Development Camp: “No surprises” for McKeown

Projected as a mid-to-late first round pick during his draft year, Roland McKeown was available in the middle of the second round when the Kings traded Linden Vey to the Vancouver Canucks for the 50th overall pick and selected the balanced, toolsy defenseman.

McKeown has donned a Kings practice jersey for the first time this week during his work at the club’s development camp, and drew recognition and an articulation of the maturation process from Mike Donnelly, Collegiate Scout – Western and a member of the team’s development group.

“Very coachable, hard worker, and those are the things as a teacher that’s all you can expect out of kids,” Donnelly said. “He’s going to get better. That’s really important to have someone that’s open to change. We’re trying to change some of their habits to make sure that they’re all quality, good habits. That’s our goal.”

The first several days of Development Camp have been eye-opening, even if they haven’t necessarily elicited any surprises.

“No surprises, but you can definitely tell you’re at an NHL development camp,” he said. “The coaching is amazing. OC and Nelly and Mel, they really preach. We do some martial arts stuff, we do dry land work outs, we do a lot of watching video of the LA Kings themselves, and seeing how they’ve won two Cups in three years. There’s a reason for that. That’s why they’re the LA Kings. Just being able to watch that and learn from that, that’s pretty special and it makes me a better player.”

McKeown, on joining an organization that has won two Stanley Cups in three seasons:
Obviously it’s a great organization. It’s definitely an honor to be in this organization. In saying that, my goal is to make this team. That’s my main focus, and getting better every day is the motive I have in myself, and that’s what I want to do to play in this organization.

McKeown, on NHL players he identifies with:
Definitely you’re always watching the best players. Doughty and Niedermayer – I mean, those are the best guys in the world. You can take little things from their game, I think. John Moore in New York, that’s a good comparison for me. A guy up and coming, a very steady defenseman with good feet. So a lot of similarities there. I watch a lot of hockey, and there are little things when you’re sitting on your couch that you can implement, and then you go out and work on them in the driveway and at the rink in practice and things like that. That’s definitely something that makes you a better player, and you need to get better to play at this level.

McKeown, on the grind of the year-round hockey prospect lifestyle:
The draft year is definitely the busiest summer, I hear from a lot of guys that have gone through the process. But that comes with it, and that’s exciting for me. Hockey is my main focus, and that’s where I want to be, is playing for the LA Kings and obviously World Junior Camp in August. That’s going to make me a better player, and it’s a great honor to be at these camps. In terms of worn out? Yeah, they’re tiring, but that’s all part of it, and that’s what makes you get to the next level.

McKeown, on rivalries and camaraderie amongst a heavy OHL contingent of players:
Yeah, for sure. Obviously we know a lot of the guys, and that’s also good, too. You get to gel that much quicker. In terms of rivalry, we know we’re part of one organization, and when it comes next year, then we’ll know who our rivals are. But right now we’re all teammates, and it’s a very competitive camp in saying that. It’s been great so far, and there are a lot of Ontario guys.