Day 4 Camp Primer – Kings Switch Format + Darcy Kuemper Talks Return, Teammates Weigh in on DK

Another day of Kings training camp, Insiders!

A little bit of a different twist today, as the Kings changed up their groups and schedule for Day 4. Originally scheduled was the same, two-a-day sessions we’ve seen over the first three days of camp. Everyone will now skate just once today, with Group A scheduled for 10 AM and Groups B & C scheduled for a scrimmage at 11:30 AM.

The early skate today will now consist of the bulk of the veterans, guys who are firmly in the mix for the NHL Roster –

Group A
Forwards (13) – Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault, Samuel Fagemo, Kevin Fiala, Warren Foegele, Tanner Jeannot, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Alex Laferriere, Trevor Lewis, Trevor Moore, Akil Thomas, Alex Turcotte

Defensemen (8) – Mikey Anderson, Kyle Burroughs, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Joel Edmundson, Andreas Englund, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jordan Spence

Goaltenders (2) – Darcy Kuemper, David Rittich

Groups B and C are composed of guys trying to make an impression here as camp progresses. Some of them have already done that, with big center Samuel Helenius catching Jim Hiller’s eye throughout the first couple of days of camp. Some in this mix are perhaps longer shots to make the NHL club but others have a real opportunity to make decisions harder, if they can perform well during camp and show out during exhibition games.

Groups B and C are listed below –

Group B
Forwards (13) – Bryce Brodzinski, Arvid Caderoth, Shawn Element, Samuel Helenius, Aatu Jamsen, Andre Lee, Tyler Madden, Ethan Neutens, Quinn Olson, John Parker-Jones, Francesco Pinelli, Taylor Ward, Jake Wise

Defensemen (6) – Parker Berge, Jakub Dvorak, Joe Hicketts, Dru Krebs, Matthew Mania, Jacob Moverare

Goaltenders (2) – Pheonix Copley, Carter George

Group C
Forwards (13) – Martin Chromiak, Cole Davis, Jacob Doty, Glenn Gawdin, Liam Greentree, Charles Hudon, Kaleb Lawrence, Jeff Malott, Patrick Moynihan, Jack Studnicka, Oliver Tulk, Luke Woodworth, Koehn Ziemmer

Defensemen (6) – Angus Booth, Caleb Jones, Jack Millar, Corbin Vaughan, Reilly Walsh, Jared Woolley

Goaltenders (2) – Dryden McKay, Erik Portillo

Most of today’s coverage will center around the group skating at 10 AM, but will also pass along any relevant notes from the scrimmage session. We’ve had the chance to talk to just about every player in Group A, between rookie camp and main camp, and will check off a few more of those players today before the exhibition slate gets underway tomorrow with the Kings traveling to Utah for their first preseason game. Expecting that to be a lighter group in terms of experience, but the Kings are required to dress at least eight “veterans” per game during the preseason. A veteran has several different qualifications, but it doesn’t have to mean Anze Kopitar. Will detail that out tomorrow in the game preview, as we get a good sense of the game group.

Additionally, still not expecting Arthur Kaliyev or Cole Krygier with today’s group. Kaliyev has an upper-body injury and is “out” at this time.

Welcome Back, Darce

Look at that smile.

Good to have Darcy Kuemper back with the LA Kings and from the conversation yesterday, feels like Darcy Kuemper is excited to be back.

“It’s been great, I loved my season that I was here for, I feel really comfortable here and it’s an unbelievable organization,” Kuemper said yesterday. “Just feels good to be back. It’s been a lot of fun having camp rolling here and to get some meaningful hockey in and it just keeps ramping up from here. Looking forward to it.”

Even Jim Hiller mentioned it during yesterday’s media availability, saying it caught him seeing him around the room, at breakfast and “he’s got a smile on his face, good energy.”

Kuemper was last with the Kings during the 2017-18 season, but still has three teammates he spent the season with who are still with the Kings – Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis. Kuemper yesterday expressed a lot of excitement to get teammates with those players once again.

“Unbelievable players who have had incredible careers, they’re still playing at a high level, but more importantly they’re awesome teammates,” Kuemper said. “I’m just excited to be in the locker room with them, getting to spend some time with them again is a lot of fun every day.”

All three spoke highly of Kuemper as a teammate and expressed a ton of excitement in having him back once again.

Doughty – Darcy’s a great guy, when he was here before with us, he was unbelievable, he was so good and very calm in net, which is going to make us more calm in front of him. I’m excited to have him back, great guy in the room, lots of laughs with him.

Kopitar – He brings some experience, he won a cup in Colorado, so that’s huge and he’s been in the league for a long time. He knows what it takes, he’s been on losing teams where I’m sure he was miserable and he’s won the cup, so I know he knows what it takes. We’re excited to have Darce back and looking ahead.

Lewis – Yeah, great guy, we still talked to him every time we saw him when we played on the road and I’m happy to have him back. He’s a great goalie and he seems pretty hungry to get back after it too.

From a coaching perspective, Hiller added that Kuemper seems to have a competitive drive that he likes in a goaltender. He pointed to something as small as a post-practice game he runs between the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders and said Kuemper is the first goaltender he’s ever seen win that game. He went on to call Kuemper “competitive” and a player who his teammates have a lot of confidence in. Ultimately, we’ll judge what Kuemper does on his performance during the games. Goaltenders either stop the puck or they don’t. Good early signs, though, for a player who is excited to be a King once again.

Group A is taking the ice now for the first skate of the day! Full coverage to follow here once they finish up, before we get rolling with tomorrow’s preseason action!