Yesterday, I posted a link to my feature on new Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell. I figured I would post the full interview that I did with Mitchell, because there’s some interesting stuff in here that, for the  sake of brevity, didn’t make its way into the feature. Here’s the full transcript… —– Question: I was [...]

Here’s some info on the six players invited to the Kings’ rookie camp… RILEY BRACE — An 18-year-old left winger who totaled 17 goals, 19 assists and 26 penalty minutes in 66 games with Mississauga St. Michael’s of the OHL. It was his second junior season. ZACH HARNDEN — A 20-year-old right winger who totaled [...]

The Kings have announced the schedule for their rookie camp, which precedes regular training camp. The camp will run from Sept. 11-13 in El Segundo and then will be followed by games on Sept. 14-15 against Phoenix Coyotes prospects in Glendale Ariz. First, here’s the list of participants: FORWARDS: Riley Brace, Kyle Clifford, Robert Czarnik, [...]

Kings prospect Brayden Schenn is one of 23 players who will participate in a photo shoot Wednesday in Toronto, with the photos designed to be used for “upcoming trading card and memorabilia launches.” It’s called the “2010 NHLPA Rookie Showcase,” so it seems as though at least someone out there likes Schenn’s chances of making [...]

As promised a couple days ago, here’s the feature I did on new Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell for LAKings.com, in which Mitchell goes more in-depth about his recovery from concussion symptoms and the new perspective it has given him. Thanks for reading! Mitchell out to prove he’s healthy

Best wishes to Bernie Nicholls, whose mother is scheduled to undergo heart surgery. Nicholls had been scheduled to participate in the Kings’ “Hockey Fest” on Sept. 11 in El Segundo, but former Kings defenseman Jay Wells has been added to the event and will participate in the “Life of a King” panel with Jim Fox, [...]

At the end of a follow-up interview with Willie Mitchell today, I asked him the question that seems to be predominant in a lot of fans’ minds whenever a free agent signs: what number will he wear? Mitchell wore No. 8 in Vancouver, but that’s sort of taken by a 20-year-old Norris Trophy candidate. Mitchell [...]

As we know, the Kings’ defense filled in a significant piece yesterday when the team added Willie Mitchell. Mitchell joins Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Matt Greene and Rob Scuderi as a clear “top five” — although Greene is expected to miss perhaps the first month with a shoulder injury — but how will all the [...]

Somewhat lost in yesterday’s Willie Mitchell news was the fact that the Kings will be getting significantly more exposure on national television during this season. Yesterday’s release revealed that the Kings will be on NBC twice (Feb. 13 at Philadelphia and March 13 at Dallas), on Versus five times (Oct. 25 at Minnesota, Dec. 13 [...]

Here’s the second half of the quotes from the conference call with Willie Mitchell and Dean Lombardi… —– Question: Willie, how long has it been that you’ve been symptom-free? MITCHELL: “It goes back to the middle of June, when I started working out. I started feeling better in the middle of June. Instead of cranking [...]

The quotes from the conference call with Willie Mitchell and Dean Lombardi are quite substantial, so I’ll break them into two parts and post the first half right now. In short, Mitchell talked about how he delayed his decision, in terms of picking a team, well beyond July 1 in order to make sure he [...]

I’m about to jump on the Kings’ conference call with Willie Mitchell, but for now, here are a couple things. First, a few quotes from Mitchell, as provided by the Kings, and then the video of Heidi Androl’s interview with Kings assistant general manager Ron Hextall… Q&A WITH WILLIE MITCHELL On Joining The Kings: “It’s [...]

A teleconference has tentatively been scheduled for late this afternoon for Willie Mitchell and the Kings, so that will be the opportunity for me to get quotes and details, etc. Stay tuned for that. For now, there should be a Ron Hextall interview with Heidi Androl up on LAKings.com soon. As for the signing, Mitchell [...]

The Kings have reached an agreement with defenseman Willie Mitchell for a two-year contract worth $3.5 million per year.

As the Kings wait to hear about Willie Mitchell’s plans for the season — what is it about guys who seemingly can’t decide where to sign this summer? — there’s one member of the organization who got an up-close and personal look at the defenseman the Kings would like to sign. This story in 24 [...]

Bob Miller was a guest on 710-AM’s L.A. Sports Saturday with host Mark Willard, talking about the Kings’ prospects this season and some other sports topics, including Brett Favre and his beloved Chicago White Sox. Despite his poor taste in baseball teams, Bob is a great guy and always a great interview… Bob Miller on [...]

One thing I forgot to mention about the retreat — which is odd, because it’s one of the things that interested me most — was the announcement that Staples Center will have a new high-definition scoreboard/video board for the start of this season. Those of us who sit in the 300 level, in particular, know [...]

As I mentioned earlier, I got the chance on Thursday to attend a “retreat” for Kings staff at L.A. Live, an all-day event at the Grammy Museum that included approximately 60 staff members and featured 12 presentations from members of the organization. The event was hosted (for lack of a better term) by team president [...]

Yesterday, I was invited to spend the day downtown at a Kings staff meeting, in which heads of different departments (from hockey operations to group sales, and everything in between) spoke about the present and future of their respective areas. It was a highly interesting day, and I’ll have a significant report on that soon. [...]

The NHL started its “research camp” today in Toronto, where 33 draft-eligible prospects skated and tested out proposed new rules that the league wanted to get an ice-level look at. The proposed changes, as posted by NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, included… *Hybrid icing rule *No line change for team committing an offside *Crease reset rule *Face-off [...]