Quotes: Pearson, Andreoff, Berube, Morris

Quotes following the Kings rookies’ 6-1 win over the Ducks rookies:

Tanner Pearson, on whether he could provide an option from the left side:
Hopefully. I mean, it’s still rookie camp, and the main camp starts next week, so hopefully I can continue the scoring into next week.

Pearson, on his performance:
Hopefully it got the message along, but it happens with linemates too. Veysey and Toffee – we’ve played together for a long time, so it’s nice to play with those guys, and it was just another game to us.

Pearson, on whether he continues to learn and develop things with Vey and Toffoli:
I don’t know. We’ve played for a pretty long time. I think we’re just kind of trying to figure it all out again, having four or three months off, or whatever it was, trying to get back into things and get the rhythm with each other. We kind of started out slow in the first period, but as the game went along…we found it.

Pearson, on whether the team emphasizes puck possession:
Yeah, I the Kings harp on puck possession and protecting the puck and that kind of thing. To do that and to generate offense off of it is good.

Andy Andreoff, on his line:
Playing with Maclise and Zykov is a little bit different, but after the first period was over, I think we were connecting pretty well out there, so I was happy with them.

Andreoff, on a mostly clean game that had some chippy moments:
Yeah, a little bit. A little bit of edge going on there. A couple guys doing cheap shots, but that’s fine. That’s part of the game. That’s the way it goes.

Andreoff, on whether he is more comfortable at center than left wing:
Yeah, absolutely. I’m always playing center. I was playing center and left wing last year, so I’m kind of used to it now, and I’m enjoying it.

Andreoff, on any different feel to this year’s camp from previous camps:
Well, after a year of pro in the AHL, I feel a lot more comfortable coming back. I’ve gone through a couple rookie camps, so like I said, I’m a lot more comfortable now.

J.F. Berube, on getting a rhythm going early:
Yeah, all goalies would like to face that many shots the first game of the year, and I was ready. They had good, quality chances and D’s made a good job keeping it outside and helping me see the puck.

Berube, on Mathias Niederberger:
It’s hard to come in after two periods, and he did a good job making sure he wasn’t giving any rebounds. He was strong, and he did his job tonight.

Berube, on controlling rebounds early:
Yeah, I felt like I was really patient on shots. I was reading the releases really good, too. It was good – I was able to keep the pucks close to me, and it always makes it easier after that. It makes it easier on my D-men, too, so it was a good game, overall.

Mark Morris, on Andy Andreoff’s progression:
You know, I think sometimes we get surprised. I may not think a guy can do it, but we’ve had guys that have been called up and their play just elevates. Even a guy like Muzzin – who’d have thought that he could have gone from where he was, say, a month prior to being called up to the level that he reached. So I think that when you’re playing with other good players and they think the game on a high level, I definitely think he could fit in. When you get those opportunities, your confidence shoots through the roof.

Morris, on Berube’s performance:
Yeah, he played solid for us. We realy needed him in the first. I thought we were disconnected, and I didn’t think we played as a unit of five, which has been a major emphasis. We got into some habits, and they came with great speed. I think that if it wasn’t for him, it certainly would have been a different outcome.

Morris, on winning the possession battle:
Well, we talked about it between the first and second period that we need to play hard for one another, meaning that our D and our forwards need to stay connected. I thought that our gap play was very suspect. There was so much separation between our forwards and our D that it allowed them to come at us with some very good speed. They got some quick guys that can score, and thank goodness Berube was as sharp as he was because he kept us in there, and the Andreoff goal certainly gave us a boost, too. We were able to hang around until we got our bearings, and we got better as the game went on.

Morris, on whether he discussed the potential for chippiness with his team:
No, we didn’t even talk about it. Things happen in a game, and the players self-police sometimes. I don’t know what their past histories are with some of the guys that they were out there against, but often times there’s a lot of overlap from previous stints that they’ve done in junior hockey or other teams they’ve played on, so I imagine some of that maybe dusted up, or maybe guys took exception to some hits. It was a pretty calm game that way, I thought. [Reporter: We’ll see on Monday?] You know what? We’re more interested right now in finding out who can play hockey. We know where our toughness comes from, and our main focus is be good, honest, hard-nosed hockey players, and any of that stuff that flares up, you deal with it when it happens.

Morris, on why Ebert was left out of the lineup:
No, that was a managerial decision as to who was going to go. There’ll be a new lineup come next game. Obviously it took everybody we had to produce the results we had, and obviously some of our top players that have been in Manchester last year played a big role in the outcome, so it was good to see them step up and kind of lead the way.

Morris, on Cam Maclise skating with Andreoff and Zykov:
He’s grown on me. I thought he was very thorough. He’s a responsible guy, and often times you can just tell by body language how in step a guy is or how in tune he is with what’s going on out there. I felt pretty comfortable with those guys, and I hope he takes full advantage of this opportunity. I love that when guys can make the most of these chances. It’s always heartwarming to find those guys work their way in and earn the trust of the coaches and the organization.

Morris, on Zykov:
I think he’s just trying to find his way, but he’s got tremendous creativity from what I can gather so far. He’s a good skater. I know he was disappointed he didn’t score in the shootout, but I think he’s going to be a tremendous player as his confidence grows.

Morris, on why he paired Forbort with Deslauriers:
We felt like it would create more of a stay-at-home-type guy with a guy that can rush the puck. They saw a little bit of ice time together during the time that Forbort joined us at the end of last season, too. They were familiar with one another, and we felt like they could give us some stability back there, too.