Following yesterday’s training-camp preview look at the Kings’ forwards, here’s a breakdown of where things stand with the defense…
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DEFENSE
If the Kings could fast-forward through the first month of the season, they would probably be thrilled with their defense, which is shaping up to be the best unit of the Dean Lombardi era. There is, however, the pesky matter of Matt Greene’s shoulder.
The Kings have a clear top four in Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi and Willie Mitchell. Those two pairings have the potential to eat up at least 46 minutes per game with some stellar two-way play, which would put less pressure on the third pairing (and the goalie).
At the start of the season, however, that third pairing will feel some heat. Greene is expected to miss the first month after undergoing shoulder surgery in July. That, most likely, will leave the Kings in the situation of having a 5/6 defensive pair without a full season of NHL experience. Davis Drewiske and Peter Harrold are the two holdovers who could step in, but a long list of prospects will also get a look.
First, the sure things. Doughty was a Norris Trophy finalist at age 20 last season and still has room for improvement, a sobering prospect for opposing teams. An improvement in fitness, and a natural elevation of his game, with age and experience, will make Doughty a force this season.
It’s easy to forget that Johnson is only 23, an age at which many defensemen are just starting to figure out the NHL game. After an uneven first half of last season, Johnson was very strong after the Olympics, giving hope to the idea that he’s ready for a major breakthrough.
Scuderi was quietly excellent last season, and provided the kind of low-key support that allowed Doughty to shine. If, as is highly possible, the Kings pair Doughty with Mitchell this season, Scuderi could provide the same type of boost to Johnson.
Mitchell is presumed to be ready to go, after missing half of last season with a concussion. A leader, a physical player and an underrated puck-mover, Mitchell could be a great fit with Doughty, although all eyes will be on Mitchell to see if he can stay healthy.
Greene, when healthy, will be where the Kings want him: playing as a hard-nosed, responsible fifth defenseman. Who his partner will be, upon his return, will be one of the most compelling questions in training camp.
So plentiful are the candidates for the sixth and seventh defensive spots that the Kings could practically do a “Surivivor”-style reality show. There are incumbents Drewiske and Harrold. There is European import Johan Fransson. There are last year’s Manchester Monarchs and junior players, such as Jake Muzzin, David Kolomatis, Thomas Hickey, Alec Martinez, Viatcheslav Voynov, Colten Teubert and Andrew Campbell.
For the first month, without Greene, the Kings will likely turn to at least one player with solid NHL experience. That’s good news for Drewiske, who played 42 games last season but couldn’t stick full-time because Murray wanted more consistency in Drewiske’s physical play.
Harrold, by virtue of his ability to play a “utility,” defense/forward role, might have the inside track on the seventh spot, leaving one spot open — for at least the first month — for a handful of rookies.
All have questions. Can Hickey, Teubert and/or Voynov stay healthy? Is Muzzin, one of the OHL’s top defensemen last season, ready for the jump? Would the transition from Sweden be too much for Fransson?
I really liked Drewiske’s game last season, too bad he got injured and lost his spot to none other than Randy Jones. I (like many) could not agree with Murrays decision to keep playing Jones, but if Drewiske can toughen up a little bit then I guess that would make Murray happy. Drewiske can move the puck and can be patient with it and make the right decisions, if he can stay in there the Kings would have 3 excellent combos of 1 puck mover and 1 stay at home guy. I guess I would give Harrold a shot to see what he can do while Greene is out, but I would rather have him as the 7th D and hopefully everyone stays health and he doesnt play much.
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Chris Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
@Sebastian,
I totally agree about Drewiske. Before he was injured, he was completely solid playing as our sixth defenseman. He was very solid positionally, and his puck moving skills have always gone underappreciated. In addition, thanks to time spent with Greene, I think he was really starting to develop a physical side to his game. It’s too bad the injury really derailed him. If he can come into this season the same or better than he came into last season, I think he’s a lock for fifth defenseman until Greene comes back.
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KC23 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
@Sebastian,
I also agree Whiskey was showing promise before he got hurt. I think he has a strong shot. Out of all those defenseman there should be a decent chance of a diamond in the ruff or better.
With a top 4 defense like that, the King’s will be no fun for other teams to play. Not to mention it is likely that either Bernier or Quick will be very strong.
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The depth of this team is ridiculous… it’ll be interesting to see which young guys make the roster during Greene’s injury. I’d suspect Doughty-Scuderi, Johnson-Mitchell, Harrold-Drewiske, and maybe Voynov or Martinez for the final spot.
Once Greene comes back, Harrold would be the 7th, and we wait to see what the young guys to with another year in Manchester.
