Making impressions

I got a chance to ask Manchester coach Mark Morris, who is basically serving as the head coach of the rookie team, for his impressions of two closely watched players in the camp, winger Brandon Kozun and defenseman Jake Muzzin. Morris got a first-hand look at Muzzin at the end of last season, when Muzzin played a big role in the Monarchs’ playoff run, and it’s very possible that Kozun could play a big role with the Monarchs this season…

(on Brandon Kozun…)
MORRIS: “He’s very explosive. For a little guy, he really has got a lot of jump in his game. He’s got a tremendous release, and his offensive capabilities are really apparent. It’s common for young guys to also take a little bit of time to adapt to the defensive responsibilities. I think he, along with a lot of these guys, are going through it for the first time and learning the structure of the Kings’ system. Those are things that he, and others, need a little bit of work on, but he’s gung-ho and he’s asking a lot of questions, and that’s a pretty good sign that he’s hungry to learn.”

(on Jake Muzzin…)
MORRIS: “We’d like to take credit for it, but he was a pretty darn good hockey player when we had a chance to see him play last year in the playoffs. Without hesitation, we plugged him in, and he just has great poise with the puck. He has a great shot. He doesn’t mind throwing his weight around. He’s confident in his abilities, but he’s not cocky. I think he’s got a great presence on the ice, and he’s a calming influence when he’s handling the puck. I think he distributes it well. He’s up on the play. We plugged him in as a power-play guy, and he was tremendous with Hickey last year when we had him out there in the 5-on-4 situations.”