore, although I would give Dowd the offensive edge in this series (better puck distributor). Shore reminds me of Mike Richards, always lurking and in position to pick off the pass in the neutral zone on the opposing team's breakouts. Zykov was a one-on-one player in game, one, and consistently got rubbed out trying to carry the puck along the boards into the zone. Did not work at this level. Better effort in game two, playing more of a team game. He definitely does not hesitate to go to the net, and took some O-zone penalties when he was being over aggressive.
Camp invitee that impressed
Kevin Raine: Very physical player along the boards, I thought he was very solid. I thought his positioning was sound, and overall played a strong game. Good breakouts and smart decisions at the blue line in the O zone.
Disappointments
Zach Leslie: You can see the skill, especially in the O zone, so the talent is there. He tried to do too much and pressed at times. Lost the puck in the final minutes which lead to an empty net goal. He needs to settle down and just play his game. Hope he has a good training camp. He is on the verge on a contract, but this didn't help.
If anyone wants my thoughts on any other player, just ask. Too much information to post a review on everyone.
Maybe a call up as a 4th liner if we get into injury trouble, but I am concerned that he is not a "smart" player on the ice. Sometimes its the little things that count, like just flipping it deep, chip passes etc. Things that a player like Dwight King does that go unrecognized. I am concerned about his overall game.
