A Bump In The Road

by Connie Kim on Oct 6, 2008 5:49 PM PDT

The Kings have finally pared down the roster to a manageable number. Out of everyone that's been assigned to Manchester or their respective Junior teams, the most surprising is that Teddy Purcell was sent to Manchester. He came to training camp looking like he bulked up, which he did and is sitting at 202 pounds; I thought he had a solid showing. I never once thought he'd be assigned to Manchester before the season began. I'm not sure what he did exactly to warrant him being assigned, but I have a feeling it wasn't just him. If you couple Oscar Moller and Wayne Simmonds' fantastic camps with Purcell's non-flashy camp, that might have been the kicker to give the former two a chance to prove themselves with some real NHL games. If they don't last, they can easily be sent down and Purcell can be brought back up. If Patrick O'Sullivan and the Kings can come to terms, one of the two kids can also be sent down.

Quote from Terry Murray courtesy of Inside the Kings: "With some guys, like Purcell, I tried to be specific in things I saw and things I'd like to see a big focus on."

Hrm, pretty vague... Anyway, I had a preview up and running for later this week, but now that Purcell isn't on the roster, I'm going to have to tweak it a bit. Stay tuned for another Kings World Podcast episode that you can grab up Wednesday morning and a season preview in a few days. I originally wasn't going to do one, but what the hell.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure. This video is amazingly awesome. It's only one minute long with 4 players from Manchester acting like goofballs. Kudos to whoever made it!

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Connie...Teddy Purcell had a job to lose, according to Lombardi...and he lost it. Why? Because he hasn't learned that he needs to get his nose dirty along the boards and in the corners for loose pucks instead of just playing on the perimeter, waiting for the play and/or the puck to come to him.

It's kind of like what O'Sullivan had to go through. If Purcell takes the criticism to heart and works on the weaknesses in his game, he could be a solid top six right winger.

by Gann Matsuda on Oct 8, 2008 1:33 AM PDT reply actions

I knew the job was his to lose, but I'm glad I now know the exact reason why he was sent down. Hopefully he gets his business taken care of so that he can get back here sooner rather than later.

What you're saying makes sense. I didn't think he had the rougher side to the game last season, but I attributed that to his being pretty lanky. When I saw he showed up to camp noticeably filled out, I guess I just thought he had worked on that part of his game as well.

by Connie on Oct 8, 2008 5:53 AM PDT reply actions