Camp Primer, 10/2 – “The Split” + Veterans On Preseason Workload, Fagemo Claimed by NSH

Yesterday was the cutdown, today marks the first day of the split.

The Kings condensed their training camp roster yesterday from 57 players to 28, less than half of what we had when we entered the day. As we’ve touched on a few times now, this is a strange year and thus comes with a different kind of schedule. Training camp has been open for 14 days, but the Kings veterans have only had six, formal practices together. Many have played two games, others have played just one. That all changes this week, as the workload ramps up, coinciding with the roster size shrinking. Expect to see the main group on the ice every day this week, either to practice or to play. With 15 healthy forwards and eight healthy defensemen on the roster, expect to see the bulk of the main group suiting up for at least the two home games this week and perhaps for all three games, depending on what they need from a workload standpoint. For Drew Doughty, for example, he’s only played once and it came back in Australia. He’ll be in communication with the coaching staff about what he needs to be ready for opening night. He mentioned only getting into two games during a preseason a few years back and not feeling ready to go for Game 1. Since then, he’s played a more regular exhibition slate. Anze Kopitar has also spoken about his desire to get into preseason games.

Doughty – I think it was Todd’s first year here, I only played in two preseason games and I fully did not feel ready for the regular season,” Doughty recalled back. “There’s nothing you can do in the summer to emulate the real physicality and the pace of a game, so I think I need a minimum of three [preseason] games.”

Kopitar – Personally, I don’t think I need five or six anymore, but three or four are always welcome. It’s just about timing, it’s about building chemistry within your line, even though we played the better part of last year together. It’s just the small details that paint the big picture, that you have to get in order.

So, with that in mind, with the Kings now down to a more manageable roster, expect to see the bulk of this group in action tomorrow evening against the Ducks. The two home games at Crypto.com Arena will likely see a full collection of NHL-level players, perhaps a preview of the roster we might see for opening night on October 11. The game to look out for is the game in Salt Lake City, which includes a flight. Typically, the Kings like to limit the air miles of their veteran players, when they can, during the preseason. With that being said, the Kings have already flown to Melbourne, Australia, so there’s only so much limitation you can do. What will likely happen is a conversation with players on the veteran side to see if they’d prefer to play in three or four exhibition contests.

The Kings will hit the ice in just under and hour here at Toyota Sports Performance Center. The updated Kings roster is below for reference –

Forwards Andre Lee (week-to-week) and Tyler Madden (day-to-day) are currently injured and not expected to practice with the Kings today. Expect the other 26 players on the roster on the ice when the NHL group skates at 11.

The Split
As far as the second half of today’s practice slate goes, the Ontario Reign are scheduled to hit the ice for their first day of training camp at 11:15 AM on the second ice sheet here at Toyota Sports Performance Center.

The biggest question mark right now is with regards to the roster. Because several players were placed on waivers by the Kings yesterday, we don’t know exactly who to expect on the ice today. Generally speaking, most guys clear. However, you can’t bank on that and we’ve seen players claimed off the Kings roster around this time in camp in seasons past. For reference, the Kings placed nine players on waivers yesterday afternoon –

Kevin Connauton
Samuel Fagemo
Joe Hicketts
Hayden Hodgson
Mikhail Maltsev
Jacob Moverare
Steven Santini
Akil Thomas
T.J. Tynan

We won’t know the status of those players for a bit here, so we won’t officially know if they will be on the ice with the Reign group when they open their training camp in an hour. Will update this post with a formal Ontario roster once we know the status of these players and the roster is officially released. Should expect to see that come around when that group hits the ice today.

UPDATE – Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Nashville Predators have claimed forward Samuel Fagemo off of waivers. The other eight players have cleared and are slated to skate with the Ontario Reign this morning.

Kings at 11, Reign at 11:15. Opening Night is in nine days, Insiders. We’re getting close! Lots more to come today, including the first episode of NHL Network’s Behind The Glass, a practice recap and perhaps a business-side announcement or two. Will have it all here on LAKI!