No lack of competition in camp

Things have definitely changed around Kings training camp in recent years. No longer are there open spots, with coaches and management hoping that a player will step up and fill them. Now, if a young player wants to make the roster, he will have to beat out a veteran. The top six forwards are set. So are the goalies. So are the defensemen, at least when Drew Doughty rejoins the fold. The competition for bottom-six forward spots includes no fewer than 10 players with NHL experience, meaning that a lot of players are trying to win over coach Terry Murray and his staff…

MURRAY: “Well, the team is a much better hockey club today than what it was the first year I got here, obviously. The restocking of the organization, through drafts and through trades and free-agent signings, pushes you up the ladder pretty quickly. So the competition level is real good. Again, you’re bringing in a Trent Hunter on a PTO, as an example. He’s got a lot of NHL games under his belt, and he’s looking to crack the lineup and get a job back in the NHL with us. I’m enjoying the competition and the depth that we now have in the organization. It makes us better, just by talking about it. Getting on the ice in these early days of training camp, there’s peer pressure. Guys are going to dig in. They’re going to push a little harder in all the drills and show, to the coaches, that their development is on line. What’s going on in the organization is really a positive thing.”

Want more interviews? Here are some from the first two days of camp, courtesy of Daryl Evans and Kings Vision.

Nicolas Deslauriers
Rob Scuderi
Dwight King
Brandon Kozun
Christopher Gibson
Jake Muzzin
Terry Murray
Ethan Moreau
Linden Vey
Andrei Loktionov