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KC23 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
@Kevin Y,
I was at game 3 of the playoffs and Harold was in way over his head against the Canucks. He was directly responsible for the Canucks first goal and looked weak throughout that game. I would be disappointed if he was one of the ones that make it.
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YoBro Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
@KC23, I, too, was at game 3, and Harrold wasn’t weak throughout the game as he left early with a separated shoulder he suffered on the play where the Nux scored. I thought he played with a good deal of confidence and made smart plays up to that point.Was he valuable? Well, we didn’t win again once he went down. I hope he bulked up some over the summer, so when he wades in, he doesn’t get hurt.
Go Kings
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My bet is on Franson to make it. Sweden league is hard and Kopi also played there before he joined LA Kings!
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Bossy22 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:35 am
@Agame,
Great point!!!!!! 25 years old, played against men for the last 5 years, rising to the top of the Swedish league. I also feel very confident that he will impress and be the one to beat this summer. Maybe we finally get or payback for trading away Norstrom. He was also a seasoned pro out of Sweden, when he went to the Rangers, and turned everyone’s head in training camp, with less offensive upside.
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Doughty – Mitchell
Johnson – Scuderi
Drewiske – Martinez
Harrold
Hickey
*Greene
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KC23 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
@VanKingsFan,
That would be my guess as well, but the wild card is Franson. No idea what he will be like, but considering his age and his experience it should be very interesting to see.
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CupRun2011 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
@VanKingsFan,
I think it’s way too risky to have two rookies at the 5 & 6. What about this combo…
Doughty – Mitchell
Johnson – Drewiske
Scuderi – Voynov/Hickey
Harrold (swing)
That way we have a true #1/2 pairing; Johnson has a D that has some NHL experience; and Scuds can back up a rookie puck mover to give them some experience and confidence.
When Greener comes back, keep Whisky, or if Voynoy/Hickey impress, they stay up with the big club and Whiskey is #7 and Harrold is insurance in the press box.
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1) What a nice problem to have. From our goaltending out to the D, which they say is what wins championships, I’m feeling very excited for this season!!!
2) With all this depth and youth, why haven’t we put something together to bring in that top-6 forward that we so desperately need?
3) I’m pulling for Muzzin, but if he doesn’t make it I’ll be okay with who does because they earned it. I wish I could attend camp and see all these guys compete for those spots!
GKG!!!
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CMON RICH ! Colton Teubert,really? His hockey sense at this stage in his development is still piss poor, I know, I have seen him play several times. In my opinion, he wont be ready for the NHL until at least 25. And also, I cant believe you didnt mention Niclas Deslauriers, this kid plays well at game speed every time I have seen him play. I think he will be in the NHL before Teubert.
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Bossy22 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:39 am
@puck73,
Most under appreciated player in our system,
Way ahead of Teubert.
Has alittle bit of a mean streak as well
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Quisp Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:55 am
@puck73,
Teubert is injured anyway. Deslauriers is 19. I don’t really understand your use of caps and exclamation points. Teubert is mentioned in a laundry list of prospects and then again when listing players with injury problems.
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puck73 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
@Quisp, Teubert may be injured, but that does not take away from the fact that he is a project. I have seen Colton play several times and when I see him play it reminds of when we first got Jack Johnson..a guy that was trying too hard instead of just playing positional hockey, in other words..just let the game come to him. Does he have the tools to succeed in the NHL? No question, but it is gonna take him more time to “Get” the game then Deslauriers will. This is not a knock on Colton, I am just illustrating that every player has a different learning curve.
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KC23 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
@puck73,
Rich would of been remiss not to mention Teubert at all and he gave him no special mention. Seems to me Rich was spot on.
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I cant wwait to get NHL11 and check out how our prospects are rated
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jayhay Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:31 am
@VanKingsFan,
pickin mine up today!!!! wonder if they had time to make Mitchell a King or stil a “FA”. what # should i give him? will prolly adjust roster to make Fransson on the club, we’ll see tho.
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mrbob25 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
@jayhay,
Though there is no download rosters update at this time, to get around you have to attempt to play a game online. You don’t actually have to play the game but by attempting will prompt you to download a new roster set. Mitchell and Poni are on the Kings as well as all prospects including this years draftees except Forbort, Gravel, and Kitsyn. Players like Toffoli, Weal Clifford, Vey, Deslaurias are all there ( I know they all were not drafted this year.)
If you need to create a player do this after you have downloaded the rosters and place this person where you want. Doing this before the roster update will get rid of your CAP. The only problem I found with EA’s version of this roster update is that Fransson and Clifford were unsigned. Pretty sure Clifford got a three year entry deal and Fransson a one-year. If you create a new GM mode file to start at the entry draft you have the ability to trade Halpern, Modin and Jones contracts though you can just not re-sign them when July 1st rolls around. If you start your season at Regular Season Halpern, Modin and Jones contracts are gone.
