Jewels From The Crown: FanPosts

Kopitar on Slovenian TV

2013-05-11T05:29:44Z

Recently, I started using YouTube to keep up with Kings Vision's "Stanley Cup Moments" series. As is the way of YouTube, I usually wind up browsing for much longer than I'd intended to stay, drawn in by the allure of other videos that YouTube thinks would interest me. I'm sure many of you know how that works: "It's just a YouTube video. Only a few more minutes." Again and again and again and again, until several hours have gone by.

It has also been a great way to re-live last year's glory and a chance to view it from perspectives that I didn't get at the time. In that spirit, I'd like to point my fellow JftCers to one of the more interesting clips that I found, a Slovenian TV news feature on Anze Kopitar.

Granted, most of it is incomprehensible to me, since it's not subtitled in English. But I just found it interesting to hear Kopi speak his native tongue and to get a general sense of how his native country was acknowledging his success. To my mind, he was one of the coolest individual success stories from last year's team. As I posted in one of my comments, it gave me (and still gives me) the warm fuzzies to think of a town in Slovenia where people were celebrating in the streets in the wee hours of the morning.

Rumors: Voynov back to Chelyabinsk, opinions?

2013-04-15T10:29:31Z

Hello, Los Angeles’ fans.

I’ll start with small introduction. I live in Russia, in Chelyabinsk – the city, where Slava Voynov was born. At the same time, I’m working as a journalist and my specialization is foreign press and fans’ opinion. That’s why I want to know what you think about rising Russian star.

You know, mayor of our city claimed that “Traktor” will try to sign a new contract with Voynov during the offseason. He personally will give a decent sum of money to sponsor the deal. So, the question is following: Is it at all possible? How do you think Slava will behave? (I suppose you know him better, as you are closer. Maybe here I can even find some insiders from Kings’ club) If he leaves, will you consider it as a big loss? And can you describe his contribution to the team’s play, how valuable is he for you?

As for my attitude, I think he shouldn’t come back. To my mind, he is doing well in NHL and it isn’t worth wasting such a chance. For me – maybe because I’m too patriotic – Slava is better than Doughty. There in LA he has even better chance to go to Sochi than in KHL team.

Kings Prospects in NCAA Frozen Four...

2013-04-01T23:09:42Z

The Kings had several prospects in the NCAA regionals last weekend, but only D Kevin Gravel and F Nic Dowd of St. Cloud State will advance to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh on April 11. Neither player posted a point in the regionals; both were even in +/- in the Huskies 5-1 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday; Gravel was +2 and Dowd +1 as the Huskies clinched their trip to the finals with a 4-1 victory over Miami(Ohio) on Sunday.

Defenseman Derek Forbort of North Dakota registered assists in both his regional games; the Fighting Sioux notched a 2-1 victory over Niagara Friday night but yielded 4 third period goals and were eliminated by Yale, 4-1 on Saturday. Forbort was a combined +1 in the two games.

Two other Kings prospects saw their teams eliminated in the opening round; LW Michael Mersch and the Wisconsin Badgers were routed 6-1 by top-seeded UMass-Lowell; Mersch, the Badgers leading goal scorer during the season, was held off the score sheet and was -1. C Nick Shore and the University of Denver Bears were knocked out by New Hampshire by a 5-2 score; Shore assisted on the second Denver goal and was +1 for the game, but was ejected 50 seconds into the 3rd period due to contact to the head of a New Hampshire player.

Fellowship of the Kings

2013-03-25T05:35:00Z

Rowdy Kings Fans,

For those of you who enjoy heckling opposing team fans and getting exceptionally rowdy at Kings games, check out

this site: www.fellowshipofthekings.com

The concept is simple. The Fellowship of the Kings is a following of loyal Kings fans that demand a more chaotic, loud, high intensity atmosphere when attending games at Staples Center. Too often, the most loyal and rowdy fans are isolated in a sea of quiet, inattentive fans who would rather check their Facebook 'news feed' rather than scream at the top of their lungs for their beloved Kings.

