LA Kings prospect Nick Deslauriers starting to find his way

Nick Deslauriers (photo: Scott Slingsby)

About 400 miles down the Atlantic coast, gym-tan-laundry is all the rage. Yet, for Kings prospect Nick Deslauriers, it's more about training, eating and shopping when he's not at the rink.

Earlier this week, we spoke by phone and talked about his adjustment to the AHL, as well as his first professional goal - scored last Sunday in front of the hometown Manchester crowd.

"It was a power play," Deslauriers began, when asked to describe the play. "I was with Thomas Hickey, who sets me up all the time. I've had a lot of chances that just haven't gone in. But that time, I took a one-timer and it finally went through."

While he wasn't surprised the puck made it past the goalie - as "Dwight King did a perfect job of screening him" - he was a bit perplexed that it's taken so long. "I think luck finally came to me and it was about time that something happened, with all the shots I've been taking. I've been posting around four to six shots nearly every game."

Drafted by the Kings out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2009, Deslauriers has leaned heavily on Monarchs captain - and fellow Frenchman - Marc-Andre Cliche as he settles in to this chapter of his hockey career.

"We talk a lot," he explained. "We try to talk in English in front of everybody. But, it's kind of weird - two French guys talking English. So, it's fun having one French guy here, just to talk with. If I have some problems that I can't communicate in English, I just go to him and he helps me. Having a little French time together is pretty awesome."

But, it was the support of the entire D-core that worked to keep his confidence high earlier in the season when he wasn't getting much playing time, largely due to the Monarchs having so many defenseman on the roster.

Los Angeles Kings Prospect Report - October 10, 2011

When training camp began back in early September, we ranked the top ten prospects in the Los Angeles Kings organization...and it's that list that we're using today as the template for the first Prospect Report of the new season.

- Goalie Martin Jones:  While many expect him to battle Jeff Zatkoff for playing time in Manchester (AHL) this season, he is the Monarchs starting goalie - for now. Per NHL rules, the Kings were allowed to take three goalies on their season opening trip to Europe. As such, Jones started both games over the weekend and posted a 1.52 goals-against average, giving up two goals on Friday and only one goal on Saturday. His save percentage sits at .940 for the moment.

[note: The Monarchs are now off until Friday. Earlier today, the Kings returned Zatkoff to the AHL. So, expect him to get some playing time in at least one of the three games next weekend.]

- Defenseman Jake Muzzin: He has not played since the first pre-season game of the year vs the Phoenix Coyotes. In that game, he was hit from behind by Mikkel Boedker (photo here) and has been suffering headaches and neck stiffness ever since. Last Thursday he was activated from the injured reserve list and loaned to Manchester, where his status for next weekend's games remains TBD.

- Forward Tyler Toffoli: Last week he was named the assistant captain of his junior team, the Ottawa 67's (OHL). The player with the most goals in all of junior hockey last season (57), Toffoli has picked right up where he left off, scoring five goals in his first five games. The 67's next play on Friday vs. Peterborough.

- Forward Brandon Kozun: After the first pair of games in Manchester this season, Kozun has zero points, two shots on goal and is a minus-one. Expect more production in the weeks to come. This will be Kozun's second year of pro hockey.

- Forward Andrei Loktionov: He continues to shoot the puck in the early part of the season. Loktionov leads the Monarchs with six shots on goal after their first two games. He also leads the team in assists (three) and is has a plus-two rating.

Top prospects talk disappointment of not playing tonight

Yesterday afternoon, Los Angeles Kings coach Terry Murray announced he was going with a more veteran line-up tonight vs. the Anaheim Ducks - with Andrei Loktionov as the lone prospect included in the group of forwards.

After talking a look at prospects Brandon Kozun, Tyler Toffoli and others vs. the Phoenix Coyotes, they'll sit out tonight's contest.

Here's some reaction from a few of the Kings prospects on that decision and their experience from Wednesday...

Toffoli - "I always want to play. But, I just have to work hard every day. It's their decision...I think I've done well so far. I've done everything that they've wanted me to do - work hard, get myself into better conditioning...and I thought I played well in the game (vs. Phoenix)."

Kozun - "We played against basically (the Coyotes) entire roster, they weren't missing many guys. So, that was fun. I went to Phoenix trying to do my best and, honestly, I think played a pretty good game. The biggest thing I took away from it is I know I can play against those guys. I know I can have success against them and now I just have to wait for my opportunity."

Ray Kaunisto - "It's a little (disappointing), but I was kind of expecting that - they want to get their regular line-up in and get some games under their belt before the regular season starts. So, you kind of have to expect that."

