Angeles Analysis – Thoughts From The First Week Of Training Camp

One week of camp down, Insiders!

The Kings have a full team off day today, with no on-ice practices scheduled until tomorrow morning. The team has had three preseason games and three inter-squad scrimmages over the course of the first week as players get what they need to prepare for regular-season action.

What they need is a vague term.

Veterans like Drew Doughty and Phillip Danault have said that they like to play 3-4 preseason games to be ready to roll on October 11. Each has played one thus far, with three more on the calendar beween now and Opening Night.

For youngsters like Brandt Clarke, the asks and the opportunities have been greater. Doughty and Danault know where they’ll line up on Opening Night, as the top defenseman on the right side and the second-line center respectively. Not only does a player like Clarke not know his place in the lineup, but he doesn’t know which country he’ll be playing in next month. While many here in camp are eligible to play in Ontario, California, Clarke is only eligible to return to Ontario, Canada, with the NHL and OHL his only two paths this season. The 2021 first-round selection is the only player in camp to skate in all three preseason contests to date, giving the young blueliner a real opportunity to showcase his game at the NHL level. With dazzling assists in the first two games, Clarke has done exactly that. His ability to make certain plays with the puck is very evident and he sees things that others don’t in those situations. While he struggled a bit more last night, he was not alone under difficult conditions and he’s certainly put himself in firm contention for a roster spot, making already difficult decisions on the blueline that much more difficult.

We covered decisions on the blueline yesterday in more detail, and those will need to come between now and the roster cutdown to 23 names. Clarke’s emergence gives the Kings 10 legitimate options on the blueline. Players like Doughty, Mikey Anderson, Matt Roy and Alex Edler are locks, barring injury, while the only question marks related to “The Seans” – Walker and Durzi – are injury related. Walker has participated in camp in full but has yet to appear in an exhibition contest, while Durzi just moved into a full-contact setting yesterday. Assuming all good on those fronts, that leaves Clarke, Tobias Bjornfot, Jacob Moverare and Jordan Spence in contention for the final 1-2 places. The Kings do have the benefit of playing Clarke for nine games to open the season before making a permenant decision, though that would still send an additional player down to Ontario, or onto waivers, it does not create an additional roster spot. These final four games, when we should see something that resembles more of a full-time roster, will be key for all four players, who all bring different skillsets, strengths and weaknesses.

Up front, the conversation is different. While things can certainly change, it appears as if the Kings have 11 of their 12 forwards more or less in place through the first week of camp. We’ve seen extended looks given to the first line, as well as the bottom six, with very little change between those groupings. Trios of Fiala/Kopitar/Kempe, Iafallo/Byfield/Kaliyev and Lemieux/Lizotte/Grundstrom have rarely been broken up during practices and each line has now had one preseason game together, with the assumption we’ll see more here over the four games to come. More on the fourth line to come later today, with some great insight from all three members on how Grundstrom has fit alongside the more established duo of Lizotte and Lemieux.

The biggest question up front surrounds the status of Viktor Arvidsson, who had back surgery during the offseason and has been skating on his own since camp opened up. When fully healthy, Arvidsson is a lock for the RW2 slot, but throughout camp, it’s appeared to come down to Gabe Vilardi and Samuel Fagemo to replace him in the interim. Both have had looks there during practices and both got an opportunity there last night, with each playing approximately half the game on the second line. Fagemo had a great look from the slot off a Danault feed and Vilardi had an assist, though it came on the power play. Fagemo is more of a sniper, with 27 goals in the AHL last season, and his game is a closer match to that of Arvidsson. Vilardi has more playmaking touch, but is a bigger body and not as fast of a skater, though he also has the more proven body of work in the NHL and has committed to working on improving his defensive game playing as a winger. Up front, it’s likely the battle to keep an eye on over the next week or so. Others such as say Rasmus Kupari, who was used in Danault’s spot when he was dealing with a minor injury, or someone from one of the other lines such as Grundstrom could be an option should neither Vilardi or Fagemo seize their spot.

Of note in the forward conversation – The Kings placed forward Austin Wagner on waivers this morning. Should Wagner clear, he would be eligible to be assigned to Ontario as soon as tomorrow. With Reign camp opening early next week, we should expect a decently-sized exodus of players from NHL camp to AHL camp in the coming days, with Wagner among others expected to be in that slew of transactions.

The most clarity we have might be between the pipes, where all signs point to Jonathan Quick between the pipes on opening night. Coming off of his stellar performance down the stretch and into last season’s playoffs, Quick had a leg up coming into camp, but a lower-body injury to Cal Petersen, even if minor, pushes the needle even further in Quick’s direction. The veteran was sharp in his preseason debut last week and we’ll assume he’ll get at least one full game this week.

As we progress into a busy second week, the Kings will practice tomorrow and Saturday, before exhibition conests on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. With games every other day, I think we can look to at least some mixing and matching with lineups, though we should also expect to see something that more closely resembles a final roster as we progress towards the preseason finale on Saturday, October 8. Three of those four games will come against the Anaheim Ducks and those games will be key in determining the final composition of 23 that we’ll see on the roster page come the first game of the season. And, before you ask, all four of the games will be broadcast on Bally Sports platforms, two with the Kings broadcast crew and two with the Ducks broadcast crew.

More to follow here on LAKI as we continue through camp! I’m working on a feature story, as noted, on the Grundstrom, Lizotte and Lemieux line that has some great quotes….hopefully the story matches the quality of the interviews! Back tomorrow morning with camp primers, recaps, and some additional features along the way as we move towards Opening Night! Also hoping to work in a Q&A during training camp as time permits, possibly closer to Opening Night as we get more clarity on the roster heading into the season.

Thanks as always for following along, talk soon!