As recently as last season the Los Angeles Kings were depending on an 18 year old rookie, a 37 year old cap casualty, a waiver wire pick-up and a man named The Goat. Only a few years ago, they were depending on guys like Brent Sopel, Jason Ward and the immortal Jaroslav Modry to play important minutes on the blueline. But for the first time in years, the Kings building plan finally looks like it’s starting to bear some fruit.
The path towards building the young talented blueline hasn’t been easy. I’m sure most Kings fans wish the rebuild could have happened quicker, wish it was a little less painful and wish it never involved Rob Blake. But it’s starting to look like those horrific seasons that led to high draft picks are starting to pay off. Look at next year’s roster on the back-end and you’ll see a defensive corps that looks like it was precisely put together.
Here’s how the blueline looks to set up for the Kings this season (and beyond):
The Locks
Mentor, meet protégé
Drew Doughty: Any discussion of the Kings defensemen starts with Drew Doughty. At the age of 19, he’s already been invited to Team Canada’s orientation camp this summer. He played significant time on both the penalty kill and power play en route to leading all NHL rookies in ice-time. On a team that has a ton of young talent, the former #2 overall pick is the one that has the greatest potential to be a superstar.
Rob Scuderi: The Kings only pick-up in free agency looks to be an absolute perfect fit. Already having young guys like Doughty and Johnson with all of their offensive potential (as well as Hickey waiting in the wings), they needed a shut down player that was capable of playing Top 4 defenseman minutes. He was able to thrive last season while paired with the walking pylon himself, Hal Gill. Just imagine what he’ll be able to do this season with a partner than can actually skate.
Jack Johnson: Right now, the biggest problem that he’s had in his young career is the expectations he had coming out of Michigan. That whole JMFJ thing, while fun to talk about, might have been unrealistic expectations for any young defenseman in the NHL. Last season he was set to be the Kings workhorse before he suffered a major shoulder injury in the 2nd game of the season. When he came back in January, half a season and the potential to break-out were already lost.
This season looks like it could be that breakout season for him. Over the offseason, the restricted free agent signed a 2 year contract that is scheduled to pay him an average of $1.425 million per season. Instead of paying him for all of his “Kill Jack Kill” potential, both sides agreed to a contract that pays him for what he’s accomplished in the NHL thus far. Do you think he’ll have a little motivation to show that he’s a legitimate top defenseman in the league? Remember, the man is still only 22 years old! If he stays healthy, he could grow by leaps and bounds this season.
Matt Greene: Obviously, he’s not the best defenseman in the league—but he fulfills an important role on the Kings. He’s a complimentary player that brings a ton of things to the table. First and foremost, he’s a defenseman that can play below the faceoff circles and in front of his own net. In addition to his toughness, he brings the type of leadership that earned him the assistant captain’s “A” before he had even played a single game for the Kings last season. Take a look at his former team (Edmonton) if you have any questions to his worth. One of the biggest problems they had last season was adding some grit to their defensive corps. Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until it’s gone.
Sure the grit, leadership and toughness are all important—but the guy is funny as hell. Some of his sound-bytes alone are worth his salary!
Sean O’Donnell: The veteran is the last of the guys that is a virtual lock to make the team for opening night. Like each of the other players before him, he also plays a specific role in the make-up of the Kings and their blueline. He’s not the most talented guy, he’s not going to put up many points and he’s not going to be someone that makes YouTube highlights by throwing his body around. But what he WILL do is help the young defensemen understand what it takes to be a productive player in this league for years to come. He’ll act as another coach on the bench during the game to help his young defensive partner understand the flow of the game. He’ll help correct his partner if a mistake was made during play. And he’ll help the youngsters understand during practice certain things that they’ll need to learn, both this year and beyond.
He’ll play 10 minutes or so per game next season, but they might as well consider that 1 year salary money that is going towards the coaching staff. The Kings have 4 guys already virtual locks for their Top 4, leaving O’Donnell to possibly mentor another potential NHLer at some point during the season. Drew Doughty benefited from his life lessons last season—hopefully he’ll be able to pass those lessons onto another young player this season.
The Hot-Shot Prospects
Thomas Hickey: Just about every Kings fan over the last 2 years has an opinion on Thomas Hickey. There are some fans that are excited with his leadership qualities, his two-way game and his potential. There are other’s that constantly harp on the fact that Dean Lombardi should have chosen Karl Alzner, Sam Gagner or Jakub Voracek in the 2007 Draft. Such is life when you’re GM goes off the reservation and picks someone that was completely off most fans radar.