Over on defense, Nic Deslauriers had slightly different expectations...

"I was waiting to play a game," he shared. "Now, I'll just keep proving myself and preparing myself for what's next. That's the main point. For sure, I thought I maybe had a chance to play with the two games (on Wednesday). But, I'll get over it and think about Manchester now."

Two of the other defensive prospects getting the bulk of attention so far, Thomas Hickey and Slava Voynov, will both patrol the blueline again, as they did on Wednesday at Staples Center.

The longer Drew Doughty isn't signed - and if he plans on joining the team in Europe, he needs to be in camp by Friday at the latest - the more likely one of those two will be in the starting line-up on opening night.

Coach Murray evaluated the play of both in an interview here.

The full line-up for tonight is as follows:

Date Night with your Los Angeles Kings

What started as an innocent conversation with Kings prospect Jake Muzzin quickly spawned an idea for an article.

Life as an NHL prospect probably isn't as glamorous as it may seem at times. Over the last two weeks, guys from all across North America have been housed out of a hotel in El Segundo, CA (which, for those of you reading this article out of state, let's just say - it's not Hollywood).

By day, they've been been working hard on and off the ice, under the tutelage of head coach Terry Murray and his entire staff. By night, well - they're starting to go a little stir crazy in their 20x20 rooms.

During out little chat, Muzzin encouraged me to go see 'Moneyball.' He says it very good, especially the work by Brad Pitt. On the other hand, he strongly does not recommend 'Drive,' saying it was too slow.

After practice today, Ray Kaunisto was already looking ahead - revealing he plans on taking Brandon Kozun out for 'date night' later this evening.

To get some varied perspectives from around the room, here are comments from a few of the other Kings prospects...

Tyler Toffoli - "We saw 'Contagion,' I wouldn't recommend it. It was really slow." (Jordan Nolan started laughing in the background and shaking his head side to side. He didn't approve of the flick either.)

POLL: Most impressive King in Rookie Camp game two?

After the Kings-Coyotes first rookie game on Wednesday night, readers of MayorsManor voted Brandon Kozun as the most impressive LA prospect in the game.

He captured 40% of the votes, just enough to beat out Andy Andreoff's 38%.

Yesterday afternoon, the Kings beat the Coyotes 4-3 (game recap here).

If you were at the game or watched it online, who do you think was the most impressive?



Poll closes Saturday at noon.

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Rookie Camp Report: coach Murray on Nic Deslauriers

After Development Camp in July, Kings coach Terry Murray weighed in with thoughts on several of the team's top prospects - including Brandon Kozun, Jake Muzzin and Christopher Gibson.

Yesterday I spoke with him about one of the other players recently named to our Top 10 Prospects list, defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers..

Murray - "Off the ice your seeing a difference in maturity, physical strength, the testing results, the skating results - which are very demanding tests. Those show improvement. I think Deslauriers, he's a hockey player, his best is always in the game. Sometimes he's resting in his game in practice. But, when you get into a competitive game situation - and we've watched him only a couple of times - his game changes. He's very intense, he's very focused. Again, he's a game player and ultimately that's what we want out of all these guys."

Originally drafted by the Kings at the 2009 NHL Draft (third round), Deslauriers finished last season as the top scoring defenseman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) playoffs.

Earlier this summer, he signed a three-year entry level contract with the Kings and is expected to play in Manchester this season (AHL).

To read more of Murray's player evaluations, I've linked to them in the opening paragraph above for your convenience.

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Kings no longer using Yellow Pages to find defenseman

Deslauriers - Rookie Camp, day one

During the 2006-07 NHL season, Dean Lombardi's first year at the helm in Los Angeles, Kevin Dallman and Mike Weaver combined to play 92 games on the Kings blueline.

While I'm sure that wasn't what Lombardi was thinking about as he stood and watched part of Rookie Camp today from the Kings bench, he almost assuredly was smiling inside watching Jake Muzzin and Nic Deslauriers.

They're two of the brightest young stars in the organization. Entirely different players on the ice, they share the same problem away from it.

With a solid six d-core at the NHL level, when will they ever get their shot to make the big club?

That remains to be seen. However, it hasn't kept either from coming to camp with the right attitude. Here are comments from both following tonight's on-ice session...

LA Kings 2011 Rookie Camp Primer - the defensemen

Can you believe summer is officially over tomorrow?

Thankfully, the Kings rookies will take to the ice in El Segundo and we can back to the business of talking non-stop puck.

