Matt Kemp unwilling to follow James Loney onto Kings ice

Over the past several seasons the Kings and Dodgers have maintained a friendly marketing relationship.

Players from both sides have visited the home turf of the other sport and helped promote their team and a greater sense of community between their fans.

Prior to last night's Kings-themed evening at Dodger Stadium, I spoke to first baseman James Loney - who was eager to come down to Staples Center and not just watch a game, but take part in warm-ups on the ice.

After the Dodgers downed the Diamondbacks 9-5, Matt Kemp didn't exactly share his teammate's enthusiasm for participation - "Nah, them boys are pretty rough, man. I don't think I'm too good on ice either. I'm a little clumsy. So, they got me on that. I'll definitely come watch a game. But, I don't think I'm going to get on that ice."

Like Loney, he hasn't formally been introduced to the NHL yet. "I've never been to a pro hockey game," said Kemp. "The first game I went to was a CHL game, the Oklahoma City Blazers. That was a long time ago."

James Loney eying LA Kings, thinking Bo Jackson v2.0?

Deion Sanders did it. Brian Jordan did it too. Most famously, Bo Jackson did it.

They were all two-sport stars.

However, that was football and baseball. To the best of my knowledge, no modern pro athlete has ever gone from the playing field to a sheet of ice in the NHL.

Could the Dodgers' James Loney be the first?

Prior to last night's Dodger game, I spoke with the first baseman to talk a little hockey. After all, it was 'Kings Night' at the ballpark.

"I haven't made it out to a game yet," Loney admitted. "I know at Spring Training in Arizona, they have hockey playing right next door too. I want to get out to one. So, hopefully it happens pretty soon."

He's not a complete hockey novice though. "I've been to a minor league game, the Houston Aeros (AHL)," Loney shared. "I remember a fight breaking out right after the National Anthem. It was pretty insane."

Unlike Andre Either, he doesn't want to just visit Staples Center to drop a ceremonial first-puck before the game. "I want to come and shoot some goals," Loney exclaimed with a huge smile and eyes wide open. "I want to come early. I want to put some gear on."

He even confirmed it wouldn't be the first time he's seen the ice - "I've been on skates, yeah!"

Then, Loney must have had a moment of clarity. "Maybe I can just be a goalie or something, just kind of move around back there. But, I want to get down and dirty with those guys."

As for the Dodgers and their weekend series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Loney said, "I'm feeling pretty good. We've been playing pretty well over the last few weeks. Maybe not getting as many wins as we'd like, obviously. But, we're coming off a pretty hot streak this last week. So, we're hoping to keep that rolling."

And they certainly did, beating the D-backs 9-5.

After the game, Loney mentioned to me again how serious he was about coming to a Kings game this winter.

Somebody order this guy a jersey and get him some skates.   We'll just need to see if Rob Scuderi is willing to give up his #7 for the night.

The Mayor
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Trevor Lewis ready to make some noise at center or wing

Martinez, Parse, Lewis at Dodger game

Just about everything Kings forward Trevor Lewis does, he does quietly.

Despite begin taken 17th overall at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, you rarely hear about him as a 'former first rounder' like you do with Jonathan Bernier or Thomas Hickey.

At the time, he was playing in the USHL - not major junior in Canada or NCAA hockey in the U.S.  Perhaps that's part of it.

This past season, in very under-the-radar fashion, he became one of the Kings best defensive forwards.

He also comes from Salt Lake City, Utah. A place not exactly known for being a super flashy town.

Tanned and freshly rested from last weekend's Kings cruise, Lewis was with a group of about a half-dozen teammates at Dodger Stadium Friday night. Before he took part in the first-pitch ceremony, I had a chance to catch up with him for a few minutes.

Even though it was his frist trip to Chavez Ravine, Lewis knew that it was commonly referred to as 'Blue Heaven on Earth' and described the place as simply "awesome," while looking around to soak it all in.

Kings coach already juggling lines for next season

Murray with Williams (photo: D. Sheehan)

Granted, he didn't take the team to the playoffs his first year behind the bench in Los Angeles.

However, in year two, Kings head coach Terry Murray guided the club to 101 points and they returned to the post-season for the first time in nearly a decade.

He backed that up with what may have been his finest coaching job in LA - as he had to calmly maintain order through two messy, extended losing streaks, where he easily could have lost the confidence of his team.  Instead, they made the playoffs for the second straight year.

Still, a small group of vocal detractors continue to point criticism his way. They don't like his power play system (a fair complaint, considering the poor conversion last season). They question his goaltending rotation (really, it was more an issue the year before, when he all but refused to play back-up Erik Ersberg).

