I was at the Toyota Sports Center today for the Kings practice and I caught Kings' netminder Jason LaBarbera and he agreed to answer some questions.
First, some thoughts on their practice:
- Caught my first glimpse of Teddy Purcell. He looks like he's fitting in well with the group. He's got a slick, quick release on the puck. There have been comments of his size (6'3", 177 pounds), but he didn't look scrawny by any means. I'm excited to see what he can do out on the ice.
- They were practicing an outbreak passing and back checking drill. My thought was, "Good, they need it." =P
- And how come their neutral zone trap comes out effectively in practice but is no where to be found during the games?
- I'm pretty sure Army told Barbs to "suck it." Ahh, good times.
The Red Wings were practicing at the same time, which I had no idea about until they started to walk by me from the other rink.
- Mike Babcock looked silly in a hoodie sweatshirt and mesh shorts.
- Some of the guys were watching the Kings and I tried to be slick and asked one of them, "Scoping out the competition?" But all I got was a very tired-looking nod of the head.
- I was like 3 feet from Dominik Hasek. SWEET!
Nichole Glaze Photograhy
Q&A with Barbs
So I actually interviewed some other guys (Purcell, which was interrupted by Sully, and Jack Johnson), but Barbs was the player I ACTUALLY wanted to interview. The first section was for him to just pull questions out of a hat and answer; the questions weren't really serious and I was looking to just keep the mood light. I was going to read the question when he pulled it out, but he just read it and answered it.
Barbs: (Pulls question and chuckles) "Whose rear do you dislike most parked in your crease" ...Thomas Holmstrom.
Barbs: "Have you ever been star-struck while out on the ice? If so, who?" ...Uhh...probably Jessie James and Sandra Bullock.
CKim: No, players! (Hearty laughter from both)
Barbs: Oh players! We're in LA, why can't they be celebrities?
CKim: Cause that's not how the game works.
Barbs: Umm, Joe Sakic. (Pulls another question from the hat) "What is your favorite thing to do on an off day? And sleep isn't an answer." Hanging out with my girlfriend.
CKim: Sounds good.
Barbs: Pretty lame...or hang out with my dog we just got. How about that? (Pulls a question) "Patrick Roy or Marty Brodeur." ...Patrick Roy
CKim: Good answer.
Barbs: "Best fighter - Ray Emery, Dan Cloutier, or Patrick Roy." I'm gonna say Jason LaBarbera.
CKim: (Hearty laugh from myself) Alright, I want to do a little...I'm gonna give you a name and two options and it'll kind of be a rapid fire thing. So "Sean Avery - perfect agitator or annoying pest."
Barbs: Annoying pest
CKim: George Parros - well-quaffed mustache or 1970's swinger
Barbs: Well-quaffed mustache
CKim: Vincent Lecavalier - softest hands on the puck or softest hands on the ladies
Barbs: (Laughs) I'll give him the ladies
CKim: Alright. Joe Thornton - exquisite playmaker or too much booty in the pants
Barbs: Exquisite playmaker
CKim: Ilya Kovulchuk - speedy sniper or Ivanans' next target
Barbs: (laughs) speedy sniper
CKim: Dominik Hasek - crazy Czech goalie or fish out of water
Barbs: Both!
CKim: Let's go with...Dion Phaneuf - the Terminator or soft as a snowflake
Barbs: Hate him. None of them, all of them. I can't stand him.
CKim: What? I. Then you should go with the second option. (laughing for a little bit). Okay, "Rick Nash - human bulldozer or a pushover."
Barbs: Human bulldozer
CKim: Sam Gagner - shootout master or baby-faced Oil
Barbs: Baby-faced Oil
CKim: Jonathan Toews - sweet puckhandler or Patrick Kane's sidekick
Barbs: Sweet puckhandler
CKim: Alright, last two. "Top fashionista - Ray Emery or Jason LaBarbera."
Barbs: (Laughs) That one's easy, that's me.
CKim: Wayne Gretzky - best player ever or best player ever
Barbs: (confused) Say that again?
CKim: (incredulous) Wayne Gretzky...best player ever...or best player ever
Barbs: ...best player ever
CKim: Thank you very much!
It ended kind of playfully because of the nature of the last question. But he said that he liked my questions and we went our separate ways. I'm glad Barbs played along with the questions and had a little fun with it.