With that in mind, earlier we took a long look at the 13 forwards...and below we have news and notes on the eight blueliners attending camp:

KINGS PROSPECTS

Nicolas Deslauriers — 6-foot-1, 200 lbs, drafted in 2009, third round - in three years from now, he just might be the best of the 'next' defensemen coming up through LA's system - I've been singing his praises ever since first seeing him on the ice - his skating his smooth, his vision is great and he put it all together last year, posting more points in the QMJHL playoffs than any other defenseman (while playing for the Gatineau Olympiques) - he also had 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 48 regular season games - he showed up at Dev Camp in July with added muscle too - he's been on MayorsManor many times over the last two seasons, here are some thoughts he shared heading into the playoffs

LA Kings 2011 Rookie Camp - full roster and schedule

The Los Angeles Kings have announced the official roster and schedule for this year's Rookie Camp, which is set to begin on Saturday at their training facility in El Segundo, CA.

Camp itself will consist of four-days of on-ice activities and then culminate in the fourth annual Rookie Tournament vs. the Phoenix Coyotes.

SCHEDULE

Sat, September 10: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Sun, September 11: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Mon, September 12: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Tue, September 13: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Wed, September 14: Pre-game skate from 9 a.m.-10:15 a.m.; Game at 6 p.m.

Thur, September 15: Game at 2 p.m.

note: all times are subject to change


LA KINGS 2011 ROOKIE CAMP ROSTER

Coach Murray on camp performance of Muzzin, Deslauriers

Jake Muzzin, LA Kings (photo: Kasey Spatz)

Sure, nobody won a job or lost a job with the Los Angeles Kings due to their performance at this week's development camp.

However, the annual showcase allows Kings' coaches and management an opportunity to evaluate the on and off ice skill sets of their top prospects.

And when it comes to the team's blueline, they appear to have a depth unmatched in their franchise history.

In fact, part of the reason they were able to trade former first round draft pick Colten Teubert to Edmonton in the Dustin Penner deal was the emergence of two other defensive prospects, Jake Muzzin and Nic Deslauriers (and after all, doesn't everything seem to come back to Penner these days?).

When Muzzin is at his best, he brings a physical element to the ice - something he briefly spoke about during camp this week.

Further, Deslauriers continues to round out that part of his game as well, while simultaneously improving his offensive numbers.

Even with the defensive group in LA pretty much set (Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene and Alec Martinez), the Kings still have a pretty deep pipeline, with guys like Muzzin, Deslauriers, Thomas Hickey, Andrew Campbell, Derek Forbort and Kevin Gravel - just to name a few.

For specific comments on the performance of Muzzin and Deslauriers this week, we turn to Kings Coach Terry Murray, who shared the following:

Kings Dev Camp: Detailed Black v White scrimmage notes

Throughout the day today at Kings Development Camp I tweeted various notes from the scrimmage and quotes from several players.

For those who like a little more detail, below is a semi-thorough recap. Special thanks and a major stick tap to Scott Coffman of The Fourth Period for the assist here:

First Period Highlights

Team Black started Martin Jones in net and Team White went with Matej Machovsky (camp invitee from Brampton, OHL)...Team Black also includes Tyler Toffoli, Linden Vey, Michael Schumacher, Derek Forbort, Andrew Campbell and Nic Deslauriers...Team White also includes Jordan Weal, Ray Kaunisto, Brandon Kozun, Nic Dowd, Nick Shore, Jake Muzzin and Kevin Gravel.

Michael Kantor rocks Gravel, who skates back to the bench very slowly...Team Black is on the board first when Toffoli scores...it looked like a missed play by defenseman Alex Roach, allowing Toffoli to bang home a jam play...minutes later Machovsky makes a big save on a breakaway against Toffoli, don't think Toffoli got the shot he wanted...half way through the first period and it's all Team Black, very little offensive pressure from Team White.

DevCamp 2011: Pre-camp comments from Pierre Durepos

Defenseman Pierre Durepos is no stranger to the highs and lows of a hockey life.

The 6-foot-1 blueliner posted 30 points (3g, 27a) in 68 regular season games last year in the Quebec junior league.

Originally taken 10th overall by the Saint John Sea Dogs in the 2009 QMJHL draft, he recently saw several of his teammates go on to be drafted by various NHL teams.

Less than two months ago they collectively won the 2011 Memorial Cup, junior hockey's top prize. Now, he's an individual searching for a spot on an NHL club's depth chart.

Next week, he'll take the next step in his hockey career, joining five other free agent defensemen for the Los Angeles Kings 2011 Development Camp.

As he prepares for his first trip out west I had a chance to catch up with him for some perspective on what lies ahead and some opinions on a few of the Kings prospects he's played against.