And the most common complaint is his apparent fascination with juggling lines. There probably wasn't a post-game Kings Talk radio show last season when the subject wasn't brought up at least once.

Part of the issue really hasn't been his fault though. When you don't have the necessary pieces to truly assemble two top lines, you're left scrambling. It's like a cat constantly chasing its tale. Or, better yet, like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

So, now that he has a legit top-six...and by the far the deepest Kings roster he's ever had - on paper - will he be putting the blender away?

When talking to the coach about his new options, the obvious place to focus was on the addition of a pair of former Flyers. "Those are two really good adds to our team," Murray started by saying. "Mike Richards is an outstanding hockey player. When you look at (Simon) Gagne being part of the team now, they've played together before. There was good chemistry, good results on both sides of the puck. So, I have a tendency when I'm writing down lines - which I have done already - to have those guys together on a line."

Mike Richards has ideas to help the LA Kings power play

Earlier this week I posted a conversation with LA Kings coach Terry Murray, where we talked about some of his plans for the power play next season.

Call it a follow-up piece to several discussions with Murray and GM Dean Lombardi about what changes need to take place to improve last season's dismal 16.1% conversion rate.

With the coaching staff remaining the same, the most common answers this summer have been to change the structure and/or personnel. And with the additions of Simon Gagne and Mike Richards, there's no arguing the personnel side has received a major upgrade.

Although Murray said he wasn't sure where he was going to play Richards yet, I still wanted to know where the new Kings centerman felt most comfortable, considering he played multiple positions with the man-advantage over the last few seasons in Philadelphia...

"I actually feel comfortable in both spots," said Richards. "I played the half-wall in junior and my first couple of years in the NHL. Then, we had a lot of success when I was on the point with Danny Briere working the half-wall too. So, I feel comfortable in both spots. It's just something that we have to get on the same page with and make sure (we know) where everybody is on the ice. It's not going to click right away. It takes time to learn how to play with somebody. But, I think if we have the right tools in place, it can be a good thing."

When it comes to increasing the Kings conversion percentage, Richards has a simple philosophy - "It's about knowing where your teammates are on the ice and moving as a group of one."

Two years ago the Kings came to training camp with t-shirts on that read 'The only reason we're here.' It was an attempt to have a unified message about the team's desire to make the playoffs.  And it worked.  LA returned to the NHL's post-season for the first time in nearly a decade.

Perhaps they can now borrow from their new teammate and order some 'Move as a group of one' shirts before camp opens in September.

It certainly can't make the power play any worse.

The Mayor
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Richards v Dubinsky (Photo by Bob Fina)

Drafted 24th overall by Philadelphia in 2003, Canadian Mike Richards played two more years of junior hockey before making his NHL debut for the Flyers.

The night was October 5, 2005 and they were playing the New York Rangers.

In the second period of that game, Richards scored what was described as a 'hard-fought goal' - taking an outlet pass from Eric Desjardins, outmuscling defenseman Fedor Tyutin and lifting a shot over Kevin Weekes' left shoulder - to put the Flyers up 3-1.

It was his first NHL goal and it came against the team he went on to play 36 more times over the next six seasons.

He amassed 11 more goals against those Rangers - his second highest total against any team in the league.  And his 64 penalty minutes vs. Broadway's Blueshirts are 20 more than he's incurred against any other NHL club.

Now that he's a member of the Los Angeles Kings, a Western Conference team, that's all behind him, right?  Not so fast.

Life will come full circle on Friday, October 7th - when he makes his official debut as a member of the Kings in game one of the 2011-12 NHL season.

Their opponent? Yes, the New York Rangers.

He wasted no time jumping in with both feet when I asked him about the match-up earlier today - "Well, I didn't think I was going to have to fight (Brandon) Dubinsky anymore. I've already fought him five times. I can't get rid of this guy," Richards said.

"It's going to be interesting. We had a great rivalry over the past couple of years, a ton of great games against them. Like I said before, about LA and New York, there's always a buzz when you play the Rangers...whenever you play them it just sticks with you and there's a hatred there because guys compete so hard against each other. It's going to be a good start. It's not going to be hard to kinda get up for it. I know everybody on that team and how they play. So, I think it's going to make it easier."

Is it October yet?

Hockey already sounds so good.

The Mayor
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Mike Richards, Mike Richards, Mike Richards.

Don't worry, we'll get back to him later - there are plenty more notes and quotes from today's press luncheon that I'll post later.

