Training Camp/Preseason games Thread 2021

[kilowatt]

Another interesting note shared by Hoven in his And So It Begins article is that Lemieux and Tkachev appear to have secured spots, which I agree with. Which leaves us with the following roster "secured" as far as I'm concerned (don't read into the lines too much, just placing players... wouldn't mind Brown on the fourth line):

Brown - Kopitar - Arvidsson
Kempe - Danault - Iafallo
Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Lemieux - Lizotte - Moore
xxx, xxx

Anderson - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Edler - Walker
xxx

Petersen
Quick

 

[regulate]

Another interesting note shared by Hoven in his And So It Begins article is that Lemieux and Tkachev appear to have secured spots, which I agree with. Which leaves us with the following roster "secured" as far as I'm concerned (don't read into the lines too much, just placing players... wouldn't mind Brown on the fourth line):

Brown - Kopitar - Arvidsson
Kempe - Danault - Iafallo
Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Lemieux - Lizotte - xxx
xxx, xxx

Anderson - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Edler - Walker
xxx

Petersen
Quick

You can add Moore and Athanasiou as guaranteed too short of a trade or injury of AA.

 

[cyclones22]

I don't think Tkachev is a good fit on a line with Danault and Iafallo because you've got 3 pass first players on that line. Danault a disher to the extreme. Kempe makes more sense there. I like Tkachev with Andersson and Vilardi as we're seeing so far in the preseason. Gabe is a good shooter even though he can make amazing passes. You can be sure that Tkachev is going to get plenty of PP minutes and at this rate, the 1st unit. Once Fagemo and Arty graduate full time to the big team, that's going to bring a lot of balance to the attack.

 

[KingLB]

Not sure you want Kempe on the “shutdown” line. Put Moore there, and that line might never lose the puck.

 

[kilowatt]

You can add Moore and Athanasiou as guaranteed too short of a trade or injury of AA.

f***! I keep forgetting Moore! Added him.

I still don't see where Athanasiou plays, but with his contract, it's hard to imagine him being sent down. But still... no preseason games, no real mention anywhere, not sure what happens with that situation.

So, assuming Athanasiou is with the team, that leaves one spot available for a lot of deserving players. Gonna be interesting.

 

[TwzKing]

This is the third year in a row that Clague has struggled in camp and preseason. Decent showings as a mid season call up, but Mr. October he is not.

I wonder if that is a conditioning thing?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Scanning the D waiver names, Clague seems to have the most NHL games, except for maybe Cale Fleury. It’s interesting that the Kings didn’t send some of the bigger name prospects down in this batch. Especially with Reign camp opening tomorrow.

Part of me wonders if Clague and Cale Fleury are camouflage for Moverare.

I can't defend Clague anymore after yesterday. That was his biggest audition and he failed with flying colors. It's nice that he's more of a 'specialist' than some other guys and was really wheeling the puck around offensively but he plays more lackadaisical defense than full-greenlight Erik Karlsson. I do think he's been dicked around by the org a bit but this is them saying goodbye so it's time for that clean break.

f***! I keep forgetting Moore! Added him.

I still don't see where Athanasiou plays, but with his contract, it's hard to imagine him being sent down. But still... no preseason games, no real mention anywhere, not sure what happens with that situation.

So, assuming Athanasiou is with the team, that leaves one spot available for a lot of deserving players. Gonna be interesting.

I agree with others that AA was Tkachev insurance, but yeah, will see the fight to the death for the last few roster spots!

 

[Cook24]

Guys like Kempe and Lizotte need to be on short leashes in favor of calling up Fagemo, JAD, Kaliyev, or Kupari depending on how we start the season…

 

[Sol]

Glad to see Frk waived.

 

[ru4reals]

Another interesting note shared by Hoven in his And So It Begins article is that Lemieux and Tkachev appear to have secured spots, which I agree with. Which leaves us with the following roster "secured" as far as I'm concerned (don't read into the lines too much, just placing players... wouldn't mind Brown on the fourth line):

Brown - Kopitar - Arvidsson
Kempe - Danault - Iafallo
Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Lemieux - Lizotte - Moore
xxx, xxx

Anderson - Doughty
Bjornfot - Roy
Edler - Walker
xxx

Petersen
Quick

This definitely looks very close to the opening day roster, but I see this lineup and I see the same team that's been sucking for the past few years. I think Arvidsson will be a nice addition but he's a shell of his former self. And we all love Brown's heart but he's on his last leg. It is what it is. Hoping the Vilardi line can bring some youth and excitement because I don't see anyone scoring over 20 goals again this year. Maybe Kopi if he decides to shoot. D looks promising as the kids keep developing but still soft and no scoring throughout the lineup. Really hoping one of youngsters step up to give us something to look forward to.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

At this point, I hope Clague gets claimed and gets a chance elsewhere. I don't think he'll ever make it on the Kings and he was brutal yesterday.

