The Kids Are Alright, per Team Canada

Nearly every top player you can think of to come through the Kings system in the last decade has played in the World Junior Championships - Brown, Frolov, Doughty, Kopitar, Simmonds, etc...and you can add top prospects currently in the system to the list too - guys like Bernier and Hickey.

The annual tournament features the world's best future NHLers and upcoming draft picks.  This past January, Canada won the silver medal with a team that included Kings prospects Martin Jones, Colten Teubert, Brandon Kozun.

Hockey is serious business in Canada...and they don't wait around.  Although the tournament doesn't kick off again until late December in Buffalo, their summer evaluation camp roster is already available...and several recent Kings draft picks are on the list:

Brayden Schenn (C) - 2009 1st round selection

Kyle Clifford (LW) - 2009 2nd round selection and rookie camp MVP last September

Nicolas Deslauriers (D) - 2009 3rd round selection and Luc Robitaille Award winner

Linden Vey (RW) - 2009 4th round selection

...plus, 4th round pick Jean-Francois Berube was invited to the pre-camp goaltender evaluation sessions.

The full roster can be viewed here.  There are 41 players total on the roster (17 D and 24 F).  Details of the camp (expected to take place in Saint John, Newfoundland, sometime in early August) will be announced in the weeks to come.


About half of the camp invitees are eligible for the 2010 NHL Draft being held in Los Angeles in a few weeks.  So...depending upon who the Kings select at the draft, the above list could (and probably will) grow.

With four players on the roster right now, the Kings have more selections than any other NHL team!

The future continues to look bright.

IN DEAN WE TRUST

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

note: click here to read the Mayors Manor interview with prospect Colten Teubert