In our last segment, Ron breaks down the team position by position and is asked about the strengths, expectations and things to work on…he also gives his scouting report on Tyler Toffoli…
JF: Right now, we’ll kind of take it position by position—strong points, expectations and maybe things to work on and I’ll just throw specific names and also maybe as a group, but in goal, Martin Jones—strengths, expectations, things to work on?
RH: Well, Jones is at a point now where I think his consistency is where he’s got to improve. I think last year he had some very good points of the year and he had some points that weren’t very good. Just everybody is going to have a down period here or there but I think there was a lot of up and downs with Jones last year. He needs to—one thing I told him when I went there during training camp was you need to take the ball this year and I don’t want you to let it go, you have to take it, it’s your third year and it’s time for you to step up and say I’m the guy and I’m going to be consistent and you guys can count on me every night. Thus far, he’s had a good start, he’s a big guy, he’s poised, technically he’s very solid, he is very consistent in that area. I think it’s the mental part, where he’s got to grow again and take the ball this year and our expectations for him are to be a top goalie in the league. He’s at that point now and he needs to again, take the ball and keep it the whole year.
JF: Defensive core as a group. You just spoke about that segment of the team that’s going to have to provide leadership as a group. Again strong points, the expectations and then like everyone or like every position, things you think they have to work on as a group?
RH: The guys that I didn’t mention obviously, we were talking about Voynov earlier but Bodnarchuk is a veteran, he’s a 24-year-old, he’s been around for a few years, he’s a veteran, he’s a good add for us. Nick Deslauriers, David Kolomatis are off to a good start, if I look at that group, we don’t have a young, inexperienced guy like we’ve had in the past with some of the guys that I just mentioned. That’s now a veteran group back there, we’ve got two, three, four, five-year players there—we expect a lot from our back end. It’s a very well-balanced group, we’ve got some skill there, we’ve got some real solid defensive guys—I think the thing that I‘ve seen thus far albeit they’ve done a pretty good job– our system is much more aggressive and it is a transition for those guys to go from a little more passive system to all of a sudden your closing on guys in the corner, it’s like go and get there. I think that’s the biggest thing that as a group they got to work on is getting the people and closing on people quicker in the defensive zone.
Andrew Bodnarchuk Nick Deslauriers
David Kolomatis
JF: Forward position, same type of thing. The breakdown, the strengths, expectations, the things to work on.
RH: I think the strength is our depth, you know we’ve got a lot of depth. I really like our middle with you now Loktionov and Vey are skilled guys and we got Andreoff and Czarnik and Cliche, whoever is in the middle. We’ve got Jordan Weal, kind of been on the outside a little bit so far, but Jordan had a really good preseason his play has risen and there’s guys ahead of him that play a similar style, but again we got the depth in the middle, we’re good on the wings, we’ve got enough scoring and we’ve got enough size especially with King and Nolan right now they kind of do what they did with the Kings. I was down there early and our size upfront was kind like oh it’s a little off or it’s a little bit small at points and all of a sudden these two guys come in and all of a sudden now our forward group is a pretty big group, but I really like our youthfulness upfront and I like our upside and again you look at Loktionov and Vey, those two guys this year should be top producers in the league. I’m not saying win the scoring race but I’m saying they should be in the top few scorers in the league. You got young kids come in like Toffoli, who is a real good scorer Andy Andreoff is kind of like the prototypical hard third line centermen that’s tough and physical and goes in the net hard. I really like our mix and again we’ve got enough grit and enough skill, a little bit youthful I guess if there is a criticism, I think some of the preseason, the first couple of games maybe a few turnovers that shouldn’t have been there and the typical youthful mistakes that you know that are there and over the course of time, they’ve got to correct, but we got to be patient too because we also want those guys creating offense. There’s kind of a fine line for that, where you’re holding guys accountable for the turnovers but you also want to continue to encourage that we want to make plays and we want to get pucks to the net and we want to make that nice pass across the crease for a goal.
