The Season is under way after the Kings and Ducks split games in London, so I thought I'd take a look at the King's youth movement-
Firepower-
Anze Kopitar #11
C 6'4" 220lbs 20yrs old
Kopitar had a breakout rookie season scoring 20goals 41assists. His Size and Speed are accompanied by soft hands that find open people in tight spots. Anze is off to a hot start in 3 games with 5 assists. Despite being known for his offense, he is a solid two way player with a sense of defensive responsiblity. He is a unique passer with puck handling that could end up making him one of the leagues premiere players.
Biggest strength: puck control and passing.
Michael Cammalleri #13
C/W 5'9" 185lbs 25
Cammalleri is the Kings trigger man. He has a wicked shot and uses his quickness to find seams in the defense. In 06' Mike was one of the few bright spots on a young struggling team. He scored 34goals and 46 assists and showed nice improvement in his second full year in the NHL. He lacks size, but is a gritty player who doesn't back down from cutting through traffic.
Biggest strength: Shooting and Agility.
Dustin Brown #23
LW 6' 200lbs 23
Dustin has yet to take his output to the next level, but his heart and toughness have never been in question. If he can add some goals to last years totals he'll be the kind of corner swarming forechecking forward the Kings will need in chippy games. He'll look to add to his production last year of: 17 goals and 29 assists.
Biggest strength: Corner work and Crashing the net
Stopper to be?
Jonathan Bernier #45
G 5'11" 177 19
Jonathan had a great start in London and was off to a good second start before the King's 3rd quarter collapse vs. the Blues. He shows great positioning and steady nerves to go with his quickness. The Kings have been lacking a serious presence in net since Rogie Vachon and while he was not expected to be an immediate contributer and may still be sent back to the Jr's, Bernier could blossom into the netminder the organization has been hoping for.
Biggest strength: 2 games is hardly enough for a proper scouting report, but so far he's been poised and quick with solid positioning.
Patrick O'Sullivan has been often mentioned as having all the skills to turn it up and anchor a center spot for L.A. In limited action last year he looked a bit overmatched, though and will need to get things going before I'm willing to dub him a "Prince" of the Kings.
Growing Pains:
Will Bernier stick with the club or be sent back?
Kopitar is bound to see clubs focus in on him now that they know he's got game. Will he be able to adjust to extra attention? Will he continue to shine and add some goal scoring punch?
Brown teases with his ability. He can be a guy like Deadmarsh if he just gets some offensive consistency and steps up his defensive accountability.
Team issues with youth: Defenisive accountability and Focus. In three games the Kings young players have had trouble maintaining the attack late in games. They have some firepower, and it seems that when they aren't flexing it, they allow teams to stay in their defensive zone and rack up shot after shot until the netminders are flustered.
The young princes of the Kings
The young princes of the Kings
- Danny Darko
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- Danny Darko
- Forum Mod - Lakers
- Posts: 17,837
- And1: 5,420
- Joined: Jun 24, 2005
Goalie has indeed been the major issue beyond the young players getting consistent.
It started to look pretty bad early on, but since then Jason Labarbera has earned player of the month honors and been holding it down. Can he do it all season?? I don't know, but he showed alot of promise in spot starts last year, and this year he's done it throughout the stretch that finds us back near the top of the pacific.
Mike, Anze, and Dustin have all still been shining like the real deal, and Patrick O'Sullivan has started to show some toughness and had a few nice games.
It started to look pretty bad early on, but since then Jason Labarbera has earned player of the month honors and been holding it down. Can he do it all season?? I don't know, but he showed alot of promise in spot starts last year, and this year he's done it throughout the stretch that finds us back near the top of the pacific.
Mike, Anze, and Dustin have all still been shining like the real deal, and Patrick O'Sullivan has started to show some toughness and had a few nice games.