The up-and-down nature of the season continues for the Manchester Monarchs, the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate. After a slow start, the Monarchs moved into first place in their division in late December, and had goalie Jeff Zatkoff and defenseman Thomas Hickey named to the AHL All-Star Game. Then the Monarchs fell off the table, with a franchise-worst seven-game losing streak. That ended last week, and now the Monarchs have won three consecutive games. Manchester hosts St. John’s on Friday and Worcester on Saturday before a five-day All-Star break. The All-Star Game will be played Monday.
The Monarchs have had a series of injuries that have kept players out of the lineup at different times. Robbie Czarnik has not returned to the lineup since suffering a major hit to the head on Jan. 15 against Portland. Don’t look to the Monarchs for much offensive help. Chances are, if Manchester had forwards ready to step into top-six roles in the NHL, they would already be here. Marc-Andre Cliche leads the Monarchs with 13 goals and 29 assists and is considered NHL-ready if the Kings needed a bottom-six forward. Brandon Kozun has 12 goals in an up-and-down season. Dwight King has impressed, with eight goals and 26 points, but the Kings would like to see more offensive development. Jordan Nolan (nine goals, 11 assists) is making positive steps. In goal, the Monarchs are splitting games between Zatkoff (2.27 goals-against average, .928 save percentage in 24 games) and Martin Jones (2.76, .915 in 26 games).
Finally, as first reported by Bob McKenzie of TSN, Monarchs forward Cam Paddock cleared waivers and is likely to have his contract terminated. No huge surprise here. Paddock turns 29 in a couple months and had five points in 39 games with the Monarchs. The Kings signed him to a one-year contract in September after he was a non-roster invitee to training camp. Paddock previously played in Germany, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return overseas. [UPDATE: Paddock will indeed move to a pro team in Germany.]
Cant wait until the AHL moves some of their teams west. They need a western conference. Cities like Seattle, Portland, Saltlake, Kansas City. These cities would do well for the AHL. It’s about time to move our farm club closer to home. Salt Lake Monarchs, now that has a good ring to it. Sure would like to see some of our younger guys move up. Kozun needs to be looked at.
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Mongo88 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 12:59 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, I like your thoughts on moving out west! Heck I’d make the trip once a year to Salt Lake to watch them play a weekend.
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alex101 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
@Mongo88, there is a very small market for AHL teams in the west. I was in Connecticut this Christmas and the airport was filled with Whale paraphernalia on sale and on banners. Much better market out there.
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LA_1968 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, Not sure how common it is but I’m prety sure teams like the Flyers have their minor league club play right in the same arena as the big club. Must be nice.
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Hockey & Rocky Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:05 pm
@LA_1968, Park City ski trip to watch the Monarch. I’m in too!
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Perro Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:29 pm
@LA_1968, the flyers use to in the spectrem. Their AHL team has since moved outside of filly to a place that start with an “A” that I cannot even come close to typing correctly.
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Steve W Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:04 pm
@Perro, Adirondack.
jonsey Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, Really Ontario would be a good place for an AHL club, and the ECHL club could move to Riverside or something.
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SDKing Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:15 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake,
Move the Monarchs to San Diego!! San Diego Monarchs! It’d only be 2 hour drive to staples…
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370455vinSD Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
@SDKing, Right there with you man. I miss the Gulls.
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Steve W Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
@SDKing, What about Long Beach?
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Shuchuk Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:35 pm
@Steve W, Ice Dogs!
SDKing Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
@Steve W,
I missed the Gulls by one year. Moved here the year they left. I’ve met a lot of people that are disappointed they left and I’m guessing you are one of them. Im dreaming I could go over to sports arena and watch Hickey captain the team..
Long Beach wouldn’t be bad either. Anywhere in SoCal would be great..
luc20rules Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
@Steve W, I would like the Monarchs to be closer too, but the fact is the travel costs for the whole team out weighs the occasional player that goes from Monarch to Kings and vice versa. I really don’t know how they maintain the Reign in Ontario, but then again I read that they have lost money every year despite having the best attendance 3 years running.
858King Reply:
January 27th, 2012 at 12:42 pm
@SDKing, Bring anyone to SD. I miss the Gulls and driving 2.5 hours to LA with no traffic is hard enough
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Deke'r Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:33 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, …..unless more than a few teams move travel costs would be a concern…
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SDKing Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
@Deke’r,
this is true. Their close competitor would be … i don’t even know how close.