Hope to see you there.

-FotK

Rowdy Kings Fans,

For those of you who enjoy heckling opposing team fans and getting exceptionally rowdy at Kings games, check out

this site: www.fellowshipofthekings.com

Hope to see you there.

-FotK

Question about LA Kings Premier Jersey?

2013-03-17T07:17:32Z

Hi there King's fans. Sorry for making a fanpost on this, but I don't know where else otherwise to post this.

Anyways, I'm a relatively new King's fan and have been trying to get into hockey this year. My friend and I went to a game today (well, yesterday as of the time I'm writing this) and I had a blast. I'm interested in going to another one, but I actually want to be wear a jersey this time. The thing about the jerseys is that...it's really expensive. I think they were selling it for $150 at Staples and it seems it's about the same price on NHL.com.

I decided to look on ebay and found this #17 Simmonds one for around $45.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NHL-REEBOK-Los-Angeles-Kings-17-Hockey-Jersey-New-S-/370745116996?pt=U_Hockey_Fan_Shop&hash=item5652218944

The player is Wayne Simmonds, who is no longer on the team. I have a few questions regarding the jersey though:

1. Is this a legit looking jersey? I"ve seen a lot of those fake ones online. This one looks pretty real though, Thoughts?

2. What was the fanbase's opinion of Simmonds? While I don't care too much about who the player's name is, I would mind if that player was absolutely hated and despised. For instance, think Jamarcus Russell jersey for the Raiders or Kwame Brown for the Lakers. It's just embarrassing....

3. Uh...do you think a size small would be sufficient for me? I'm 5'6 and 140 pounds. I'm about an average build size. If it's any help, I wear a size small for NBA Lakers jersey.

Hi there King's fans. Sorry for making a fanpost on this, but I don't know where else otherwise to post this.

I decided to look on ebay and found this #17 Simmonds one for around $45.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NHL-REEBOK-Los-Angeles-Kings-17-Hockey-Jersey-New-S-/370745116996?pt=U_Hockey_Fan_Shop&hash=item5652218944

The player is Wayne Simmonds, who is no longer on the team. I have a few questions regarding the jersey though:

1. Is this a legit looking jersey? I"ve seen a lot of those fake ones online. This one looks pretty real though, Thoughts?

3. Uh...do you think a size small would be sufficient for me? I'm 5'6 and 140 pounds. I'm about an average build size. If it's any help, I wear a size small for NBA Lakers jersey.

College Free Agents - Will the Kings bite?

2013-03-08T17:44:10Z

I recently came across an article about the top college free agents who will be signing with NHL teams in the coming weeks, as soon as their teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. Next weekend NCAA hockey will be entering the conference championship phase, at which point some teams and NHL hopefuls will be eliminated, marking the beginning of the college free agency period. The article is linked here.

The top two guys on this list are defensemen, and while after last night's 5-2 loss to Dallas may suggest we need defensive help, that is simply not the case. With 3 young starting offensive D-men (Doughty, Martinez, Voynov) and another who may have to wiggle his way into the rotation later (Muzzin), there will be no room for puck moving defensemen coming out of college. While the Kings are a bit more aged with stay-at-home defensemen (Mitchell & Scuderi), we still have Greene in his prime as well as the youth of Keaton Ellerby and have already drafted Derek Forbort, who is currently playing out his Junior year at North Dakota. While it would be nice to have a defenseman with the size of Junior Andrej Sustr (6-8 225 and only 22 years old), the guy will have little incentive to sign with the Kings due to our defensive depth. This essentially eliminates the top two college free agents from the Kings' radar.

