Kukla's Korner Hockey

Category: Los-Angeles-Kings

Kings Looking For #1 Goalie At Camp

by Paul on 09/10/07 at 10:36 AM ET
Comments (0)

from the LA Times,

” . . . What we do have is a number of goalies who are here to prove themselves and a team also trying to prove itself.”

The group that will compete for the Kings’ top spot in net has changed some from last season.

Garon, Burke, Brust and Fukufuji are gone but Cloutier, who signed a lucrative two-year extension worth $6.2 million before the start of last season but struggled, is back. But he’s far from a lock to start.

That’s because Cloutier is joined by minor league standout Jason LaBarbera, who competed for the job in training camp last year, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, a veteran free agent signed during the off-season, and a couple of young prospects led by Jonathan Bernier, who was impressive playing for the Canadian junior team against Russia in the recently completed Super Series.

more (reg. req.)

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Rob Blake On Jack Johnson & The Kings

by Paul on 09/08/07 at 06:41 PM ET
Comments (0)

from Rich Hammond at Inside the Kings,

Q: Can you talk a little about your relationship with Jack Johnson? You’re expected to mentor him. What’s that been like so far and what do you see from him?

A: You see the competitive nature. Obviously coming in last year for a handful of games, you saw how competitive he was and how much he wanted to battle. I think he understands that his college career is done and now the next step is to play professional hockey.

He’s trained hard this summer, he’s been to a couple different camps and he’s here expressing himself and knowing that he’s going to be a big part of this team. From the older guys’ perspective, he probably can show more things off the ice.

He understands that he’s going to compete on the ice, but it’s a long season and you do need a little guidance throughout that.

more on the Kings…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
  Tags: jack+johnson, rob+blake

All Kings

by Paul on 09/05/07 at 10:28 AM ET
Comments (0)

Rich Hammond at Inside the Kings has been keeping busy with video interviews, transcripts of player interviews, etc. 
Check it out, you will be impressed…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Kings Not A Playoff Team

by Paul on 09/04/07 at 01:25 PM ET
Comments (0)

from E.J. Hradek of ESPN,

In all, the Kings’ summer signings didn’t do much for me. The defense should be better, but it won’t show if the club doesn’t get consistent goaltending. Up front, I don’t know what to expect from Handzus, Nagy and Calder. The answer might be ... not much.
I think it’s pretty obvious the club’s future rests firmly in the hands of young vets like Mike Cammalleri, Alexander Frolov and Dustin Brown, as well as top young prospects such as Anze Kopitar, Jack Johnson and Bernier. In time, as these players continue to mature, the Kings have a chance to be more competitive. For now, however, I don’t see them making more than a 10-point improvement in the tough Western Conference.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Brady Murray Knows LA

by Paul on 09/04/07 at 07:25 AM ET
Comments (0)

from the LA Times,

“I guess you could say that I know my way around as far as rookies go,” said Murray, son of St. Louis Coach Andy Murray, who coached the Kings from 1999 to 2006. “I’ve been coming to [the Kings’] rookie camps since I was 16. But things are a little different right now.”
Murray, who turned 23 last month, was drafted by the Kings in the fifth round (152nd overall) in 2003 but has not played a game for the organization. In a way, Murray is glad that his father, who was fired in March 2006, is no longer around.
“It was a situation that no matter what, some people would say that I was only here because of my dad,” said the younger Murray, who signed a multiyear entry-level contract with the Kings in May after two seasons of playing for Rapperswil-Jona of the Swiss league.
“It used to get under my skin a little, so it’s good that I get a chance now to

more (reg. req.)

