[W]hen your list ends, you've got about 5 or 6 kids that you still just -- you wish you had more picks. And it's not feasible that you're always going to get your kids, but we've been working the phones pretty hard, and we got them all... [T]hey've all made the commitment to come to be at our camp, and these are kids that we would have taken, according to our list, in the 5th or 6th rounds.

We certainly hope that we can find one or steal one out of our invites as well, who are going to make things that much more special.

-- Mike Futa, Co-Director of Amateur Scouting

Since 2007, Dean Lombardi stockpiled as many extra draft picks as he could. Even with packaging multiple picks to move up (in the process selecting  Derek Forbort, Tyler Toffoli, Alec Martinez, Colten Teubert, Andrew Campbell, Jean-Francois Berube, Maxim Kitsyn, Nicholas Shore), Lombardi still drafted more players than any other team besides the NY Islanders over this rebuilding period. 

In 2011, however, they not only lacked extra draft picks, but dealt their first rounder. 

The Los Angeles Kings are entering a new phase: players acquired for picks, not picks for players. They're a playoff team now, not a cellar-dweller. They can't count on high draft position any longer. And, with fewer swings at bat, it becomes more difficult for the scouting staff to beat the odds and reach Lombardi's goal: drafting at least two future NHL players per year.

By inviting undrafted players to development camp, Futa and company hope to pick up extra picks for free. Martin Jones, the #3 goalie on the Kings' depth chart, is an example of one such successful find. Could there be another welcome surprise this year? Let's take a look at some of the invitees.

A full list can be found here.  I'll start with five names that intrigue me.

Continue reading this post »

The second round and beyond: now featuring the excitement of actually having picks!

Who will Lombardi and co. draft at #49?  Which prospects do you have your eye on?  Will Futa and Yannetti bolster their reputation for finding late-round gems?

Come by and share your thoughts.

We'll also keep an eye on Smyth updates.  Word from McKenzie is that the Brule deal has fallen though over health issues, and Tambo's head is still firmly up his ass.

Six picks total: 49th, 80th, 110th, 140th, 170th [UPDATE: traded to NSH w/ 2012 3rd rounder for #82], and 200th.  Yeah, it's early.  But never too early for prospect excitement.

USA Hockey invites 40 skaters to Junior Camp - FoxNews.com
The first stage to finalizing the U.S. roster for the 2012 World Junior Championship was made by USA Hockey on Thursday with the release of the 40 skaters invited to the National Junior Evaluation Camp this August in Lake Placid, N.Y. Among the players set to attend the camp, which will be held at Lake Placid's Olympic Center from Aug. 6-13, are seven returnees from last year's team that won the bronze medal in Buffalo. Defensemen Justin Faulk, Derek Forbort and Jonathan Merrill received invitations, as well as forwards Nick Bjugstad, Charlie Coyle, Emerson Etem and Jason Zucker. [...] Fourteen NHL teams will have at least one prospect at the camp, topped by three from the Chicago Blackhawks [...]. The Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Los Angeles Kings will have two players there each. [...]

[...] Defensemen: Adam Clendening, Boston University (2011 draft eligible); Brian Cooper, Fargo, USHL (2012 draft eligible); Justin Faulk, Minnesota-Duluth (Hurricanes); Derek Forbort, North Dakota (Kings); Kevin Gravel, St. Cloud State (Kings); Justin Holl, Minnesota (Blackhawks); Stephen Johns, Notre Dame (Blackhawks); Seth Jones, USNTDP, USHL (2013 draft eligible); Austin Levi, Plymouth, OHL (Hurricanes); Jonathon Merrill, Michigan, (Devils); Connor Murphy, USNTDP, USHL (2011 draft eligible); Jamieson Oleksiak, Northeastern, (2011 draft eligible); Robbie Russo, USNTDP, USHL (2011 draft eligible); Jared Tinordi, London, OHL (Canadiens).

There's more to the article, including the list of invited forwards, but it's not Kings-related, so what do I care? Gravel and Forbort will both be sophomores this fall. (Interesting trivia I discovered while compiling the Lombardi draft history post: the picks Lombardi acquired in trading Jason Labarbera and Ryan Munce yielded Gravel and Jean-Francois Berube. Not bad.)

(More trivia: Gravel pronounces his name gra-VELL.)