Remember if you create a player place them where you want before hand and they will get a $1 million cap hit for three years. Creating a 99 everything player and putting him in FA will force you to sign him to at least an $8 million cap hit.
Hope this helps. Had a hell of a time figuring this all out. Also I have heard that this method of updated rosters doesn’t work for offline play however, it worked just fine for me.
Even Zatkoff and Martin Jones existed in the roster update. I was stoked. Cheers.
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Choralone Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
@mrbob25, Nice post – thanks a bunch for the info!
sstephen17 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
@mrbob25, Thanks for the info. Are you playing the XBox or PS3 version? I’m on PS3. Basically what I want to do is start a season mode with the updated rosters. So if I try to play an online match, will it update the rosters for season mode as well?
On a funny aside, I’m playing the battle for the cup mode. Randy Jones scored the game winner in OT for me to forace a 7th game.
mrbob25 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
@sstephen17,
I am playing with PS3. From my understanding and logic when you upload the new roster by attempting to play online, the rosters should be updated for all created game play from there on out. It asks you if you want the new rosters to overide the default game released rosters.
It should work for season mode, GM mode, be a pro etc. If it doens’t then that is why I was told it doesn’t work for offline play. For some reason it worked for me. If you download rosters after you have created a season, tournament, GM, be a pro, etc. it wont work.
What I do is buy the game every year. Find the latest roster update, create a GM and play as many seasons as possible with me created as a 94-98 overall player on the Kings and win as many cups as I can until the next years game it out. TMI. Hope this helps.
KC23 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
@VanKingsFan,
Rosters don’t come updated (yet), but what a fantastic game. NHL 10 I played “season mode” virtualy all the time I played. NHL 11 I tried “Be a Pro” and I’m hooked. It is a whole different game as you start as a rookie prospect trying to make the King’s roster.
I ended up on the 3rd line of Manchester and have worked myself up to the first line. Manchester is the best AHL team so has been a blast. Now I’m trying to earn a spot on the King’s roster.
There are excellent feed back screens on your play. You turn the puck over or let yourself get hit hard and several other aspects you lose or gain points from the coach.
Fun stuff.
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Once again – Thanks Rich! it’s nice to talk about hockey again.
I think we all agree our top 4 is set, whoever TM decides to pair up.
although I have a soft spot for Harrold, I just don’t see him making it for any extended period. He’s had the opportunity to make a splash, but I think he’s trade bait as a solid utility player.
My picks are Fransson and Drewskie…with Muzzin making a push for a tough decision by the coaching staff.
what a great back line now and into the future
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The Kings must be deep…you’re top ten in hits and blocks and a definite #5 defensemen. Talk about taking one for the team?
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I really think Hickey has the upper edge in getting that 3rd pairing spot. The reason I believe this is because he is a has good puck moving skills and can skate well. Murray like to pair a definsive def with offensive def. That is why he kept playing jones last year.
I would like to see
doughnuts-wille
J(MF?)J-scuds
hickey-greene (DD/franson to start season)
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We B Ilya'n Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:40 am
@tornado12,
I like your pairings but would like to see Drewiske with Franson to start the season, then give Hickey a shot once Greene is healthy.
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tornado12 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:43 am
@We B Ilya’n, does anyone know what kind of player Franson is? is he stay at home/hitter/puck mover?
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Real 7 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
@tornado12,
I posted a video previously….skating with the puck is his game….here,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djjRuLxf2lI
and other videos follow…
Real 7 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
@tornado12,
his passing & shooting look pretty impressive too….could be a big offensive threat & big help on the pp….how about Johnson/Fransson at the points, unit #1, Doughty/Hickey?, unit #2…
KC23 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
@tornado12,
Reminds me of JJ first half of last year. Good puck skills, but he won’t be weaving past NHL level defenseman like that as JJ found out. Franson would have to be paired with Green IMHO. He will require a stay at home defenseman watching his back.
I’d really love for Campbell to play a game (well 1 period or less should do it) and then maybe the powers that be will see this guy just plain sucks and they will get him out of the organization.
Can’t wait for the season to start……
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launch Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 11:47 am
@Simarosa,
geez…..what’s your beef with Campbell?
not even sure if i’ve ever seen him skate, but that’s pretty harsh.
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Hat Trick Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
@launch,
Let’s just say his brother got all the talent
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I also hope that Hickey is the guy that makes it. I guess because he’s probably the only one I’ve seen play meaningful games (WJC) and excelled.
This is a big chance for Drewiskie. He needs to get back to the way he played when he was first called up. He was a lot more physical than he showed at any point last season..even before the injury.