MM: Obviously winning the Memorial Cup was the highlight of the tournament, however what other memories were you able to take away from the experience?

PD: Just the whole experience, the whole week and a half we were there. It was just surreal. Everything is so magnified. It's such a big, national event that you feel the pressure on you for the whole time. It's something that I've never done before and it was quite the experience.

MM: The final game of the Memorial Cup was your 180th consecutive game. What do you attribute that streak to and how important is it to you?

Prospect Report: Kings had #1 player, now ranked #1 team

Last month, The Hockey News crowned Brayden Schenn the number one prospect in hockey. Earlier this week, Hockey's Future announced the Los Angeles Kings as the top National Hockey League organization, in terms of their overall prospect pool.

Last Fall, the Kings were ranked as second-best by Hockey's Future. Now, for their Spring rankings, the Kings move to the top of the list on the overall strength of their top five prospects - Schenn, Jonathan Bernier, Andrei Loktionov, Tyler Toffoli and Derek Forbort.

Breaking things down by position, the defensemen listed were Forbort, Viatcheslav Voynov and Nicolas Deslauriers. The top forwards listed were Schenn, Loktionov and Toffoli. The top goaltenders listed were Bernier, Martin Jones and Jeff Zatkoff.

In other prospect news this week, the Kings singed goalie JF Berube and forward Linden Vey (both were selected in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft) to three-year entry level contracts.

Deslauriers, who just appeared in the QMJHL Chamionship Finals - and led all Quebec league defenseman in post-season scoring - is also expected to be signed before the June 1st deadline.

Finally, Maxim Kitsyn and the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors continue their quest for a Memorial Cup title when the take on the Owen Sound Attack tonight. After earning more points than any other team during the OHL's regular season, Mississauga lost the Championship in overtime of game seven of the OHL Finals to Owen Sound. So, payback will certainly be on their minds.

The winner of tonight's game will advance to Friday's Memorial Cup semi-finals, while the loser will face the Kootenay Ice in tomorrow's tie-breaker game. The tie-breaker winner will become the other participant in the semi-final game.

If you want to watch Kitsyn and the Majors, check out the game on tape delay tomorrow morning via the NHL Network.

Many of the above listed prospects are scheduled to participate in the Kings annual Summer Development Camp, expected to take place in late June. More information will be available at a later date.



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Recent MayorsManor interviews with some of the top junior prospects (click to read):
Brayden Schenn * Linden Vey * Tyler Toffoli * Nic Deslauriers * JF Berube

Recent MayorsManor interviews with several players from the Manchester Monarchs (click to read):
Bud Holloway * Thomas Hickey * Martin Jones

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Kings' Junior Prospects Come Up Empty

Unlike the Kings, who limped into the playoffs (winning only one of their final six games in regulation), the team's prospects were riding high as the post-season arrived.

They had the WHL scoring champion (Linden Vey, Medicine Hat Tigers), a player on the top team in the WHL (Brayden Schenn, Saskatoon Blades), the OHL scoring champion (Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67's), a player on the top team in the OHL (Maxim Kitsyn, Mississauga St. Michaels Majors), one of the top goaltenders in the QMJHL (JF Berube, Montreal Junior) and one of the top defensemen in the 'Q' (Nic Deslauriers, Gatineau, Olympiques).

They all stopped by MayorsManor to offer playoff previews.  And they all had such high hopes.  Yet, over the last six weeks they've all been bounced, one by one.

Toffoli exited first, in a four game sweep. Next was Schenn, swept out of the second round.

Berube and Montreal also lost in the second round - although their series went six games.

Vey and Medicine Hat were swept out of the WHL's Western Conference Finals.

Gatineau pushed the QMJHL Championship series to double overtime of game six last night. Unfortunately, they came up on the losing end, 3-2...and lost the series 4-2.

Deslauriers did finish as the highest scoring defenseman in the QMJHL playoffs though (20 points - 5 goals and 15 assists - in 24 games).

Kitsyn and the Majors made it all the way to overtime of game seven of the OHL Championship. Still, they lost 3-2.

And with that, it's over. All of the league championships have now been decided.

None of the Kings' prospects came away with a title.

Now, it's on to the Memorial Cup. For those unfamiliar, it's a four-team tournament comprised of the three league champions (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), along with the host city. This year, it will be in Mississauga. So, Kitsyn still has one more shot at hoisting something this spring. Things get underway Friday.

For the record, the last Kings prospect to win the tournament was Andrei Loktionov with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009.