The next college hopeful on the list is Rylan Schwartz. The Saskatchewan native and current Senior alternate captain at Colorado College has 42 points in 33 games this season (15G, 27A) with 148 points in 148 games over his college career (54G, 94A). Rylan, the older brother of St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz, is a very complete, physical player. Think Kyle Clifford. He's been nominated for the Hobey Baker award, college hockey's Heisman Trophy for the best player. Since he comes from a small school (Colorado College has a student body of around 2,000), he probably will not receive enough votes and will in all likelihood, not win the award. Despite this, he remains a player that can make a significant impact immediately, as well as long-term. Fun fact: during his Junior year he scored back-to-back hat tricks against North Dakota during a Friday/Saturday series. No doubt this player will make a significant impact on any team that signs him, the Kings included. I believe he is the kind of player that is the perfect fit for Darrell Sutter's system. The only question is, do we have the room for him and would Lombardi pull the trigger? I don't believe so, but the fact remains that this is a guy the Kings should take a serious look at before other teams get the chance to sign him.

The other name that immediately stood out to me from this article is that of Alex Krushelnyski, coincidentally also from Colorado College. His father, Mike Krushelnyski, was one of the two players (along with Marty McSorley) that Wayne Gretzky personally requested be traded with him to our Los Angeles Kings. During his time with the Kings, Mike scored one of the Top 50 goals of all time. While looking for the video (unsuccessfully) of Mike's OT winner against the Calgary Flames, I came across a pair of Alex goals from the past two seasons. This one, apparently from just last weekend, and an OT penalty shot from last season. The article mentions that Alex is only a Junior and there is no word yet on whether he will return for his Senior year, but it would be great to see the name Krushelnyski emblazoned on a Kings jersey once again, either this year, next year, or sometime after.

Bring back the retro unis.......for good!

2012-10-18T07:55:01Z

Since there's no real NHL news to talk about I thought I would throw this out there. We have "retro" games where we rock the purple and gold of the past. I for one would like to see these particular ones replace our current ones full time. I'm not fond of black or the new home plate looking logo. I say we go back to our roots and stay there. What say you?

The Curious Case of NHL 13 Anze Kopitar

2012-10-03T01:45:10Z

Today Niesy posed the following questions on Twitter:

I don't understand NHL 13. Can someone explain to me why Kopitar is rated so much lower than Saint Jonathan Toews?
— jewelsfromthecrown (@NiesyJFTC) October 2, 2012

and

@xanubisdoji Thanks! I'm really curious. The Mike Richards > Kopitar thing is weird too.
— jewelsfromthecrown (@NiesyJFTC) October 2, 2012

After the jump I will try and explain both of these things, using math and stats and everything that is right with the world (other than EA NHL rating systems, which everyone agrees are wrong because X player is too high or too low).

Today Niesy posed the following questions on Twitter:

I don't understand NHL 13. Can someone explain to me why Kopitar is rated so much lower than Saint Jonathan Toews?
— jewelsfromthecrown (@NiesyJFTC) October 2, 2012

and

@xanubisdoji Thanks! I'm really curious. The Mike Richards > Kopitar thing is weird too.
— jewelsfromthecrown (@NiesyJFTC) October 2, 2012

First things first is the head to head match up of two of the better playmaking centers in the Western Conference, Jonathan Toews and Anze Kopitar.

Ever since his Cover Boy status in NHL 10, Toews has been one of the highest ranked skaters in the EA NHL series, but why is he ranked a full 4 overall points higher than Anze Kopitar? First let's look at the game's evaluations of each players skills and how they match up head to head.

The Overall scores are actually made up of 25 categories, below are each players and how they rank. Every positive is an advantage for Toews and every minus an advantage for Kopitar.

	Slap Shot Acc	Slap Shot Pow	Wrist Shot Acc	Wrist Shot Pow	Dekeing	Hand Eye	Passing	Puck Control	Discipline	Off. Awareness	Poise
Anze Kopitar	85	90	85	89	85	88	88	88	90	90	80
Jonathan Toews	88	86	88	86	93	90	92	92	85	92	90
	3	-4	3	-3	8	2	4	4	-5	2	10

	Acceleration	Agility	Balance	Endurance	Speed	Aggressiveness	Body Checking	Durability
Anze Kopitar	84	84	90	87	83	84	85	88
Jonathan Toews	87	88	85	87	87	84	84	87
	3	4	-5	0	4	0	-1	-1

	Fighting Skill	Strength	Def. Awareness	Faceoffs	Shot Blocking	Stick Checking
Anze Kopitar	70	88	85	74	81	85
Jonathan Toews	75	84	90	87	88	89
	5	-4	5	13	7	4

Now to kind of break that down they have 5 categories in NHL 13:

Shooting:

They rank Kopitar as a more powerful shooter, but think Toews has a more accurate shot, by the amounts listed this is a wash.