I don't think Frk showed a whole lot either.

Fine with all of those cuts.

Frk and Clague may end up in the KHL where they will put up good numbers

 

[ru4reals]

Delete.

 

[kilowatt]

This definitely looks very close to the opening day roster, but I see this lineup and I see the same team that's been sucking for the past few years. I think Arvidsson will be a nice addition but he's a shell of his former self. And we all love Brown's heart but he's on his last leg. It is what it is. Hoping the Vilardi line can bring some youth and excitement because I don't see anyone scoring over 20 goals again this year. D looks promising as the kids keep developing but still soft and no scoring throughout the lineup. Really hoping one of youngsters step up to give us something to look forward to.

If it were up to me, I'd try Moore at 4C and slot Brown down onto the fourth line. I still think Fagemo should be given a shot up on line one. I think our biggest weakness is our LD, but I'm not sure what to do there. Mikey Anderson looked like a seasoned vet against Vegas last night though, which was super encouraging to see. I thought he was our best defender.

If I was in charge, I'd do something like this:

Fagemo - Kopitar - Arvidsson
Kempe - Danault - Iafallo
Andersson - Vilardi - Tkachev
Lemieux - Moore - Brown
Lizotte, Athanasiou

I'd also be looking to move guys like Kempe or Iafallo and Athanasiou. I think this might be Brown's last year, unless he really embraces a fourth-line checking role (and plays like he means it).

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Just don't see Blake (Zit)Lizotte making the team and will be claimed by someone if exposed

 

[Johnny Utah]

New cuts.

 

[All The Kings Men]

Assuming the waived players clear AND are assigned (not a lock but likely)

There are four more cuts come

Assuming Tkachev and Andersson have spots (not a lock but likely?)

I'm guessing the 4 cuts are

based on my roster... it's 2 from the D and 2 from the F

 

[kilowatt]

In case anyone didn't see, a number of guys were loaned to Ontario:

https://lakingsinsider.com/2021/10/...p-roster-moves-trim-nhl-roster-to-34-players/

The following players have been loaned to the AHL’s Ontario Reign –

F: Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Aidan Dudas, Samuel Fagemo, Arthur Kaliyev, Rasmus Kupari, Tyler Madden, Johan Sodergran, Alex Turcotte

D: Sean Durzi, Helge Grans, Markus Phillips, Jordan Spence

G: Jacob Ingham, Matt Villalta

 

[kilowatt]

Trying to make sense of this then, let's look at who is remaining with the club:

Forwards (20) – Lias Andersson, Andreas Athanasiou, Viktor Arvidsson, Dustin Brown, Brayden Burke, Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault, Martin Frk, Carl Grundstrom, Alex Iafallo, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Brendan Lemieux, Blake Lizotte, Trevor Moore, Akil Thomas, Vladimir Tkachev, TJ Tynan, Gabe Vilardi, Austin Wagner
Defensemen (11) – Mikey Anderson, Tobias Bjornfot, Kale Clague, Drew Doughty, Alex Edler, Olli Maatta, Jacob Moverare, Matt Roy, Austin Strand, Sean Walker, Christian Wolanin
Goaltenders (3) – Cal Petersen, Jonathan Quick, Garret Sparks

Andersson, Arvidsson, Brown, Danault, Iafallo, Kempe, Kopitar, Lemieux, Moore, Tkachev, and Vilardi all seem to be locks to me. That's 11 spots. That means that Athanasiou, Byfield, Grundstrom, Lizotte, and Wagner are all fighting for three spots.

Similarly on defense, Anderson, Doughty, Edler, Roy, and Walker are all locks, leaving Bjornfot, Maatta, Strand, and Wolanin fighting for two spots.