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In the Net Reply:
January 27th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
@King Charles of Salt Lake, Well Ontario leads the ECHL in attendance, and has for 3 years. How about the Ontario Monarchs? Is a 9,500-seat stadium large enough for the AHL?
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Josie Reply:
January 28th, 2012 at 11:17 am
@King Charles of Salt Lake, Kozun needs to keep working on his game in the AHL right now. He’s had a tough time the first part of the season. The good news is he seems to be turning it around for the better.
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How can Thomas Hickey lead the team in +/-, be Captain, and be an all star? I heard he was a waist of time, and had 0 trade value.
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fsd1 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
@Dominick, you heard it from the trolls…….;)
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KC23 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
@Dominick, You could tell in pre-season Hickey is NHL ready, but the King’s depth at defense is absurd. I believe Whisky, Martinez and Hickey are all NHL ready. Wouldn’t surprise me if any of those 3 turns into a top 4 defenseman in the near future for someone. No doubt will be kicking ourselves on at least one of them for letting them go for some half measure forward.
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Shuchuk Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
@KC23, well, the Kings have held them all this long and Scuds & Willie are not a given beyond 2012…
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Thanks for the update! I like it when you are able to give us some Monarch news.
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Heidi was on center ice today and gave kings fans major props!
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Dominick Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
@neil, Can’t believe the Kings aren’t going to find a replcement.
I admire Patric O’Neal for his dedication, and service, but he’s no Hiedi.
Plenty of hot, former female hockey players from the College ranks who are not only cute, but know a thing or 2 about hockey.
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DesertKing Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:21 pm
@Dominick,
Its called money, same reason why the Lakers got rid of Joel Meyers and Spiro. All of the media outlets are cutting back.
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Michael J. Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:14 pm
@DesertKing,
Nope. I spoke with Heidi about it and it was her choice not to do another year with the Kings. She told me that her schedule would not allow for the 12 hours of work for each of 40 home games this year. Just a priority thing.
What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
@Dominick, I liked that asian gal they had before her.
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KC23 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:04 pm
@Dominick, I really hated O’Neal his first few seasons, but he has improved a lot. I doubt will ever see another Heidi. Very rare find. Got to chat with her a couple of times and enjoyed every second.
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Michael J. Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:16 pm
@KC23,
When I spoke with her at hockeyfest she gave my daughter and me her undivided attention for about five minutes. She got called away for something, then a few minutes later sought us out and finished our conversation. I was impressed.
alex101 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@KC23, Thats sweet of her. Shes a pretty low level celeb but still thats nice to hear. I don’t think it would be too difficult to find a replacement. There are tons of people that could do that job including myself.
I’m hoping that one of the goalies is ready to make a jump to NHL backup. That way we can use Bernier as some serious trade bait.
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Whoever is scouting for the Kings regarding offensive talent needs some help.
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DL really made this franchise lopsided, I thought we had all this depth? We seem really shallow, especially in the front, you know, where you score to win…
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KC23 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:06 pm
@StillKingly, He set up our depth to make sure we had quality defenseman, but has done such a good job we have 3 NHL defenseman either sitting or in Manchester. We lost a ton when we lost Holloway and Moller. Holloway would probably be on the Kings if he had stayed.
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Michael J. Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:09 pm
@KC23,
I think Oscar would have a place on this roster now too. His career numbers are 87 games 12g 14a 26p in very limited roles under TM.
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Deke'r Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@Michael J., ….dissagree on Moller…..Lotki is much quicker and a better puck handler and he’s barely acceptable….the boys need some man muscles….
Michael J. Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:33 pm
@Deke’r,
But, Oscar can score. He likes to shoot the puck and has a nose for the net.
JD Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
@Michael J., agreed, moller would be a big help right now, we have a real shortage of skill guys, enough with the hunter’s and moreau’s. if all it took was “man muscles” we wouldn’t be barely hanging n to the last playoff spot
mrbrett7 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
@KC23, Halloway would be with the Kings if he was top 6 quality, which he isn’t. The same reason Cliche isn’t with the Kings…those they have in the bottom 6 are far and away better than the other options (right now) in Manchester.
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Slim pickings in Manchester these days for the next Kopitar or Brown type of players.
I think we might want to trade up in the draft next year and start stockpiling picks for goal scorers.