Puck Skills:

Toews wins this category hands down with a +8 dekeing skill and a positive in hand eye, passing, and puck control as well. As they are both marked as playmakers, this category carries the most weight.

Senses:

This category is also a wash (one would think) but it isn't. "Poise" is the single heaviest weighted "skill" to overall player ratings and usually ranks around 70-75 for rookies, up to the 90's for superstars. The advantage in future potential is to Kopitar however, because as your poise grows your overall tends to go up faster. Of note in this is that Kopitar (as of 13) hasn't reached his full in game potential so he will still grow in modes such as Be a GM.

Skating:

Toews wins the footrace here in acceleration, speed, and agility. Due to his exceptional 2-way play, however, Kopitar has him by +5 in Balance.

Physical:

Here, again, things are almost a wash, other than Toews being a better fighter (apparently) and Kopitar being stronger (no surprise there)

Defense:

Probably the worst affront of categories, Toews beats Kopitar across the board by a wide margin on his defensive play. By almost 30 points. Much of it in the category of Faceoffs, though he also wins handily in everything else.

Mike Richards Better than Kopitar, What?

Another question mark on the rating system is how players individual ratings weigh on their overall by player type. For a forward there are 6 types of players; Sniper, Playmaker, Two-Way Forward, Power Forward, Grinder, and Tough Guy (also known as worthless punching bag that probably shouldn't be on the ice).

Where Koptiar is a playmaker who's overall is weighted more heavily based on his puck skills, Mike Richards is a Two-Way Forward who gets an overall bonus based on his aggression and defense. The following quote is direct from EA producer Gurn Sumal.

"Another example is when you look at a player like Mike Richards (87) compared to Anze Kopitar (86) the difference in overall is very small. When you look at Kopitar’s Offensive Ratings they are slightly better than Richards’ but Richards has much better defensive and physical attributes and that is enough for him to overcome Kopitar’s offensive edge."

-From EA's Developer Blog on NHL 13's Revamped Rating System

But for anyone that watches the Kings, or even looks at the above chart of in-game Kopitar how much of an advantage could Mike Richards really have

Now for this to make sense you would have to assume that Richards is being granted 90's in his defensive game to make up the offensive difference, as Kopitar is still in the 85-90 range on shooting skills. This is not the case. In shooting Mike Richards is given a range of 85-87, very close to Kopitar. His Defensive prowess as one of the elite 2-way players in the game? 88's in Defensive Categories, and 87's in Physical. Which as an aggregate easily makes up the 1 point overall point difference. Again, likely because they are taking Kopitar's 2-way play for granted.

The place this hurts the most is when you examine a player like Stamkos, another Coverboy of the NHL franchise and see him rocking higher defensive skills than Kopitar and see him neck and neck with former Selke finalist, Richards.

Report: Simon Gagne's Neck Surgery May Cure His Chronic Pain For Good

2012-07-18T16:40:00Z

[Ed. note: The most detailed reports on Simon Gagne's potentially life-changing neck surgery are in the Quebec media. Many thanks go to reader Passemoilapuck for kindly translating excerpts for us.]

While I was trying to follow the whereabouts of the Stanley Cup in La Belle Province of Quebec, I found this article from Le Soleil (the main newspaper in Quebec City). It talks about Simon Gagne's day with the Cup in Quebec City, but focuses mainly on the surgical procedure Simon went through a couple of weeks ago to remove a lump in his neck. From the way the article describes it, it sounds like this might have caused a lot of the pain that he's been experiencing over the last few years.