I have to say if Peter Harrold has to be our 6th D’man until Greene gets back, I’ll be seriously disappointed in some of the Kings prospects. Some of these guys have been down there long enough to be able to hold down the fort for a month!
It should be an exciting competition.
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puck73 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
@nykingfan, I would like to see hickey make it as well. When I watch him play, he reminds me of a left handed version of Brian Rafalski, a guy that has maximized his talent despite his size.
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Bossy22 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 6:01 pm
@nykingfan,
Hey!!! whats the beef on Harrold? He was only an AHL All-Star 3 years in a row. Should have had him on the point during the power play rather than Stoll when he was the utility forward. Very intelligent player, not Murray’s type of defenceman, only injuries and Crawford gave him time on defence and the PP.
That’s a relative complement to Harry, Crawford was not forgiving to his younger players…
May not be pleasing as a forward, but not using him for his strengths has left him a less favorable barganing chip for a team needing a power play QB, offensive upside defenceman for depth.
There are smaller guys with the same MO getting plenty of playing time and opportunity on, Lesser teams.
Harry has been sort of misplaced and may have missed his and our opportunity for his true worth.
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Hey Rich it’s still not too late to get in on all the Dan Ellis/Puck Daddy/Adater/ back and forth about who chased who off twitter drama. And all the “moral” implications.
Why don’t you tweet about how stressful your life is being paid to watch hockey games? That should get some responses
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I do not like the idea of having two youngsters at 5 and 6.
This is a very dangerous set of circumstances going into the season.
I can not believe we are going to do it this way, if in fact it plays out this way when the season starts. It would be so sick if we could ever go into a season with every spot accounted for with either a solid veteran or solid role player…
It never hurts to dream.
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fsd1 Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
@Doc. Mark 1968, How do you propose the young guns get into NHL games and become solid? At some point in time they have to play, that was DL’s whole point in building up the farm club. Every one of the “SOLID” players in the league were rookies at some point.
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Rich
It is time to pick the starting lineup for opening night No need for training camp and no need to push for positions the lineup is set
FORWARDS SMITH PONI RICHARDSON MOLLER KOPITAR STOLL
HANDZUS LOKITONOV
DEFENSEMEN DOUGHTY SCUDERI MTICHELL JOHNSON DREWISKE
HICKEY
GOALIES BERNIER QUICK
CAMPS OVER !!!!!!!!!!!
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Deke'r Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
@backchecker, You forgot the captain.
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backchecker Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 7:56 am
@Deke’r,
Holly Smoke you are right BROWN in LOKITONOV out 19 for 20 aint bad is it ???
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Kevin from Toronto Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 8:09 am
@Deke’r,
hahahahaha yes!
and somehow remember Moller?
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MacSwede Reply:
September 10th, 2010 at 1:44 am
@backchecker, And the capslock…
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Understand that the Kings are big on the young guys ‘earning’ their spots, but you also have to be careful not to have competent-but-limited players block the young guys too long….otherwise you end up with guys like Jones & Harrold getting key minutes in the playoffs, with predictably mediocre results…..sometimes you have to tolerate some rookie mistakes for a guy to grow into the role, as Johnson has shown…..Personally, would like to see Voynov get a good look, he’s put in two full years in the AHL and should have an idea by now.
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Hmmm- odd comment (and I agree with Simarosa- pretty harsh) about Campbell. I’ve seen him play a few times and have been impressed. A big defenceman that keeps his game simple and sees the ice real well. Manchester coaches are very complementary about him. A few teams wouldn’t mind getting their paws on this kid if the Kings find themselves with too many dmen. Great to see the Kings coaches are going to have a tough decision filling the 7 hole.
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It’s time they give Hickey a shot. He was captain of team Canada and 4th overall pick for a reason!
Now is his chance!
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I think Drewiske was very solid on the 3rd Line last year. Id be happy to see him stuck there for good with the Kings.
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As a die-hard 36 year fan of the Kings I still can’t believe that we, as fans, are talking about the log jam of potential players in the crease and on the back end! Who woulda thunk it??? Can’t wait until Oct. 9th! I’m gonna go down the road to watch the Kings rookie games over at Jobing.com arena on Tuesday & Wednesday! Two years ago, at the rookie tournament, the 2 players that jumped out at me were Doughty and Simmonds. Who are going to be this years surprises???? Go Kings Go!!!!
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In Greene’s absense, it makes sense to put Drewiske in one of the 5-6 spots, due to his experience. Harrold would proabably be a logicial choice due to experience, but he’s not progressing, and I believe he’s peaked. I’d like to see 2 of Hickey, Voynov, or Martinez take the 6-7 spots, as they have the future that Harrold doesn’t (at least with this orginization).
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