Scouting Report: Tyler Toffoli
Hextall: Tyler has been very good so far. It’s funny, the opening preseason game, he was a step behind everything he did—he was just a step behind. I think Tyler’s got the type of game where, his biggest strength is finding holes and then putting the puck in the net and that’s a gift that it’s very hard to teach. Tyler’s got it. He’s a smart player, so after the first preseason game where he was a step behind—he picked it up from then, realized he had to move his feet more and get to open spots instead of waiting for them. The game is faster than it was in junior last year and again, his adjustment from game one to game two was phenomenal and again, since then he’s just continued to get better and better. He’s just a natural scorer. He’s got a great release and he’s got a great touch and again he can find those soft spots and deliver.
what if you have a blog and no one comments????
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DesertKing Reply:
November 4th, 2012 at 5:04 pm
@Neil,
Then you have a “blah”
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Lake Forest Reply:
November 4th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
@Neil, Your name would be Gary Bettman, and think it is successful
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luc20rules Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 6:46 pm
@Lake Forest, Bettman would consider it great. If nobody comments they must all be satisfied. But then again I am pretty sure he has been soundly booed at every arena in the NHL, and continues on with the smug smile waiving to the crowd.
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Thanks Jim
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Sobbing in the desert.
I want my Kings back.
Insert sad face here
( )
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Timere969 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 4:27 pm
@vegasking, (
)Here you go.
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Jim, thanks for all of this. Eventually it will matter and we can get back to the game we all love…in L.A., too. Otherwise, time to check the housing market in Manchester…
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hello, i’m a stupid fan…and after the twitter repotrs reports and early quotes, i’m hopefuly for our sport. an abbreviated season with a longer offseason that doesn’t try to jam 4 games in 5 nights may be the best thing for our team to try and repeat
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DesertKing Reply:
November 4th, 2012 at 8:09 pm
@Shakes,
Dear Stupid Fan,
Thank you for your support. At this moment, I want you to please open your wallet, remove your cash, and deposit it into your nearest NHL account. I will be introducing you to a special ame plan, where the various NHL teams will play 10 games on 9 days while you will be asked to pay for 12 games. As a special incentive, we will be giving away 2012 Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils commerative pucks and baseball caps. The league will also be giving away free nachos between the 3rd and 4th periods of every game. We will also have a special car giveaway during each game. Every fan who pays more than $100 for their seat will be entered to win a Matchbox truck. I sincerely apologize for the work stoppage, but you can blame the players.
Sincerely,
Gary Bettman
PS – I am not evil and I am not a load. Really. I’m not. Honest.
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Shakes Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 10:03 am
@DesertKing,
Dear Gary aka Gare-Bear (much more loveable nickname),
As a diehard fan of my team and loyal fan of hockey in general I am insulted. I love my Kings and just as important for you I also tend to watch hockey games that don’t involve my team rather frequently – I just like watching good hockey. But your email is an insult. As a fan I will stay committed to silently protesting this lockout. You take the fans for granted. HOWEVER let me get this straight, did you say that i actually have a CHANCE to win an actual Matchbox truck? This would be a wonderful way of getting one of my Xmas shopping stocking stuffers out of the way! Man. AND I get to watch hockey? Again? AND free nachos between the 3rd and 4th period?? ALSO do we get free tacos like Lakers fans if we score more than a 100 and hold the opponent to under 100??? To. Good. To. Be. True.
With the way Nolan and King were lighting the lamp last season we’re sure to have a 100 point game sometime this season (do we could just goals or do individual goals + assists = points).
I’ll take your offer Bettman but I hope you take notice of my harsh harsh words I wrote above, before I basically didn’t take any action to back it up at the drop of a hat. Tell me where to sign.
Harshly yours,
Stupid Hockey Fan aka Me.
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DesertKing Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
@Shakes,
Dear Stupid Hockey Fan,
Reference telling you where to sign, please wait for the knock on your door. The player at your door will be Ryan Clowe. Please feel free to trust him implicitly since he works for me. He will have you sign a document releasing all of your finances to me. Please do not forget to provide him with your social security number, driver’s licens e number, date of birth, account numbers and passwords. In regards to your tacos suggestion, we con sider that to be really stupid since this is hockey. We will be substituting ice cream sandwichs for the tacos.
Thank You,
Evil Lo….er Gare-Bear
I hit my head on a corner of my shelfing, since then I have heard positive assumptions about the NHL…..
It’s either me going crazy or they are working it out due to me un”liking” the NHL facebook page.