This sounds very encouraging for Simon and his health, for the rest of his hockey career and more importantly for life after the NHL. (And obviously it would be great for us Kings fans, too.) Remember earlier this year when it was discovered that Crosby was treated for a neck injury, shortly before his comeback? I wonder if the same specialists were involved...

The full French article can be found here. Here is my imperfect attempt at translating the article from French to English.

Pendant que ses coéquipiers célébraient encore la Coupe Stanley remportée une semaine plus tôt, l’attaquant des Kings de Los Angeles, Simon Gagné, se trouvait sur la table d’opération le 18 juin, pour une intervention visant à enlever une masse de la taille d’une "balle de tennis" qui s’était formée dans son cou. La procédure pourrait être la réponse à tous les maux ressentis par le numéro 12 au cours des dernières saisons.

'While his teammates were still celebrating winning the Stanley Cup a week before, Kings forward Simon Gagne went under the knife on June 18th for a procedure to remove a "tennis ball" sized lump in his neck. The procedure could be the answer to all the pain experienced by #12 over the last few seasons.'

(More after the jump.)

The full French article can be found here. Here is my imperfect attempt at translating the article from French to English.

Pendant que ses coéquipiers célébraient encore la Coupe Stanley remportée une semaine plus tôt, l’attaquant des Kings de Los Angeles, Simon Gagné, se trouvait sur la table d’opération le 18 juin, pour une intervention visant à enlever une masse de la taille d’une "balle de tennis" qui s’était formée dans son cou. La procédure pourrait être la réponse à tous les maux ressentis par le numéro 12 au cours des dernières saisons.

(More after the jump.)

Depuis trois ans, Simon Gagné vivait avec cette masse au cou, que ni les médecins des Flyers ni ceux du Lightning n’avaient osé toucher. Ironiquement, c’est une autre blessure subie dans la même région le 26 décembre qui a forcé les meilleurs spécialistes de Los Angeles à investiguer davantage

'For the last 3 years, Gagne lived with this lump in his neck that the doctors from the Flyers and Lightning did not want to mess with. Ironically, it is a different injury to the same area on December 26th that got the best L.A. specialists to look further into this.'

"Comme j’avais déjà été blessé, ils avaient décidé de ne pas prendre de chances, de traiter ma blessure comme une commotion cérébrale et de faire des tests. Après cinq mois, ils ont réalisé que c’était opérable, avec une chance de guérison à 100 %, et qu’il n’y aurait plus de problèmes par la suite. Ça fait déjà trois semaines et je me sens vraiment bien. Je suis content de l’avoir fait. Au bout de ça, on a une Coupe Stanley avec ça, alors c’est numéro un!" s’est enthousiasmé l’ailier gauche de 32 ans, qui profitait de sa journée avec le précieux trophée, vendredi.

“Since I had been already injured, they had decided to err on the safe side and treat my injury as a concussion and perform the normal tests. After 5 months, they realized that it could be operated on, with a possibility of a 100% recovery with no other future problems. It has been 3 weeks and I feel really good, glad I did it. At the end of the day, we also got a Stanley Cup, so it’s all #1”, said the 32-year-old LW during his day with the precious trophy on Friday.

La masse dont Gagné a été débarrassé est une accumulation de tissus qui se serait formée à la suite de coups. C’est elle qui, vraisemblablement, était la cause de ses douleurs chroniques, longtemps attribuées aux commotions. La batterie de tests passés a en outre permis de découvrir qu’elle était en fait une "capsule" qui pouvait être enlevée sans danger. Depuis l’opération, la vie du hockeyeur a littéralement changé.

'The lump that was removed from Gagne was an accumulation of soft tissue caused by on-ice hits. It was likely the cause of the chronic pain experienced by Gagne, which has long been credited to concussions. After the tests taken by Gagne, it was discovered that this lump could be removed without danger. Since the operation, the life of the hockey player has literally changed.'

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The article has more stuff, but these were the highlights. (He also jokingly blamed that neck lump for him "almost dropping the Cup at Staples").

Early reports were describing the lump/mass as about 5cm wide (or 2''), so maybe something between a golf ball and a racquetball ball rather than a tennis ball, but yeah painful nonetheless.