Lombardi [on Trevor Lewis]: He's a statement for the organization as a whole. First of all, as an individual, he's always been a very focused kid. He'll do anything that's asked. He's always been one of our best students in the development program. And he's not done getting better. I'm convinced that there's still upside [and] a big part of his upside is [...] his will. [...] This is your minor league system now starting to bear fruit. This is the way [...] players should come up. Finish your junior career. [Learn] to be a top player in the minors, to be one of the leaders down there ([now] he's a much more vocal guy) learn to play the right way (we play a very similar system down there as we do up top) and then break your way in on the fourth line here with a limited role, [...] show you can play, [...] get more ice time. That's the way for a young professional to come up. [...] He's a great example of the way I think the organization should work, from top to bottom. 

Remember that the next time you read that prospect x is down to his last strike, has one more chance to stick with the team, is over, is a bust, or whatever other knee-jerk comment people make when they personally are tired of the same old prospect not turning into a star after three years, or four, or five. It's always a good idea to assume Lombardi is more patient than most of us. And people are always looking for home runs when they should just be looking to get on base. 

AHL affiliate for Los Angeles Kings loaded with NHL-ready talent - Hockey's Future

A solid season which saw the Manchester Monarchs make the playoffs for the ninth time in ten years ended on a sour note as the team lost a hard-fought seven-game series in overtime to the Binghamton Senators during the first round. Still, the campaign was a successful one in many regards, with players such as Dwight King and Brandon Kozun having breakout years, Martin Jones and Jeff Zatkoff filling in admirably for stud goaltender Jonathan Bernier, and youngsters such as Brayden Schenn, Tyler Toffoli, and Jordan Weal getting their first taste of AHL action.

[...]

Forward Andrei Loktionov, C, 20

[...]  With the Kings, he posted seven points in 19 games despite never quite finding a niche on a particular line at his natural position of center. In 34 AHL games he posted 31 points and was the most consistent producer on the Monarchs' roster. He will enter next season looking to lock down an offensive role with the big club[...]

Justin Azevedo, C, 23

After two injury-riddled seasons, Azevedo was finally able to prove that he can perform over the course of a full professional campaign, cementing his status as a go-to offensive player for the Monarchs'. He was the top scoring center on the team,posting 53 points in a team-high 79 games. Despite his slightness of build, a solid start to next season may earn Azevedo a cup of coffee at the NHL level, being that he's clearly paid his dues in giving three years of professional hockey to the Kings organization to date. [...]

Corey Elkins, C, 26

[...] A late bloomer in college, Elkins posted solid totals of 21 goals and 43 points in 73 games as an AHL rookie in 2009-10 and put up similar numbers this past season, scoring 18 goals and totaling 44 points in 76 contests. A two-way center by trade, Elkins is on the Kings shortlist for players capable of assuming a bottom six role [...]

Dwight King, LW, 21

[...] After posting 35 points split between 72 games with Ontario of the ECHL and Manchester of the AHL, King broke out this season with 24 goals and 52 points in 72 games, good for third in team scoring. His size and checking ability combined with his rapidly developing offensive game make him an intriguing prospect. He is primed to ascend to the NHL as soon as a hole opens in the bottom-six on the left side, which could occur as soon as next season with the possible departure of impending free-agent Alexei Ponikarovsky.

[...]

Bud Holloway, RW, 23

Having just completed his second straight season as the Monarchs' top scorer, Holloway is making it difficult for the Kings to justify not giving him a cup of coffee to date. He led the team with 28 goals and 61 points in 78 games and had another solid playoff performance in which he accumulated 11 points in seven games. Though Holloway is a bit of a niche player, possessing neither elite offensive skill nor defensive acumen, his well-rounded game is suited to a depth role and it's hard to imagine him staying out of the NHL for long with the AHL success he's had.

Brandon Kozun, RW, 21

Though his first professional season was not without its speed bumps, Kozun successfully transitioned his game to the AHL to the tune of 23 goals and 48 points in 73 games, good for eighth best amongst league rookies. Playing largely in a second line role with ample powerplay time, Kozun was the only first year player on the roster to finish in the top 15 on the Monarchs in scoring. With the Kings looking for scoring help on the wings and Kozun developing well, it would not be far-fetched to expect him to get a crack with the Kings next season, though he's likely at least another year away from landing a full-time role. [...]  