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Why London

by Paul on 09/02/07 at 09:48 AM ET
Comments (0)

from Erin Nicks at the Ottawa Sun,

If anything, you’d think the NHL would wish to play a game in a country with a legitimate zeal for the sport, such as Sweden or Finland.
And if it were a matter of stepping on the toes of the elite leagues overseas, one would assume some sort of compromise could be reached to ensure that all parties remained content.
The entire idea is utterly bizarre, but it enters a new level of head scratching when you consider the two teams picked for these monumental games: The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks are somewhat understandable coming off a Stanley Cup championship.
Sending the Kings, however, is quite the puzzler.

more

I am really surprised Erin doesn’t mention one of the reason’s the Kings are involved is the Kings and the O2, the venue the games will be played in while in London, share the same owner.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Phil Anschutz One Powerful Man

by Paul on 08/30/07 at 10:20 AM ET
Comments (0)

from Evan Weiner at the NY Sun,

NHL fans are about to find out just how powerful the owner of the Los Angeles Kings, Phil Anschutz, is. Anschutz — who is not a publicity hound and rarely gives interviews — now has a chance to orchestrate the league’s next expansion between now and 2009 by placing teams into arenas he has built or is building in Kansas City and Las Vegas….
The NHL’s expansion plans were solidified when Anschutz’s AEG entered into a partnership with Harrah’s to build an arena on Harrah’s property near the Las Vegas strip. The new building will be opened in 2010 and it appears that Las Vegas already has an owner in movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who has spoken with NHL officials about placing a team in Las Vegas.
Neither Kansas City nor Las Vegas is a big TV market. But if Anschutz wants teams in those markets, the odds are pretty good that his fellow NHL owners, along with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly, will see it his way.

read on

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Kings Name Lewis Asst. Coach

by Paul on 08/28/07 at 08:31 PM ET
Comments (0)

from the LA Kings,

The Los Angeles Kings have named Dave Lewis as Assistant Coach and have promoted Jamie Kompon to Assistant Coach and Director of Amateur Development, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi and Kings Head Coach Marc Crawford announced Tuesday. Lewis joins Mike Johnston (Associate Coach), Kompon, Nelson Emerson (Assistant Coach), Bill Ranford (Goaltending Coach) and Chad Smith (Strength and Conditioning Coach) on Crawford’s coaching staff.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Time For Cammalleri To Step-Up

by Paul on 08/16/07 at 11:20 PM ET
Comments (0)

from Rich Hammond of Inside the Kings,

Now, it’s time for some of the younger guys to step forward, and Cammalleri’s name is at the top of that list. Lombardi said it himself, in so many words. Goals are nice, but a guy like Cammalleri also has to take responsibility for winning and losing, and now’s the time for that.
Based on what I’ve seen, it’s coming. Under Murray, Cammalleri was a bit bland in public, most likely because he was afraid to say the wrong thing. Last year he seemed to become a bit more confident and is always available in the dressing room to be a team spokesman. That’s important, as far as team leadership. At the end of last season, Mike was very vocal about his optimism for the future and his belief in the young players.

more, including the recent arbitraion ruling should be a motivating factor for Cammalleri…

Filed in: Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Tverdovsky Signs 5-Year Deal With Salavat Yulaev

by George Malik on 08/08/07 at 08:50 AM ET
Comments (0)

from Sovsport.ru (translated below)...

Oleg Tverdovsky’s headed to Bashkortostan, where he’ll play for Salavat Yulaev for the next five years:

In [the arena] the player and the agent appear at 11:40. Oleg [Tverdovsky] in a strict black suit, but without a tie, in the same colors the elegant varnished shoes. At once follow in a cabinet of the general director of club Vadim Rybinskogo. There Oleg Gross, wthe GM “Salavat,” waits for them. All is settled literally in fifteen minutes of formality, and Tverdovsky leaves obviously happy. Beside him, Gross with a pack of papers.
Question: Oleg, the contract with Ufa is signed?
Tverdovsky: Yes. For five years.
Question: Whether is not present in the agreement [an] item, where you can break off [the contract] and return ahead of schedule to the NHL?
Tverdovsky: No.
Question: It turns out, that at the termination of the contract to you will be 36 years old. Whether follows from this, what you finish your career in Ufa?
Tverdovsky: Only 36! It is not necessary to think so far forward. For me now the main thing – stability, it would be desirable to play and receive pleasure from hockey that, in the NHL, did not suffice. And conditions of life and other moments – are secondary.

Filed in: European Hockey, Los Angeles Kings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

« Previous       ‹ First  < 92 93 94 95 96 >  Last ›      Next »