Let's hope this will be the end of Simon's chronic "upper body" pain.

ESPY is a Joke

2012-07-12T23:51:34Z

Just goes to show you where the NHL stands. Best Team Heat? Really? FN Really? I don't think the heat were as dominating as the L.A Kings. Last time i checked they didn't squeeze into the playoffs as a #8 seed and destroy the top 3 teams in their Division, #1, #2, and #3!!! And then have a Dominating Playoffs AWAY from their home like the Kings did, nor did they dominate the way the Kings did. So it goes to show you just what kind of Biased B.S ESPN is!!!! Oh yeah and it took how many games for Lebron to pull his head out of his @zz and join the rest of his team regular season included!!! Playoffs he didn't show up until the last series!!! Quick on the other hand dominated every game and every series!!! Oh and in the regular season also if it wern't for Quick the Kings would have never won. Can't say the same about Lebron!!! It is really sad when a team like the Kings wins their first Stanley cup in over 40 years but gets beat out by a team that was put together with money not by their system. And the heat were not as dominating not even close to as Dominating as the L.A Kings. ESPN is a Joke, this is a perfect example of how Hockey to them is a Joke. Well, Hockey is going no where ESPN, and it will only get bigger and stronger and I hope the NHL shuns you like you have shunned them. LeBron and the Heat, the Awards you got the ESPY is a Joke and very undeserving. I hate to be that guy, but LeBron you got your ASS out played by a NHL goaltender and the Heat you wish you could have had the Dominating RECORD setting playoffs the Kings had this year. The Kings will be int he record books for a long time with what they did this year. The Heat, you will be forgotten after next years NBA champions.

The Rally, In Fragments

2012-06-15T03:26:46Z

Three things from the victory rally that disappointed:

1) No speech from Dean Lombardi, who apparently lost his voice. :-0 Say what??

And Rudy Kelly had a perfect speech written for him and posted on BoC this morning.

2) Penner shaved his handlebars already.

3) No Madison Quick. Aww.... :-(

Four things from the victory rally that made me laugh, or weep with joy, or both:

1) Luc reading the congratulatory email from Marcel Dionne.

2) Greene ragging on Doughty for Drew's heartfelt, but somewhat awkward speech. So Canadian. .

3) Quick exclaiming, "How about this fuckin' team?" And there was no one to bleep him out. He's usually so reserved in interviews, it was moving to see him open up in that particularly guy-ish way about his bond with his teammates.

4) Brownie orchestrating a standing O moment at the very end for Bob Miller, not just from the crowd, but from the team.

Random observations:

Penner will make an excellent hockey broadcaster when he hangs up his skates. This is not a prediction so much as a statement of fact. I would say that I hope he bumps out Hayward someday, but Hayward and the Ducks really deserve each other.

The Jumbotron camera panned over Nolan and King during Hextall's speech, and they looked like high school students listening to a lecture. I expected them to start taking notes.

Williams looked like he hadn't slept in days. Or like he needs a little time on Dry Island.

Sutter looked like he had nervous energy to burn. The coaches and staff were supposed to take their assigned seats before the players came out, but he kept getting up and looking around and making this curious air-punching gesture.

I tried to take some pictures with both my iPhone and iPad, but don't know if any of them turned worth a darn in terms of posting on the Web. If so, I'll share them later via Fanshot.

Three things from the victory rally that disappointed:

1) No speech from Dean Lombardi, who apparently lost his voice. :-0 Say what??

And Rudy Kelly had a perfect speech written for him and posted on BoC this morning.

2) Penner shaved his handlebars already.

3) No Madison Quick. Aww.... :-(

Four things from the victory rally that made me laugh, or weep with joy, or both:

1) Luc reading the congratulatory email from Marcel Dionne.

2) Greene ragging on Doughty for Drew's heartfelt, but somewhat awkward speech. So Canadian. .

4) Brownie orchestrating a standing O moment at the very end for Bob Miller, not just from the crowd, but from the team.

