After encouraging season, call for consistency from McNabb

On the surface, there were plenty of things to be encouraged with when evaluating Brayden McNabb’s 2014-15 performance. The six-foot-four, 209-pound defenseman who turned 24 years old midway through the season totaled two goals and 24 points in 71 games while maintaining a 57.1% Corsi-for that was accompanied by a +2.8% Corsi-rel. He issued punishing open ice hip checks to skaters who entered the Kings’ zone along the right wing, and as the year progressed, became more comfortable in the nearly 16 minutes of ice time he averaged per night.

“It’s tough,” McNabb said. “Whenever you don’t make the playoffs it’s disappointing and you kind of just base it off that. I made gains for myself, but at the end of the day we didn’t win the games, and we didn’t make the playoffs.”

The former two-time WHL and AHL All-Star is still quite young, and there will still be rougher edges in his game that will require some sanding and polishing. In building in what was an encouraging if imperfect first full season in the NHL, the key will be for McNabb to find greater regularity in his strong performance and in demonstrating a diverse skill set.

“I think clearly on our team there’s some opportunity this year that there maybe hasn’t been in the past, but I think with any young player, and it includes Brayden, we want to see some consistency in his game,” said Associate Head Coach John Stevens. “We talked last year about having a real identity as a player. I think he knows what he is and what he needs to provide every night, and it’s just a matter of getting up to that level every night where he can be really counted on. With any young player there has been some inconsistencies, but he clearly came a long way last year and played a lot of good games. We’d like to see good games and great games, and not any fall off in his play.”

McNabb spent “a little less than half the summer” in Los Angeles as part of a contingent of players that had been given a clear conditioning regimen from Strength and Conditioning Coach Matt Price. Though the left-handed shooter had skated with a variety of partners last season, thus far in camp he has been paired with a previous teammate from his Buffalo Sabres days in Christian Ehrhoff. Ehrhoff, comfortable on the right side, has a skill set that veers towards the offensive.

“I’m sure we played a few shifts together [in Buffalo] and whatnot,” McNabb said. “I was there when he was there and he’s a great player and great playmaker. He’s definitely going to help us out.”

McNabb, meanwhile, will look to strengthen his tendencies that align towards the defensive.

“At least in our mind, I don’t think anything has changed [in McNabb’s game] at all – it’s just being more consistent in it. He’s a big guy that’s going to have to play hard and bring a physical element to his game,” Stevens said. “He’s got size, and we lost some size in our back end, so he’s a guy that’s got to provide some grit and some physical play on the back end, but he’s clearly a guy that has the ability to make plays and get in the attack offensively, but not before providing that part of his game. That’s going to be a real foundation of who he is. He knows that, and he’s worked hard at it, and we’re anxious to see how he progresses through training camp.”

When Stevens refers to size lost on the back end, he’s acknowledging the impact of Robyn Regehr, who announced his retirement following the final game of the 2014-15 season. McNabb, who has versatile assets and is capable of providing that rugged element, has some veteran shoes to fill.

“Yeah, that’s something I’ve got to be doing, being physical, especially with Robyn gone,” he said. “I can do that and it’s something I’m going to focus on. But I can’t go out of the way to make hits and stuff, so I’ve got to be responsible with it. So that’s a big piece lost, but we have the group in here that can make up for that.”

Brayden McNabb, on whether he was satisfied with his offensive output last season:
Yeah, you see it. Personal success comes with team success. Last year, we had good stretches as a team and at the end we couldn’t get those wins. It’s frustrating, especially watching the playoffs. Being at home, it sucks. I think everyone is refueled after this summer and we’re ready to get back at it.

McNabb, on whether it matters who he’s paired with in training camp:
It’s kind of out of your hands. Whoever you’re paired with, you want to get an immediate connection with and get some chemistry. It starts now. We’re starting out, preparing to win games and we’ve got to continue to do that every day.

McNabb, on how he sees his role among the defensemen:
It’s the same as always. You’ve got to be a good defender. If I’m a good defender, I get more ice time. Offense will come as the good defending goes. So you have to be simple in the offensive zone and just really work on your training.

McNabb, on having Robyn Regehr around as a young defenseman:
It was awesome. I had him my first year in Buffalo, too. That’s kind of where it all started. He helped me out a lot my first year. He’s such a veteran presence. You watched him growing up. He’s a Saskatchewan boy. He helped me out a lot and it worked out that he was here when I got here, so that just kind of continued.

McNabb, on spending summers with his team:
In Buffalo, I spent almost all of one summer there one year. But it’s always good to go home. I think it’s pretty important for yourself to go home and see family, see friends. The organization is pretty good about that. I probably spent a little less than half the summer here and it’s good. Matt Price did a great job and it was good.