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I’d take a 60 game season
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I was 1 of the maybe 1,000 fans in attendance in Worcester this afternoon. I have to say, in all the professional hockey games I’ve attended, NHL, AHL, PBHL, ect. that was one of the worst games I’ve seen. It was an absolute embarrassment. Guys were falling over with and without the puck. The Sharks’ goalie was flopping around out of position like a fish out of water. Neither team seemed liked they cared. I would have been better off watching a mite game.
I witnessed 2 firsts I’d never thought I’d see. The less offensive one was to start OT there were 3D and 1F on the ice for Manchester. The more offensive one happened in the 2nd period when Manchester took not 1 but 2 Too Many Men on the Ice penalties within 2 minutes which led to a 5-3. Yes 2 guys in the box for Too Many Men. How does that happen beyond Squirts?
I try not to criticize too much on this site. But as a hockey fan and enthusiast that was hoping to escape the horrors of yet another lockout, I was thoroughly disappointed with the product I saw on the ice at the DCU Center.
The only player that showed he belongs at the next level on either team was Voynov. I’d say Jones for his 30 something saves. But I question the shot counter, because I only counted about 15 shots for Worcester after the 1st (they had about 9 in the first). Most of those shots were from outside with maybe a handful of actual quality saves.
I hope this was just an off night for both teams. Jim sorry for the negative comment on your posting. I still love hearing your insight during Kings telecasts.
GKG!
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Its 10am on the east coast. Do you know where your NHL and NHLPA negotiators are?
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KC23 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 10:31 am
@DesertKing, The bank?
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DesertKing Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 1:01 pm
@KC23,
The bar?
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jess Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 2:08 pm
@DesertKing,
Looting evacuated areas?
DesertKing Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
@KC23,
Blue Oyster Club?
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Shakes Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
@DesertKing, Mahoney!
luc20rules Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 6:53 pm
@DesertKing, The 2 main casino’s in Atlantic City are open? But really I am sure they are just sleeping in and getting ready to not negotiate tomorrow.
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luc20rules Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
@Jess, I didn’t realize my entertainment & hopes were considered evacutated areas. LOL
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I am rather bummed out by how far this has gone; and the lack of meetings.
I am havin a rough fall/winter.
But on the bright side it is a Gorgeous day in SoCal
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neil Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
@Mars, you are ahead of your time…note your post time
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CB14 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
@Mars, Summer was pretty good too.
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Is anyone going to watch the Superseries on NHLN?
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Helene Elliot has just reported that Jonathon Quick is on his way to Manchester. Why? Dont know, she just tweeted it.
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DesertKing Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 5:55 pm
@puck73,
Rehab assignment?
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HockeyNerd Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
@DesertKing, That would make perfect sense… IF it’s something the Kings are allowed to do given the “Current Situation”.
Oh dear, there I go again mentioning the lockout in an NHL run blog…..
Bettman will be coming after me, maybe a big huge fine.
Oh dear, dear.
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DesertKing Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 6:02 pm
@HockeyNerd,
Run dude! I hear helicopters coming your way!
SLG1013 Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 10:27 am
@puck73, The LA Times this morning that Quick will go to Manchester for rehab and conditioning but he won’t play for the Monarchs…
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What is going on with Hickey? A 4th overall pick and he isn’t even mentioned. Was this a mistake or a work in progress?
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In rich’s absence, this dude just became my new favorite hockey writer. It’s the tights, for sure: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-lockout-inspired-robyn-parody-absolutely-nobody-asked-140741401–nhl.html#more-44162
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can this awaiting thing get off me already..Been two years and Rich left and wish he took it off already..its annoying that everyone can post and i cant for what?I totally forgot what i mess up now..
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@Player-X, what a joke. if you’re gonna run the site, run it. un-moderate me please, I have been ignored for over a year by hammond and unfairly so
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Wheres Hammond w/ the interview… ugh. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/jonathan-quick-goes-la-kings-conn-smythe-winner-012203960–nhl.html
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CB14 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 8:35 pm
@Niko, Yeah Rich, what gives? You’ve really been dropping the ball lately. I see posts from Jim, Nick, Darryl, and Bob, but not you. Get back from your vacation and give us our Kings news pronto! If not, may I suggest you quit and go cover something less important like USC football.
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CB14 Reply:
November 5th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
Not only has Rich not been giving us posts lately, but he also hasn’t changed the clock to account for daylight savings time ending. Quit dropping the (foot)ball Rich!