Random observations:

The Jumbotron camera panned over Nolan and King during Hextall's speech, and they looked like high school students listening to a lecture. I expected them to start taking notes.

Williams looked like he hadn't slept in days. Or like he needs a little time on Dry Island.

I tried to take some pictures with both my iPhone and iPad, but don't know if any of them turned worth a darn in terms of posting on the Web. If so, I'll share them later via Fanshot.

I wanna see the Kings go on Craig Ferguson

2012-06-15T03:06:01Z

Leno, I get. The NHL is on NBC so it's just stupid cross-promotion, aided by the fact that Leno's show is taped in LA.

Kimmel, though? His show is on ABC and he's an idiot who knows nothing about hockey. The "jokes" weren't funny and I thought the one about Scuderi was pretty insulting.

But seriously, why the hell didn't the Kings take the Cup on Craig Ferguson's show? The Scottish comedian on CBS after Dave is by far the funniest late night host and he not only actually likes hockey, HE IS A KINGS FAN. He's been to a few games. At the start of the Final he was talking about how dumb it was that ESPN was showing the National Spelling Bee instead of the Stanley Cup Finals and then he said that while he is a national TV host he has to be impartial, blah blah blah, Go Kings. And last night, almost his entire monologue was about the Kings winning the Cup.

Seriously, guys, take the damn Cup on there with Ferguson and his gay robot skeleton pal Geoff Peterson.

Craig at a Kings- Sharks game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbbYtGxsxBU

Craig cheers for the Kings at the start of the Finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEAI9rU7UPo (at 5:20)

Craig does a Kings monologue: http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_late_show/video/2245280245/the-late-late-show-6-12-2012

http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=602538: Craig Ferguson is even on their list of celebrities who attend games and apparently had Kevin Dallman on his show when he was still on the team (I don't remember him being on the team either, don't worry)

So what I'm saying is, get somebody on there with the Cup this summer. Please. If anyone here has connections, you should help make this happen.

Oh, and this was of course originally posted on my Kings blog, kingsinhockeywood.blogspot.com, so you should go read it again there, plus all of my other exciting posts.

Leno, I get. The NHL is on NBC so it's just stupid cross-promotion, aided by the fact that Leno's show is taped in LA.

Kimmel, though? His show is on ABC and he's an idiot who knows nothing about hockey. The "jokes" weren't funny and I thought the one about Scuderi was pretty insulting.

Seriously, guys, take the damn Cup on there with Ferguson and his gay robot skeleton pal Geoff Peterson.

Craig at a Kings- Sharks game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbbYtGxsxBU

Craig cheers for the Kings at the start of the Finals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEAI9rU7UPo (at 5:20)

Craig does a Kings monologue: http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_late_show/video/2245280245/the-late-late-show-6-12-2012

So what I'm saying is, get somebody on there with the Cup this summer. Please. If anyone here has connections, you should help make this happen.

Oh, and this was of course originally posted on my Kings blog, kingsinhockeywood.blogspot.com, so you should go read it again there, plus all of my other exciting posts.

It was all worth it

2012-06-12T05:29:07Z

I I never expected this dream to come true. Besides my wedding day, this is the happiest day of my life. I love Dean, Bernie, Anze, Darryl, Johnny, Drew, Willie, and everyone else who helped me feel this way. You are my lifelong heroes. I love you.

via cdn.nhl.com

via ourhistory.canadiens.com

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

via kingsternet.com

via img.auctiva.com

via www.nhlsnipers.com

via www.insidesocal.com

via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

via nhlauctions.typepad.com

via www.foxsportswest.com

via franchisecup.com

via cdn.nhl.com

via ourhistory.canadiens.com

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

via kingsternet.com

via img.auctiva.com

via www.nhlsnipers.com

via www.insidesocal.com

via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

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Kings Playoff Run Takes on Special Meaning after Loss of One of their Greatest Fans

2012-06-04T23:01:00Z

[Ed. note: Please don't miss this fan's story.]

