Kurtis MacDermid cleared waivers and was assigned to AHL-Ontario with Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, Matt Luff and Cal Petersen on Monday as the LA Kings continued to pare down their roster in advance of Tuesday’s 2:00 p.m. PT submission deadline. As reported over the past two days, Jaret Anderson-Dolan and Austin Wagner were essentially battling for the final spot on the team, and with Brown’s injury, there’s room for both of them to begin the year — though nothing is official at this point. They both remained on a 26-man active roster along with forward Emerson Etem, whose status beyond Monday morning was not particularly clear. If you’re just joining us, there’s some context on Etem shared in the links above, so sit tight for a little bit there.
Emerson Etem said he doesn't know what is going on with his status. JS had good things to say about Brickley and JAD, who hasn't looked out of place as a 19-year-old. Deadline to get to 23 is tomorrow.
— Curtis Zupke (@curtiszupke) October 1, 2018
The Kings were happy with Brickley’s progress through camp, with John Stevens praising his game at Vegas on Friday as his best of the preseason. But he’s waiver-exempt, unlike Paul LaDue and Oscar Fantenberg, and will open the season in Ontario. Don’t be surprised to see Brickley get an opportunity relatively soon this year, whether due to injury or by other means. He’ll get his games. That he opens the year in Ontario is a good testament to the solid depth within this unit. As of early in the weekend, it was looking like Fantenberg was the sixth defenseman and LaDue the seventh, and that was the defensive lineup they went with on Saturday against Anaheim. We’ll get a better sense of how the team plans on lining up for the opener when they practice Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. at Toyota Sports Center.
There’s a real logjam on the Ontario blue line, with MacDermid, Brickley and Clague joining a group that already included Stepan Falkovsky, Rob Hamilton, Alex Lintuniemi, Chaz Reddekopp, Matt Roy, Colton Saucerman, Austin Strand and Sean Walker. MacDermid, Clague, Brickley, Falkovsky, Lintuniemi, Roy, Strand and Walker are signed to NHL contracts.
Petersen, who stopped 28 of 32 shots spread over three preseason games, will get the heavier share of the starts for the Reign and will be joined in consortium by Peter Budaj. Petersen was the first goalie off at today’s morning skate and should get the start in the final pre-season tune-up tonight in Anaheim. (Which is free for those, uh, inclined to create a My Ducks Account on Ticketmaster.) Luff, who had been assigned to Ontario earlier in camp but was recalled and showed well in Wednesday’s loss at Anaheim, re-joins an Reign forward group that currently includes Brett Sutter, Matt Luff, Brad Morrison, Spencer Watson, Zack Mitchell, Kyle Bauman, Philippe Maillet, Drake Rymsha, Boko Imama, Mikey Eyssimont, Jamie Devane, Sam Herr, Matt Moulson, Zeb Knutson, Adam Gilmour, Nic Pierog Sheldon Rempal and Joe Sullivan.
Of the 26 players that remain on the Los Angeles roster, three are injured in Gabe Vilardi (back), Jonny Brodzinski (shoulder surgery) and Brown (broken finger). Vilardi skated in full gear with Head Athletic Trainer Chris Kingsley on Saturday and will open the season either on IR or as an injured non-roster player. Brodzinski and Brown are out indefinitely, per the Kings.
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