Teammates, Coaches Weigh In With Early Impressions Of Pierre-Luc Dubois

Todd McLellan put it clearly after his first two games coaching Pierre-Luc Dubois – he was what he thought he was.

Paging Denny Green to the podium.

First things first, McLellan could see the traits Dubois has that made him an appealing target for the Kings this offseason. His hockey mind, the way that he understands the game, his combination of size and skill…all were on display in Melbourne, and all shined through.

“He’s a very cerebral player, he understands the game, he reads and reacts real well, he uses his size,” McLellan said.

While those talents were evident, there’s also a player who is still learning the way the Kings play and that will naturally take some time. Looking at the projected roster for this season, Dubois is essentially the only player who is new to the organization among the forwards, with fellow summer acquisition Trevor Lewis returning home, as opposed to finding a new home.

McLellan saw that side of Dubois’ game as well. A player who had been through a Kings practice just three times before his first game and therefore had limited time to learn and dive head first into the Kings way of playing.

“It’s going to take a little time, because everyone around him kind of knows what’s going on, what to do, all these stupid words the coach is using and he’s got to adapt,” McLellan added. “It’s hard to play when you’re thinking a lot and once it just naturally comes, he’s even going to be better. We’re happy with where he’s at.”

Happy seemed to be the sentiment of Dubois’ new teammates as well, who all seemed excited about the big-ticket acquisition this offseason.

For veteran defenseman Drew Doughty, these are the types of moves he wanted to see made. He made it evident during his exit interview in 2021 that he wouldn’t be happy without seeing moves that made the NHL roster better. Since then, the Kings have acquired four top-nine forwards and developed two more. They’ve added a top-four defenseman as well. Dubois is the latest – and highest paid – name in that group. He’s a center in his prime and centers in their prime are rarely made available on the trade market.

“Bringing in PL, I think that we’re going to have one of the best center lineups in the league, without a doubt,” Doughty said. “Center is arguably the most important position on the ice. They’re playing offense, they go all the way back and play defense too. I think the trade, as much as you don’t want to see guys go, I think it’s going to make us a more intimidating team to play against and hopefully make us a better team.”

Doughty recalled back to battles against Dubois that he had over the years, calling him “hard to play against” when he’s at his best.

From the man-on-man matchup down the middle, Anze Kopitar was inclined to agree.

Kopitar and Dubois are both big, strong centers and big, strong centers typically find themselves on opposite sides of the faceoff dot at the same time. Kopitar recalled back to those assets Dubois has, along with his skill. A guy he’s looking forward to having on his side of the ice this time around.

“What I remember playing against him was a very skilled and strong guy,” Kopitar recalled. “He can play both center and wing, primarily center. I’ve gotten to know him over the last couple of weeks, but looking forward to spending more time with him and I’m very excited to have him on our team.”

Completing the center depth that Doughty talked about is Phillip Danault, who has proven to be an excellent fit himself with the Kings after signing as a free agent in the summer of 2021.

When Dubois was originally acquired, he mentioned wanting to spend some time with Danault and his family over the summer, something Danault confirmed they did. A good personal connection, as two French-Canadian players who were familiar of one another, but didn’t necessarily know one another. Now, they have the latter and Danault was proud to add Dubois to the center group with the Kings.

“Once he got traded here, we had breakfast, I talked with him and his girlfriend,” Danault said. He was super pumped to be here, and I’m super pumped to have him on the team. Two Frenchies. He’s a good dude and a real good player, a great addition for the team. I can’t wait to see what he can bring for us.”

The other conversation for Dubois was with a former teammate, Vladislav Gavrikov.

The two played together in Columbus and both players said they talked several times before Dubois was officially acquired and officially signed with the Kings. Gavrikov himself was traded to LA just a few months prior and decided to re-sign over the summer, forgoing unrestricted free agency to remain with the Kings.

Gavrikov wasn’t looking to disclose his sales pitch to Dubois, but was happy to be reunited with a friend and a good player.

“I’ll keep it a secret, because we had several conversations and he called me two or three times, we discussed a lot about it,” he said. “He had a lot of questions for me and now here we go, he’s here, and we’re excited. Hopefully he can help us, he’s a special key for the team.”

Looking ahead, we’ll get a better sense of how Dubois can play within the Kings system here over the next week. He played the two games in Australia, but he’s now had three more practices under his belt before hitting the ice for the final week of preseason, which will likely include 2-3 additional exhibition games with his new linemates and his new team.

He’s picking things up as he goes and that’s a good thing as far as McLellan can see. He’s doing the right things and asking the right questions, working to gel with his new linemates, who both have unique and high-level skills. A good fit in the making, for both player and team, and we’ll get a front-row seat to the remainder of his preseason journey in the days to come.

“He has size, smarts, good anticipation skills, he picks things up quickly on the bench, asks good questions, trying to connect with linemates,” McLellan added. “Kev and Arty didn’t play a lot together last year……but they’re three individuals that haven’t played together and it will take a little while. You’ve got to be able to read off Kevin, you’ve got to know how Arthur plays the game. PL is doing that right now and he’s doing a real good job of that.”