Reports from Phoenix last night from Kings coaches, management types and staffers brought solid praise for — in no particular order — players such as Trevor Lewis, Dustin Penner and Jonathan Bernier, but the unofficial award for eye-opener of the night went to Tyler Toffoli, who had one goal and one assist but impressed with his all-around play while skating on a line with Lewis and Ethan Moreau. Toffoli certainly didn’t come out of nowhere. He’s a second-round pick from 2010 who totaled 57 goals and 108 points to lead the OHL last season. Toffoli isn’t expected to make the Kings’ roster out of camp — he has one more season of junior eligibility, and skating and conditioning still need some improvement — but Toffoli did well for himself in the Kings’ 3-2 victory over the Coyotes last night, according to Terry Murray…
MURRAY: “I heard a very good review (of Toffoli) also, so you got the same report I got. We’ve seen it right from the start of the training camp, through the rookie camp and the two games that were played. He’s a guy that shows a lot of composure. He’s very strong on the puck. His skating has improved dramatically from last year, when I first saw him. Now he’s getting that confidence that some players get early (and) some players need to go through some time before they get it. Right now, he’s strong on the puck, playing very confidently, seeing the ice, making plays, taking pucks to the net. When you hear about all that stuff, and you see it, you get a little bit excited. There’s a lot of potential for being a good pro.”
Murray was also asked to share some of the reports he got from the game. Murray coached the Kings in Los Angeles while assistant coaches John Stevens and Jamie Kompon handled the duties in Arizona.
MURRAY: “(The Coyotes) had a good lineup in Phoenix. The feedback that I got from my assistant coaches was that things went well. There’s stretches of the game where they played extremely well, with a lot of structure and a lot of purpose, and other times — similar to the game that was played at the Staples Center — there were some breakdowns, getting away from the team play. Very understandable, this early in the training camp, that this would happen. So we got right back to work here this morning with a hard practice and review a lot of the system play. We’ve got some new things that we’re putting in place this year, so again we just do the repetitions so that it becomes more of an instinctive part of the game.”
Great to see the young guys impressing, especially with the loss of Schenn. I’m geeked at how stocked we are.
[Reply]
“We’ve got some new things that we’re putting in place this year…”
RIP Dump & Chase? One can hope.
[Reply]
KC23 Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:24 pm
@wavesinair, probably read changes to improve the offense.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:28 pm
@wavesinair, Hope is all we really have. lol
[Reply]
xeropoint Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:16 pm
@wavesinair,
Don’t know about that but it looked to me like the F2 and 3 were allowed a little more freedom. Also the PP showed a lot more movement.
[Reply]
Luc Robitaille lite?
[Reply]
I know Loktionov is generally regarded as our best forward prospect, but Toffoli excites me far more. The team could finally have a legit sniper, and a homegrown one at that. Would be great if he makes the team this year.
[Reply]
Caleb C Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:32 pm
@Dave,
he wont. they’ll put him in juniors. and next year look for him
[Reply]
Dave Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:47 pm
@Caleb C, I agree that is the most likely scenario, but my wishful thinking has him blowing everyone way and forcing him to keep them with the big boys. Then he wins the Calder after a Jeff Skinner like season. A guy can dream.
[Reply]
Dave Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:48 pm
@Dave, err strike that, reverse it.
forcing them to keep him
Question though is he old enough to go to AHL or if he doesn’t make the LA KIngs roster does he have to go back to Juniors???? Think he has to go back to Juniors but can stay 9 games with the big boys.
[Reply]
AZ King Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:53 pm
@gene,
He’s only 19, not old enough to go to Manchester. it’s either the bug club or Juniors thus year.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:09 pm
@gene,
this is what I found,
AHL Age and Eligibility Rules
——————————————————————————–
Since this question seems to come up over and over again:
There is a private agreement in place between the NHL and the CHL that governs when a player coming from the CHL can play in the AHL. A player from the CHL has to either turn 20 by December 31st of the season (ie a player born in 1987 can start playing in the 2007-08 season, a player born in 1988 can start playing in the 2008-09 season etc.) OR have completed 4 seasons of junior eligibility. This agreement also covers European players if they are drafted out of the CHL (Examples would be players like Petr Vrana and Ivan Vishnevskiy). Also – CHL players are eligible to play in the AHL once their junior season is over (either by virtue of their junior team not making the playoffs or being eliminated from the playoffs) even if they don’t yet meet the age or eligibility criteria listed above.
College players and European players (provided they are drafted out of Europe–even if they later play in the CHL) are not covered by this agreement. They only have to abide by the AHL’s age requirement, which is that a player has to turn 18 by September 15 of any given season to be eligible to play. While you won’t see many 18-year olds in the AHL, some European players have played at that age (e.g. Niklas Bergfors)
——————————————————————————–
[Reply]
xeropoint Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:20 pm
@Dominick, Good lookin out, Dom but you have to realize people will continue to ask about this (not talking about OP). It’s kind of like when someone asks what the line combo’s are in the actual lineup thread.
[Reply]
*tears****sob****tears******you had me at hello******lol
[Reply]
Where is vey?
[Reply]
Puckn-A Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 9:17 pm
@Jefreyryan, I’m just guessing that because he is a power forward that he has been adjusting to playing against Pro’s and possibly we haven’t heard much on him yet due to him finding his game against & with players that have more speed, strength and experience than what his previous competition brought to the table.
[Reply]
I went to the game last night, Toffoli really looked solid. Strong on the puck, fast, and made good decisions. His play really reminds me of Williams with a better shot. I’m really looking forward to him making the team either this year or next year, he’s going to be a great asset.
[Reply]
Dominick Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 5:26 pm
@Mike W,
From what I saw of the live stream of the rookie game, he looked like that dangler type like a Williams. Very natural offensively, and everytime he stepped on the ice the ice would tilt for his line offensively towards the oppositions zone. Very quick wrister, and handled the puck well at top speed. Wish I could of seen that game in Phoenix. From what I’m reading he was fantastic.
[Reply]
Mike W Reply:
September 22nd, 2011 at 6:41 pm
@Dominick, He really was fantastic. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up taking Williams’ first line spot in a few years. Penner also had a fantastic game last night. His shot off the post in the second was ridiculous, just to get into the position to take that shot he skated hard by the Coyotes LW and then did a nice little skill move to get by the defense. Then his game winner was so awesome, I still don’t know how he put it away. It’s going to be a huge year for him if last night was any indication.
[Reply]
If Parse does not work out can Toffoli make the roster in that third line spot along side Stoll and Cliffy?
That sounds like quite a 3rd line to me.
[Reply]
Nice to see some the kids blossom. Still not enough scoring prospects. On the defensive side, Hickey looked really good last night.
[Reply]