Much thanks to Barbs for answering my questions! I really appreciated it!
First, some thoughts on their practice:
- Caught my first glimpse of Teddy Purcell. He looks like he's fitting in well with the group. He's got a slick, quick release on the puck. There have been comments of his size (6'3", 177 pounds), but he didn't look scrawny by any means. I'm excited to see what he can do out on the ice.
- They were practicing an outbreak passing and back checking drill. My thought was, "Good, they need it." =P
- And how come their neutral zone trap comes out effectively in practice but is no where to be found during the games?
- I'm pretty sure Army told Barbs to "suck it." Ahh, good times.
The Red Wings were practicing at the same time, which I had no idea about until they started to walk by me from the other rink.
- Mike Babcock looked silly in a hoodie sweatshirt and mesh shorts.
- Some of the guys were watching the Kings and I tried to be slick and asked one of them, "Scoping out the competition?" But all I got was a very tired-looking nod of the head.
- I was like 3 feet from Dominik Hasek. SWEET!
Nichole Glaze PhotograhyQ&A with Barbs
So I actually interviewed some other guys (Purcell, which was interrupted by Sully, and Jack Johnson), but Barbs was the player I ACTUALLY wanted to interview. The first section was for him to just pull questions out of a hat and answer; the questions weren't really serious and I was looking to just keep the mood light. I was going to read the question when he pulled it out, but he just read it and answered it.
Barbs: (Pulls question and chuckles) "Whose rear do you dislike most parked in your crease" ...Thomas Holmstrom.
Barbs: "Have you ever been star-struck while out on the ice? If so, who?" ...Uhh...probably Jessie James and Sandra Bullock.
CKim: No, players! (Hearty laughter from both)
Barbs: Oh players! We're in LA, why can't they be celebrities?
CKim: Cause that's not how the game works.
Barbs: Umm, Joe Sakic. (Pulls another question from the hat) "What is your favorite thing to do on an off day? And sleep isn't an answer." Hanging out with my girlfriend.
CKim: Sounds good.
Barbs: Pretty lame...or hang out with my dog we just got. How about that? (Pulls a question) "Patrick Roy or Marty Brodeur." ...Patrick Roy
CKim: Good answer.
Barbs: "Best fighter - Ray Emery, Dan Cloutier, or Patrick Roy." I'm gonna say Jason LaBarbera.
CKim: (Hearty laugh from myself) Alright, I want to do a little...I'm gonna give you a name and two options and it'll kind of be a rapid fire thing. So "Sean Avery - perfect agitator or annoying pest."
Barbs: Annoying pest
CKim: George Parros - well-quaffed mustache or 1970's swinger
Barbs: Well-quaffed mustache
CKim: Vincent Lecavalier - softest hands on the puck or softest hands on the ladies
Barbs: (Laughs) I'll give him the ladies
CKim: Alright. Joe Thornton - exquisite playmaker or too much booty in the pants
Barbs: Exquisite playmaker
CKim: Ilya Kovulchuk - speedy sniper or Ivanans' next target
Barbs: (laughs) speedy sniper
CKim: Dominik Hasek - crazy Czech goalie or fish out of water
Barbs: Both!
CKim: Let's go with...Dion Phaneuf - the Terminator or soft as a snowflake
Barbs: Hate him. None of them, all of them. I can't stand him.
CKim: What? I. Then you should go with the second option. (laughing for a little bit). Okay, "Rick Nash - human bulldozer or a pushover."
Barbs: Human bulldozer
CKim: Sam Gagner - shootout master or baby-faced Oil
Barbs: Baby-faced Oil
CKim: Jonathan Toews - sweet puckhandler or Patrick Kane's sidekick
Barbs: Sweet puckhandler
CKim: Alright, last two. "Top fashionista - Ray Emery or Jason LaBarbera."
Barbs: (Laughs) That one's easy, that's me.
CKim: Wayne Gretzky - best player ever or best player ever
Barbs: (confused) Say that again?
CKim: (incredulous) Wayne Gretzky...best player ever...or best player ever
Barbs: ...best player ever
CKim: Thank you very much!
It ended kind of playfully because of the nature of the last question. But he said that he liked my questions and we went our separate ways. I'm glad Barbs played along with the questions and had a little fun with it.
Much thanks to Barbs for answering my questions! I really appreciated it!