If a blogger talks about Matt Greene, they're contractually obligated to use this picture...
If you asked me 2 months ago about Thomas Hickey, I’d tell you that he would spend a year in Manchester learning to make the transition from the WHL to professional hockey. Its one thing when you’re shutting down 17 and 18 year olds, but it’s quite another when you’re trying to shut down guys that make their livelihood playing hockey. I want to see what happens when he’s trying to stop a guy that’s 30 pounds heavier and half a foot taller than him.
With all of that being said, he turned more than a few heads at the Kings Development Camp in July. If you asked me to point out ONE player that impressed more than anyone else, without question it would have been Thomas Hickey. He was extremely efficient in his own zone, would join the rush when it was appropriate and played with a level of poise that you can’t teach. Remember, this is the same camp that produced Drew Doughty, Wayne Simmonds and Oscar Moller last season. He definitely earned an invite to training camp and a LONG look by the coaching staff.
Colten Teubert: After Doughty last season, the Kings used their other 1st round pick on Teubert. While DD was impressing most fans in the league that saw him make the jump to the NHL, Teubert was having problems adjusting to expectations in Regina of the WHL. Known for being a complete bastard on the ice to the opposition, he further rounded out his game by being a complete bastard to his own fans. It was certainly a year filled with growing pains.
But if that was a bad year for Teubert, then he’s still going to be a good player for years to come. In his troubled season, he still earned a gold medal with the Canadian Junior team and had his best offensive season at the junior level. This season looks like its going to be another step in the maturation process. He’s already making waves in this year’s Team Canada Development Camp. Again, he provides a skill that no one else in the Kings pipeline possesses. If you doubt that just ask Boston Bruin’s prospect Jordan Caron…
Viatcheslav Voinov: Voinov is the least heralded of the 3 impressive defensive prospects the Kings have in their organization. Even though he was drafted in 2008, the young Russian adjusted to the North American game admirably with the Manchester Monarchs last season. By the end of the year, the 19 year old was one of the most dependable players on the entire Monarchs team. If he were in any other organization, HE would be the prospect that everyone would be looking forward to seeing in the NHL. With guys like Doughty, Johnson, Hickey and Teubert, he’s just another piece in the Kings embarrassment of riches. Don’t be surprised if the Kings try to find a spot for him at the NHL level in the next season or two.
The Tweeners
If the Kings decide that they want to let Hickey and the rest of the top-flight prospects marinate in Manchester, there are 3 guys that will fight for the 6th and final spot on the ice. Alec Martinez, Peter Harrold and Davis Drewiske all have experience at the NHL level and will have the opportunity in training camp to earn even more. Even though Martinez has performed adequately in his time with the big club, Harrold and Drewiske will probably be the two fighting for a roster spot. The coaches seemed to love Harrold and his versatility (he played as a 4th line winger for a long stretch), but Drewiske was impressive towards the end of last season. Chances are both will make the team—one will be on the ice and one will be in the press box.
It’s taken a while for the Kings to assemble the defensive corps that they have in LA these days. When you look at the big picture, there was some serious addition by subtraction going on with Denis Gauthier’s contract expiring at the end of last season. Last offseason, the same could be said when Rob Blake ended his pitiful second stint with the Kings when he chose to travel up the coast to San Jose. Considering he was a guy that forgot what the front of the net looked like, he was the last guy I wanted mentoring the kids breaking into the NHL. I’d take Sean O’Donnell any day.
That’s the perfect example. There’s no question that Rob Blake is going to get Hall of Fame consideration upon his retirement; and there’s no question that Sean O’Donnell will not. But at this point in time, O’Donnell brings a skill set, attitude and leadership that are more valuable to the Kings organization.
The Kings are at the point that they have enough depth at the position that they can go out and trade defensive assets to help their anemic offense. Kyle Quincey was the leading scorer from the blueline, yet he was included in a trade with Tom Preissing (another d-man) to bring in Ryan Smyth from Colorado. The development of their top-tier and mid-level prospects alike gave GM Dean Lombardi the freedom to improve all aspects of the roster. Now the defensive pipeline is providing more than stop-gap players—it’s providing assets.
Damn, what a difference a few years makes!
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