I wanted to share what I hope to be a touching and memorable story of the one of the Los Angeles Kings most dedicated fans, my dad, Christ K.

I grew up with the sounds of Bob Miller announcing Kings games as my dad watched each and every game religiously. Having grown up in NYC around hockey, when my dad moved to San Diego in 1969 the Kings became his team of choice. Ever since then he has been one of their most diehard fans. If he was not around for a game he would tape each game and we were strictly told not to tell him any details if we already had watched the game. The sounds of him screaming "Scores!" from his den where he watched all the games resonated throughout my childhood. As was his screams at the referees for what he always referred to as "bias against the Kings."

I was not a Kings fan myself until Wayne Gretzky game to LA in 1988 and that is when I jumped on the bandwagon and starting watching the games each week with my dad. The Los Angeles Kings were a huge part of my childhood and it seemed that growing up life revolved around the Kings. I remember vividly the last Cup run for the Kings in 1993 and the infamous Marty McSorley penalty. (Our dog, was actually named Marty after Mr. McSorely himself). That loss still hurts.

This past October 2011, when my dad found out his kidney cancer had reached terminal stages, his first comment to my brother was "I guess that means I won’t live to see the Kings win the Stanley Cup." My brother jokingly responded, "Dad, I won’t live to see the Kings win the Stanley Cup." My dad passed away at home on April 2, 2012 just 10 days before the Kings began their playoff run. We appropriately buried him in his favorite Kings shirt and put "The Great One, We Love You" on his headstone (this jokester and larger than life man referred to himself as The Great One for as long as I can remember).

As the Kings now sit 2-0 and hopefully on their way to the winning the cup, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions. This playoff run has allowed me to continue to feel close to my dad, even after his passing. I also cannot help but feel that the Kings success is also honoring his life and his dedication to the Kings. It also brings me such sadness that if he would have just lived one more month to see this…

I don’t believe that it is the Kings "destiny" to win the cup this year. They are in the position that they are in because of tremendous hard work, great coaching, and dedication to the game of hockey. I also don’t believe that my dad is up in heaven negotiating with god for the Kings to win the cup. That too, would take away from the players and coaches hard work. I guess what I believe and what I would love the Kings players, Kings organization, and fellow fans to know is that the 2012 run for the Stanley Cup has truly taken on a special meaning for myself and my family. We are not only ecstatic as fans to watch the Kings navigate their way through the playoffs with great intensity and wonderful hockey. It has also been a great nod to my dad’s life and passion, and way for us to still be close to him each week. Thank you to the Los Angeles Kings. I know you work your entire lives for this moment. But, please know these playoffs mean just as much to one family in San Diego, CA who recently lost their Great One.

[Ed. note: Please don't miss this fan's story.]

I wanted to share what I hope to be a touching and memorable story of the one of the Los Angeles Kings most dedicated fans, my dad, Christ K.

Match Ups To Watch

2012-05-29T00:52:09Z

With Game 1 of the Stanley Cup just a few days away now, I can't help but think of the potential match ups we are going to see on the ice. Personally I can't wait to see what the fourth line can do for the Kings do for this series. No matter who Sutter puts in there, all three have great chemistry on the ice. Richardson, Nolan, and Fraser have all played well and are the go to line after a penalty or when there needs to be a bit of energy for the team after a goal or big play for the opposition. You can't discount the fact what Kyle Clifford can bring as well. A tough as nails skater who can score, and step up to the plate and play the role of the tough guy on the ice. I would not be surprised if the fourth line does step up and make some huge plays in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Another one to watch out for is what are the Kings going to do on the Power Play in this series? It seems like they have not scored a Power Play goal since the Kennedy administration this postseason. You can't discount the fact they are getting great chances at the net on some occasions, but other times it seems they are confused as to what to do with the puck with a man advantage. I would look to see some changes in their formation or maybe even lines for the Power Play against the Devils, who according to a good friend of mine and fan of the the Devils, "Have the best penalty kill in modern day history."

All I know is I am ready for Game 1 and can't wait for the Kings to keep up the amazing play. Go Kings Go!