How about we shift gears though for a moment...

Among the myriad of topics that Kings GM Dean Lombardi waxed poetically about for more than 30 minutes after the main session were some of the injuries to key players coming out of last season.

We didn't get much on how Justin Williams is recovering from his recent shoulder surgery, other than Lombardi saying he was "more than fine" and left LA a few weeks ago.

Not that the GM wasn't in the mood to share news on Williams, it was just a case of him being ready to go deep on Anze Kopitar. Only this time Lombardi wasn't preparing to talk about one of his favorite topics, baseball - however, he did through a change-up at us.

He first said Kopitar is 'close' when asked if he's back skating. "I heard that he was running," shared Lombardi. "I don't know if he went out for a twirl, it's not skating per se. Bottom line though, everything I heard last week is he's way ahead of schedule."

Dean was just getting warmed up too...

"Kopi's worked hard. I'm hoping this turns into a Blake Griffin (situation)...they said how hard he worked and appreciated the game," Lombardi said, comparing his young center's situation to that of the Clippers draft pick, who missed his entire NBA rookie year after damaging his knee in pre-season. "I sensed when he (Kopitar) left here, how hard he was working on his upper body. I had never seen him work that hard before. I think part of it was when you finally get hurt and you have to sit out...I hear Blake Griffin talk about that, 'In the end, it was really good for me to appreciate what I have.'"

Lombardi concluded by saying, "I (get) a new sense of vengeance and focus from Kopi. I'm hoping I'm right. But, everything I'm getting is, he's way ahead of schedule."

[UPDATE - OK, OK...if you just can't wait any longer, the first Mike Richards article is up now (link) - he looks ahead to the first game of next season, talks 'hatred' for the New York Rangers and about fighting Brandon Dubinsky]

The Mayor
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Windsor's Jeff Brown on the 'other side' of dev camp

Jeff Brown and Martin Jones (photo: C. Spatz)

For every Tyler Toffoli at the Kings recent Development camp you had a Rob Mignardi. For every Jake Muzzin there was an Alex Roach. And for every Martin Jones there was some European goalie who had everybody asking 'How do you spell his name?'

The point being - camp rosters weren't only filled with high end prospects and top draft choices. There were also more than a dozen invitees, aka 'the other guys.'

After the bigger names went home on Wednesday that week, camp continued for a few more days. This is the story of one of those guys, Jeff Brown of the Ontario Hockey League.

Prior to camp I spoke with his General Manager, (former Kings tough guy) Warren Rychel of the Windsor Spitfires, who described him as "tenacious up and down, two-way winger, in your face type player."

Naturally, I wanted to know if that was a fair assessment. "Yes, especially come playoff time," Brown proclaimed. "You need guys like that on your team. You need the skill guys, but you also need the second/third line grinder guys who are going to where down the other team's top players. I was playing top minutes in the playoffs against the other team's top line. So, it's one of the unsung roles. But, if you do it, the team wins. I'd say it's something I grew into later in my career and it's something that will stick with me from this point forward."

One of the specific players he had the task of shadowing earlier in the season was Toffoli, the reigning OHL Scoring Champion and a second round Kings draft pick in 2010.

Kings coach Murray discusses next season's power play

Coach Murray during drills (photo: K. Spatz)

During a recent conversation with Kings coach Terry Murray at their training facility in El Segundo we not only talked about prospects and Dustin Penner's off-season training, he also shed a little light on his power play plans for next season.

As many Kings fans recall, Murray and his coaching staff came under heavy fire last season for the lack of success the team had with the man advantage during the regular season - a paltry 16.1% conversion rate, ranked 21 out of 30 teams. Then, somewhat miraculously, they found their groove in the playoffs, converting nearly 21% of the time.

Still, 'Fire Jamie Kompon' was something lighting up message boards and social media sites once the season ended.

Murray deflected some of the heat during his end-of-season wrap up meeting with the media, saying Kompon wasn't responsible for the power play.

And GM Dean Lombardi somewhat confused the issue earlier that same day when he said "Ask me about it again in a week," while being questioned about the coaching staff's approach to the power play.

At a meeting with season ticket holders about a month prior though, Lombardi said there were many things wrong with the power play - "We need to gain the zone more with possession, battle in front of net and the team is short on skill." Later, he was more direct on one of those points - "(You need) really skilled players to become unpredictable on the power play and we're a little short there."

So, with the 'personnel' piece of the equation receiving significant upgrades over the last few weeks, it now begs the question - Where does the system and structure go from here?