Camp Primer, 9/28 – Big Boys Are Back + Lineups For Groups A & B

Feels like a normal training camp today, Insiders.

Two groups at Toyota Sports Performance Center, skating in consecutive ice slots. That’s what we’ll have, for the most part, from here through Sunday, when we will see the groups become split between the NHL and AHL. The first week or so was very out of the norm, but that’s not to say it was a negative for the Kings. Veteran players certainly have less practice time than they otherwise would have, but also more game action. It’s unlikely we would have seen lineup regulars with two games played already under normal circumstances and it’s unlikely they’d only have three practices on top of that. Such is life, though, and we’re back on track here today.

For the organization’s younger players, their opportunity has come differently. For say Alex Laferriere, he has not had the chance to skate with the veteran players so far in camp. He has, however, played in two games at the Rookie Faceoff in Vegas and two exhibition contests, skating on the first line in Anaheim and Vegas. He’ll likely get at least one more this weekend. The same goes for several others. Would Akil Thomas have a preseason hat trick under normal circumstances, centering the second line against Chandler Stephenson? Doubt it. While the younger contingent has not had those first few days of joint practices, where they intertwine with those high-end players, they have gotten more game action, skating higher in the lineup, than they might have otherwise received. That is valuable too, and it’s why we shouldn’t be surprised to see some crossover in the coming days, affording that additional opportunity to guys who have excelled in a Group B or Group C setting.

Today’s skate is a pretty clear divide between Group A and Group B, but the Kings have shown in previous years that they aren’t afraid to mix things up from day-to-day, both to experiment with different looks and to reward players for playing well. Today’s alignment is today’s alignment and while we will likely see a Group A / Group B split throughout the rest of training camp, until the Ontario Reign open on Monday, we might not see the same personnel in each group from day-to-day. Performance in the games this weekend will merit changes as well and we could see players shuffled around all the way through next week, even after Ontario Reign camp opens.

With that behind us, here are the expected groups for today –

Group A
Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Phillip Danault – Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Arthur Kaliyev
Carl Grundstrom – Blake Lizotte – Trevor Lewis
Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Alex Turcotte – Samuel Fagemo – Jacob Doty

Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov – Brandt Clarke
Andreas Englund – Jordan Spence
Tobias Bjornfot – Jacob Moverare

Pheonix Copley / David Rittich / Cam Talbot

Matt Roy will not practice today due to illness.

Group B
Forwards: Nathan Burke, Martin Chromiak, Ryan Francis, Samuel Helenius, Hayden Hodgson, Charles Hudon, Isaac Johnson, Alex Laferriere, Kaleb Lawrence, Tyler Madden, Mikhail Maltsev, Nikita Pavlychev, Francesco Pinelli, Akil Thomas, Sean Tschigerl, Ty Thorpe, T.J. Tynan, Taylor Ward
Defensemen: Angus Booth, Kevin Connauton, Max Coyle, Joe Hicketts, Tyler Inamoto, Cole Krygier, Jacob Modry, Kim Nousiainen, Steven Santini, Wyatte Wylie
Goaltenders: Ryan Bednard, J-F Berube, Jacob Ingham, Erik Portillo

As far as an upcoming schedule, here’s how the Kings will skate through the weekend –

Thursday, September 28
Group A Practice: 11:00 AM
Group B Practice: 12:30 PM

Friday, September 29
Game Group: 10:00 AM
Group A Practice: 11:00 AM
Non-Game Group Practice: 11:15 AM (NHL2 Sheet)
Kings @ Ducks: 7:00 PM (Pechanga Arena, San Diego)

Saturday, September 30
Game Group: 10:00 AM
Group A Practice: 11:00 AM
Non-Game Group Practice: 11:15 AM (NHL2 Sheet)
Kings @ Sharks: 7:00 PM (SAP Center, San Jose)

Sunday, October 1
Day Off (All Groups)

As noted, Group A hits the ice at 11 AM, while Group B will follow at 12:30 PM. Full recap from Group A’s skate to come, as well as any relevant information from the Group B skate that follows.