Clifford interview

Getting back to the development camp, which wraps up this morning, one of the more intriguing players has been Kyle Clifford. It’s easy to see, when watching him among his peers, why Clifford might have an outside chance of making the Kings’ roster, sooner rather than later. At 6-foot-2, 208 pounds, he looks strong and confident on the ice, and and one point he was trading jabs with defenseman Andrew Campbell in front of the net. A tough guy with some scoring touch, Clifford would seem to have a versatile game, but it’s tough to predict exactly which role he would fill with the Kings. Here’s what he said about his recent development…

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Question: You were mixing it up with Campbell a little bit. Trying to make a little statement maybe?

CLIFFORD: “Everybody is coming in with a little excitement. We were kind of just horsing around a little bit, a couple hacks here and there, nothing that escalated into any fisticuffs or anything like that.”

Question: You imposed some people here at training camp last year. What are you trying to do now, to build on that?

CLIFFORD: “Just continue what I’ve shown so far. Obviously I didn’t make it last season, so there are things I need to work on. This offseason, I’m going to focus on those things and just try to improve.”

Question: Have you set it as a realistic goal to make the Kings this year?

CLIFFORD: “I think it’s everyone’s goal, here, to make the team. It’s every kid’s dream to play in the NHL, so why not now?”

Question: Have you thought about how your game might translate to the NHL level? You’re known as a physical player, but you also have a scoring touch? Can you be that hybrid in the NHL?

CLIFFORD: “I think my role will change when I do make the jump one day. I’m just going to start by plugging away, like I did in junior. I scored one goal in my first year in junior, so I just kept building on everything I could in the last three years, and then I was fortunate enough to add to my game every year and take it one step at a time.”

Question: You got to play a bit in Manchester and experience the playoffs. Was that a good experience for you?

CLIFFORD: “Yeah, definitely. You’ve got to fight for every inch, especially at that high level. It was a great group of guys, and hats off to them. They really showed well during their whole playoff run there. They were kind of the underdogs for most of it, and I felt like we put a great effort in against the Hershey Bears. It was a little disappointing, the way it ended, but I thought we really pulled through.”

Question: And it seemed like you had a pretty high-profile role, playing on the top line a bit…

CLIFFORD: “I was fortunate enough to play with a couple skill guys. I just stuck to my game and tried to mix it up a little bit, throwing some checks and trying to make a little bit of room for them.”