I don't know how this ultimately shakes out, but I'd love to see Byfield on Kopitar's wing this season.

RIP to my Fagemo top line dreams.

 

[BigBrown]

Surprised to see Akil Thomas is still around, after guys like Fagemo and Kaliyev got cut. Doesn't seem like camp standout.. or is he injured?

 

[kilowatt]

Surprised to see Akil Thomas is still around, after guys like Fagemo and Kaliyev got cut. Doesn't seem like camp standout.. or is he injured?

Injured. Hasn't played a game. Out for a few months I believe.

 

[cyclones22]

He's recovering from shoulder surgery.

 

[Johnny Utah]

Bjornfot hasn’t impressed me. I would go Strand-Walker as 3rd paid with Maata as extra.

 

[Fishhead]

I wonder if that is a conditioning thing?

Clague was looking really, really good for a while when he was up, then he got sent down and didn't react well. He didn't pout or outwardly get upset, but for whatever reason he was kind of crap in the AHL from then on. I don't think it's a talent thing, probably mental.

From viewings, it is fairly obvious he's one of those guys who plays far better in the NHL than in the AHL. He elevates with better players and better structure and has a more difficult time adjusting when things are a bit chaotic. I think this is why he disappointed so much in training camp, it's those very conditions. Clague is going to break out if he catches on with a team that doesn't have a lot of options and puts him on a pairing and lets him grow, I think it's fairly obvious by now that being in the minors does nothing for him. I say break out, but I think his ceiling is a 3rd pairing guy who is on the 2nd pp unit, like Walker on a contender. Who knows, maybe the Kings have a few injuries, he gets the opportunity and shines. If that doesn't happen and he's not picked up he'll probably carve out a good career overseas ala Kevin Dallman.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Bjornfot hasn’t impressed me. I would go Strand-Walker as 3rd paid with Maata as extra.

I sadly agree, I think TB would be better off spending half the year as Ontario's 1D.

But I'd also shoot Maatta out of a cannon if possible.

Clague was looking really, really good for a while when he was up, then he got sent down and didn't react well. He didn't pout or outwardly get upset, but for whatever reason he was kind of crap in the AHL from then on. I don't think it's a talent thing, probably mental.

From viewings, it is fairly obvious he's one of those guys who plays far better in the NHL than in the AHL. He elevates with better players and better structure and has a more difficult time adjusting when things are a bit chaotic. I think this is why he disappointed so much in training camp, it's those very conditions. Clague is going to break out if he catches on with a team that doesn't have a lot of options and puts him on a pairing and lets him grow, I think it's fairly obvious by now that being in the minors does nothing for him. I say break out, but I think his ceiling is a 3rd pairing guy who is on the 2nd pp unit, like Walker on a contender. Who knows, maybe the Kings have a few injuries, he gets the opportunity and shines. If that doesn't happen and he's not picked up he'll probably carve out a good career overseas ala Kevin Dallman.

Yeah Clague is strange like that. I wonder what happens behind the scenes/in his head. He's volatile. Part of it is a bummer with injury timing, part of it seems to be some sort of attitude/conditioning/focus issue. I do personally think he'll succeed with a good possession team--the guy would be frightening if you put him on the Isles or Lightning 3rd pairing, for example--but he's clearly not fitting here. I'm rooting for him and I like his abilities, he's not flashy, but he makes some extremely hockey-sexy short passes and offensive plays, and has great skating/feet. On the bright side, I suppose he's redundant with the offense we possibly have on the way in Clarke, Grans at least....I just hate that he brings an element we need (offense from the back end) that isn't being satisfied by the current dcore even if they're good all-around. That's still a clear, clear weakness on the active roster and whether they've been working on the PP or not there is no one on the blueline scaring opponents right now, not even Drew provided they're wearing the right shinguards.

 

[All The Kings Men]

That means that Athanasiou, Byfield, Grundstrom, Lizotte, and Wagner are all fighting for three spots.

Similarly on defense, Anderson, Doughty, Edler, Roy, and Walker are all locks, leaving Bjornfot, Maatta, Strand, and Wolanin fighting for two spots.

I don't know how this ultimately shakes out, but I'd love to see Byfield on Kopitar's wing this season.

Athanasiou was signed to a $2.7M 1 way, 1 year contract.

That's a lot of scratch for a dude to "fight for a roster spot"