Kings announce preseason schedule, training camp dates

You, there. The one reading the Los Angeles Kings blog. You should consider going to preseason games this year, because there are going to be opportunities for young players to earn spots on the team that hadn’t necessarily been attainable in years past. Combined with training camp sessions at Toyota Sports Center, it’s your firsthand way of gauging who might be readiest to earn a larger role within the organization in the coming year.

Earlier this morning the Kings announced their preseason schedule. There’s nothing that resembles last year’s San Jose/Colorado Springs/Las Vegas road trip; in fact, there’s only going to be one flight before Frozen Fury, and it’s just across the mountains to Denver. Maybe other than the lack of a split-squad opener, it’s a standard preseason slate. You have your home-and-homes with Arizona, Anaheim, and Colorado. The second Colorado game, of course, is Frozen Fury 17. With the exception of 2012-13, which did not have a preseason, Los Angeles has played two games against Colorado, Phoenix and Anaheim each preseason since 2008.

On September 21 the Kings will open the schedule by returning to Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena, where they played in 1998 (4-3 W vs Vancouver), 1999 (1-3 L vs SJ), 2000 (4-1 W vs SJ), 2002 (3-2 W vs ANA) and 2003 (4-1 W vs SJ). Even though the Condors become Edmonton’s AHL affiliate this season, it’ll be a Los Angeles-Arizona game, with the Coyotes the designated home team. Frozen Fury, of course, concludes the preseason schedule as the Kings play host to the Avalanche.

The full preseason schedule:
Monday, September 21, 7:00 p.m.: KINGS at Coyotes, Rabobank Arena (Bakersfield, CA)
Tuesday, September 22, 7:30 p.m.: KINGS vs Coyotes, STAPLES Center
Friday, September 25, 7:00 p.m.: KINGS at Anaheim, Honda Center (Anaheim, CA)
Sunday, September 27, 5:00 p.m.: KINGS at Colorado, Pepsi Center (Denver, CO)
Tuesday, September 29, 7:30 p.m.: KINGS vs Anaheim, STAPLES Center
Saturday, October 3, 7:00 p.m.: KINGS vs Colorado, MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, NV)

To be notified about the Frozen Fury pre-sale, click here. According to the Kings, tickets for the Las Vegas and Bakersfield games will go on sale on July 10. Tickets for remaining home preseason games will go on sale at a later time.

Another note: Rookie Camp will begin on September 11 and on-ice Training Camp sessions begin on September 18. The Kings haven’t announced any Development Camp details at this point.