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wideleft Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:18 am
@CB14, http://youtu.be/204yyqebnDE
Lake Forest Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 9:47 am
@CB14, WE LANDED ON THE MOON PEOPLE!
So, can we talk politics today?
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DesertKing Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
@Michael J.
I heard that Kopi is being groomed to be president of Slovenia.
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Michael J. Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 12:56 pm
@DesertKing,
Did I miss lunch? I didn’t realize it was so late
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Labor talks on Election Day?
They don’t care about us (fans) or the US.
I hope bettman meets an untimely demise
I am now beyond sick of this all.
Way to burst my cup high jerk wads
Way to tarnish everything
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So, has the meeting taken place yet? Will we find out about it here first? I was hoping..
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If CBA talk lasts more than 10 min, we can say there’s a hope.
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DesertKing Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 12:27 pm
@goldielocks,
It takes them that long just to order vooooooooooodKA.
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goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
@DesertKing,
It’s been 2 hours and still going. Very good sign but reaching deal is not going to happen today. It will take at least a week, I think.
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DesertKing Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 3:21 pm
@goldielocks,
I heard they ordered more of those little paper umbrellas.
goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 4:26 pm
@DesertKing,
I can make one of those.
Kingsfanone Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
@goldielocks,
But is it bad luck to open it in the house?
luc20rules Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
@goldielocks, I don’t think they have agreed on the toppings for the pizza for dinner yet. It is starting to get ugly.
goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:33 pm
@Kingsfanone,
Hehe … thought it’s for a good luck(at least my grandma believed so). You should see it in real use. Those Geisha(or Maiko) girls are still using paper umbrellas. They are just picture perfect.
goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:41 pm
@luc20rules,
While I agree on topping preferance, I don’t think they are going to fight over it this time around.
I’m starting to know every playoff period win by heart I’ve watched them so many times. It’s fun, but I so miss my hockey at Staples. Miss Hammond as well. I wonder if he would consider returning after this silly lock out. USC season is going to be over early, hey it could happen.
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Neil Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
@KC23, Miss Hammond….shouldnt that be MR. Hammonds???? LOL…
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The meeting is over. They’re going to meet again tomorrow.
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goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 5:51 pm
@goldielocks,
uh oh, false alarm. The meeting is still going.
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KC23 Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
@goldielocks, tsn.ca headline was something like to avoid the media fanfare, they’re meeting at a secret location. Media fanfare? Seriously?
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goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 6:45 pm
@KC23,
I think that shows the evidence of their discussion is at the critical stage. They don’t want any kinds of disturbance or interruption from the media.
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luc20rules Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 9:20 pm
@goldielocks, Or they don’t want it too leak that they weren’t even able to agree on the toppings for the pizzas at the dinner break and ended the sessions on a empty stomach and no CBA terms were discussed?
goldielocks Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 11:56 pm
@luc20rules,
So you think that took more than 7 hours?
luc20rules Reply:
November 7th, 2012 at 1:18 pm
@goldielocks, Think about who you are dealing with hear. Bettman & Fehr have spent over 5 months now trying to split 3.3 billion in HRR, while knowing any work stoppage will likely damage that to below 3 billion for the next 3 years, and possibly at this point 2 billion for this year. All of us knew the final deal would eventually reach the 50/50 level by the end of a new CBA, but the NHLs desire to get there immediately just shows their greed and lack or respect for the players, fans, and the sport.
They may talk some CBA today as I heard it was 2 deluxes, 1 pineapple & canadian bacon, 2 pepperonis, 1 cheeze, and Bettman ordered a blood pie. The breakthrough was when the NHLPA took the intial check and the NHL agreed to pay them in next years escrow payment. Of course Bettman, Daly, and the Fehrs didn’t contribute as they said they haven’t been paid since the lockout and they were a little light.
Hoping some progress is made in the CBA now that the pizza order is done.
luc20rules Reply:
November 6th, 2012 at 10:14 pm
@KC23, To enter into conspiracy theory:
1. Hockey nut made a viable death threat was made on Bettman.
2. 1 is not viable as that has been done thousands of times even before the CBA ran out. Clearly the media is not actively following players or Negotiators, and this secret place will not be know until it is declassified by the Government. Greg Wyshynski “Rao’s in NY”
Maybe we should make a Letterman type top 10 list?
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They wrapped up the meeting for tonight, will continue tomorrow.
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