Weal’s development draws praise

The news might have been a bit buried, since it came out just before the start of last night’s game(s), but the Kings made their first training-camp roster cuts last night, trimming the roster by 11 players. Returned to juniors were Michael Schumacher, Jordan Weal, Christopher Gibson, Pierre Durepos, Michael Morrison, Taylor Carnevale and Michael Kantor. Released from pro-tryout agreements were J.D. Watt (who was then signed by the Manchester Monarchs), Ray Macias and C.J. Stretch. Released from camp was Teigan Zahn.

There were no surprises among that group, with Weal’s name being perhaps the most notable. Weal scored 43 goals in the Western Hockey League last season and now will return for a final season with the Regina Pats. Terry Murray gave his thoughts on Weal’s development…

MURRAY: “I thought he was one of the best players on the ice in those rookie games against Phoenix. But as I pointed out to him, the most important thing that I saw was a player who is maturing, growing up. He’s a better teammate. He’s a really good guy now. I thought he had a little bit of a problem with that in his first year here. But he has really grown up in that department. He’s making players on the ice with him better hockey players, through the right decisions and complementing those guys and finding them with his talent, his skills. So he’s bringing out the best in everybody as a result of that. To me, he left my office with me having a very positive feel about him going back and playing another year (in junior).”