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Anyone knows what time Fantasy Draft starts? NHL Netowork will show it at 4 PM but NBC sports will show Preshow at 4:30 and Draft at 5 PM.
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Interesting article:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/makes-nhl-defense-first-star-roster-184035581.html
but it shows how little regard the eastern press has for (a) Anze Kopitar, who should be on ANY best defensive players list (and is better than Brown, who they did chose) and (b) the entire Kings D corps, with not one King appearing on the D-man list despite the team being 3rd in GAA.
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KC23 Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
@bbb7, What a pathitic article. No mention of Mitchell or Kopitar? Pffft.
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Michael J. Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
@KC23,
There are moments almost every game that Kopi makes a great defensive play, bailing his teammates out. I cannot remember the Kings having such a great defensive center in the past 25-30 years. Kurri was great, but Kopi is so good behind his own net.
He’ll get his due when he is a Selke candidate this year.
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Deke'r Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
@Michael J., …Zues wasn’t too shabby….
Haven’t said much about Brown this year, but I have to admit he has been outstanding. While not the best finisher ever he can still sure hit with the best of them. To find a quality scorer that can hit like that is very rare. Also, there are few players that draw penalties better than Brown.
How he stays healthy when so many opposing players are out for pay back on him is beyond me.
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What's the frequency, Kenneth? Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:05 pm
@KC23, He’s played much better than I expected him to, with all the “new talent” around him. It seems he complements it better than many. I’ve often felt what he gives up in pure skill (in any given area) he makes up by being a complete hockey player. He can shoot, he can pass, he can hit, and he can play responsible defense. A lot of coaches would like about twelve of him.
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Dominick Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:15 pm
@KC23,
Agree. I do want to give an honorable mention to the fact that he has led the team in goals in the past, and scored more goals on the right side for the Kings every year since 2005. He might not be elite to the rest of the league, but the Kings would of been lost without him.
And as you mentioned, he is near the top in hits, and penalties drawn, not just for the Kings, but for the entire league year after year as well.
Amazing that his game doesn’t leave him prone to injuries year after year.
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Where is Moreau? Has a played a single game for the Monarchs?
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Dominick Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
@Donald_S, I think he’s on IR.
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Simarosa Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
@Donald_S,
Moreau had only practiced a couple of times with the monarchs last month and has yet to play in a game. Lots if doubt among season ticket holders regarding his concussion symptoms. We were told he is in Manchester but who knows. I know what he looks like from watching the kings games but haven’t seen him around the arena, but I don’t roam around looking for these guys either.
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Josie Reply:
January 28th, 2012 at 11:22 am
@Simarosa, haven’t seen him around either, but did find it interesting that Clune is back in the lineup with a new jersey number (13) and now Moreau is listed on the roster with number 17. Don’t know if that’s just a “paper thing”, or if we may see Moreau play at some point.
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Got to go to the Monarchs game last night…..was my first time in Manchester and they just happened to be playing– I could not pass it up. The arena was empty, I had club level seats just a couple of rows up from the penalty box, there were maybe 40 people sitting in the entire section. Game was great– Muzzin was sloppy and made plenty of bad decisions, Azevedo is small and likes to try the sneaky plays even at inopportune times, Hickey and Cliche were solid, but I was most impressed by the play of Nolan, Mullen, and Campbell.
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Sounds like w have no one coming into a top 6 role from the Monarchs. Those forwards that we did draft, didnt wait or play well enough when given the chance in LA have moved on. DL stocked s with D-men, and that is nice, but maybe a top 6 forward wouldn’t hurt. I guess its either trade on FA in July.
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Any report on Bud Holloway’s ability to speak Russian, comrade Hammond?
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Shuchuk Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 4:48 pm
@Shuchuk, whoops. I mean Swedish…for some reason I thought he signed with a KHL club.
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Mark Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
@Shuchuk, It looked like Buds europe team season ends in March. I thought he might be able to suit up with Kings after that.
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PP Anybody? Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
@Shuchuk, I can tell you he’s tied for 3rd in Swedish Elite League scoring.. http://estat.hockeyligan.se/c/LPlayersPoints.aspx?LId=248
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5 and half years of rebuild …all we have are bottom six propects that are ready now??? Really???
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Kingsfanone Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 5:40 pm
@neil,
It’s called overly concentrating on d men and goalies.
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rick Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 7:19 pm
@neil, And that’ s why DL is gonna be gone after this year. Great in some areas, very poor in others.
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