Jordan Nolan, RW, 21

Nolan understood his role for the Monarchs this year and performed it well. Utilizing his 6'3, 217 lb frame, Nolan accumulated 10 fighting majors and 115 penalty minutes to go with 17 points in 75 games. More importantly, he was a physical presence that the team was able to roll consistently.  [...] He looks to have the makings of a new wave enforcer who can take a regular shift on the fourth line and drop the gloves when necessary.

Defensemen Slava Voynov, D, 21

Save for Drew Doughty, there's no defenseman in the Kings organization with the same offensive upside as Voynov. The 21-year-old blueliner finished the year with 51 points in 76 games, good for seventh in league scoring amongst defensemen. His plus-21 rating was tops on the Monarchs and a drastic improvement from the minus-three he accumulated in his first two years with the team.  [...]

Thomas Hickey, D, 22

Having lost most of the 2009-10 season to injury, that Hickey suited up for 77 games for the Monarchs this past year was an important step forward in his development. It's expected that he'll produce more than the 24 points he totaled this past season, but more importantly his defensive game has shown steady improvement with each passing professional game.

[...]

Jake Muzzin, D, 22

One of the biggest surprises in training camp, Muzzin made the Kings' opening day roster and stuck for 11 games before being sent to Manchester for the rest of the season. With the Monarchs, he totaled 18 points in 45 games and posted a very healthy plus-20 rating. He was utilized in a variety of roles, mainly focusing on employing his grit and size in defensive situations and his cannon of a slapshot to create offense. [...] Aside from the occasional lapses, which will undoubtedly become less frequent as he gets more experience under his belt, Muzzin is close to being NHL ready.

Andrew Campbell, D, 23

[...] Campbell had a good season for Manchester as a steadying presence. Despite the blunders, which he has slowly but surely worked to remove from his game, Campbell was often on the ice in the final minutes of games and employed heavily in penalty kill situations. He posted 12 points in 76 games but more impressive is his plus-12 rating, having entered this season with a career minus-31 in his first two professional seasons.

[...]

Martin Jones, 21

Jones' season was one with peaks and valleys. He started the season on an absolute tear, seizing the starting job and boasting a 12-2-0 record through December and earning the right to play in the AHL All-Star Game, but ultimately had some struggles down the stretch and finished the year by going 11-10-1 in his last 22 starts. In total, he posted a 23-12-1 record with a 2.25 goals against average and .924 save percentage. [...]

Jeff Zatkoff, 23

[...] A month of March in which he posted a 1.55 goals against average, .949 save percentage, and two shutouts earned him a majority of the team's starts in the playoffs. Jones' inconsistency may have earned Zatkoff a new contract this summer [...].

But that's the first I've heard of it. Oh, wait, it's on LAKingsInsider, too. As of when? Oh, four minutes ago. Okay, sorry to be late to the party. 

With Deslauriers signed, that leaves Michael Pelech as the only unsigned prospect with a 6/1/11 deadline (college players -- Roe and Turnbull, I believe -- have till 8/15). As I said before, I don't think Pelech will get a contract. But, as I said before, what do I know?

There's obviously some latitude in these categories. I could easily have labeled Muzzin, Forbort, Kolomatis or Mullen, but the truth is they're betwixt and between, as they say. My criteria for inclusion here is that the player needs at least to be able to fill the stay-at-home role. As with the previous depth-chart posts, () means they're RFA, (()) means they're UFA and [] means they're unsigned draft picks. 

Rob Scuderi

6'0", 218, shoots left

• Scuderi is the gold-standard for stay-at-home d-men. Experienced, responsible, smart, calm, gets his shot through every once in a while, and is capable of making three or four spectacular saves in last seconds of game seven of the cup finals. Not for us, but what the hell. 
• He's signed for two more years. 

Continue reading this post »

Mississauga Article: Fraser's OT heroics keep Ice alive
The win guaranteed the Ice a spot in the tiebreaker game Thursday night against the loser of tonight’s game between the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors and Owen Sound Attack. The Sea Dogs, winners of their first two games, had already qualified for Sunday’s championship game with a 3-2 overtime win over the Attack on Monday night. 

So, now, the Maxim Kitsyns -- I mean, the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors -- play their old friends Owen Sound tomorrow night, and one of two things will happen:

• They win, and they proceed to the semi-final game, against the winner of the tie-breaker game between the ice and Owen Sound.
• They lose, and have to play the Ice in the tie-breaker, which they must win to get to the semi-finals against their old friends Owen Sound.