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RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with Windsor GM (and former King) Warren Rychel

Interview with WHL Scoring Champion Linden Vey

Interview with QMJHL defenseman Nic Deslauriers

Interview with Russia's Maxim Kitsyn

Interview with Hockey's #1 Prospect - Brayden Schenn

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LA Kings Prospect Report - Game one and Game Seven

Each game over a seven-game playoff series brings a different feeling, a unique flavor. In the middle, you have the 'who can push the momentum?' scenario - i.e. can a team take a 3-1 lead or will the other side tie up the series 2-2.

And while each contest is usually filled with pre-game excitement, nerves and anticipation that far surpasses a regular season contest, by far, the most exciting are game one and game seven.

For the Kings - or at least two of their prospects - tonight will feature both.

In the quirkiness of scheduling that often occurs in the playoffs, forward Maxim Kitsyn (2010 6th round draft pick) and the Mississauga St. Michael's will open the OHL Championship series tonight vs. the Owen Sound Attack. Mississauga is riding high right now, having only lost one game total to their first three playoff opponents. Can they possibly pull off another sweep here and claim the OHL title?

The series opens tonight and then moves to Owen Sound for game two on Thursday. Due to proximity, the two teams will alternate home games throughout the series.

Over in the QMJHL, it's a completely different story. Defenseman Nic Deslauriers (2009 3rd round draft pick) and the Gatineau Olympiques will be fighting for their playoff lives in a game seven that almost never was.

The series opened with a Gatineau win. However, they then lost three straight to Quebec. Gatineau clawed their way to a 5-3 victory in game six on Friday night and decisive 4-0 win on Sunday to force tonight's game seven. In those two games, Deslauriers had a goal and four assists.

Tonight's winner will face the Saint John Sea Dogs for the QMJHL Championship beginning Thursday night.

The Kings no longer have a representative in the WHL playoffs, as Linden Vey (the 2011 WHL scoring champion) and his Medicine Hat Tigers were swept in the semi-finals by Kootenay.

As mentioned in previous reports, the WHL, OHL and QMJHL champions will meet up in the Memorial Cup tournament to determine the overall CHL champion later this month.



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RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with Maxim Kitsyn

Playoff Preview with Nic Deslauriers

Interview with Hockey's #1 Prospect - Brayden Schenn

LA Kings Prospect Report - for some, the playoffs continue

The herd is starting to thin.

When the junior hockey playoffs began a few weeks ago the Los Angeles Kings were well represented. They had the WHL scoring champion (Linden Vey), a player on the top team the WHL (Brayden Schenn), the OHL scoring champion (Tyler Toffoli), a player on the top team in the OHL (Maxim Kitsyn), one of the better goalies in the QMJHL (JF Berube) - plus a few others.

Now, we're in the third round and many of them have been eliminated. Ironically though, the Kings still have one player left in each league...

WHL - Vey has continued to put up numbers in the playoffs and still leads 'the Dub' in post-season points (12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points). However, his team is facing a daunting 3-1 hole heading into game five tonight. Even more troubling, his team's high powered offense has gone silent - scoring just one goal total in the last two games. His Medicine Hat Tigers will need to beat the Kootenay Ice in their barn if they plan on seeing a game five in this series. Note: Kootenay was the the team that beat Brayden Schenn's Saskatoon Blades in the last round.

OHL - Kitsyn's Mississauga St. Michaels Majors are already guaranteed a spot in next month's Memorial Cup tournament. However, the OHL's regular season champs aren't resting on their laurels. They swept their opponents in the first and second rounds, then finished off the Ice Dogs in five games to take the Eastern Conference Championship. Now they'll move on to the OHL Finals, where they'll play the winner of the Windsor Spitfires v Owen Sound series (Owen Sound currently lead 3-1 and game five is tonight. You may recall that Windsor is run by former Kings enforcer Warren Rychel and they're the two-time, defending OHL Champions. Their first title team included Kings prospect Andrei Loktionov). Kitsyn had a goal last night, his seventh of the playoffs.

QMJHL - Defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers and his Gatineau Olympiques teammates trail the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in their series. Gatineau opened the series with a win, but have dropped two straight. They'll be looking to tie things up tonight in game four, before the series returns to Quebec on Friday night. Deslauriers scored in game two of this series and his 11 points (three goals, eight assists) are fifth best among defensemen in the QMJHL playoffs.

Each league will crown a champion in about two weeks time and then they'll all compete in the 2011 Memorial Cup beginning on Friday, May 20th.

The Kings Prospect Report will continue here on MayorsManor for the duration of the playoffs and into the summer months.



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RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with WHL Scoring Champion Linden Vey

Interview with Russia's Maxim Kitsyn

Interview with QMJHL defenseman Nic Deslauriers

Interview with Windsor GM (and former King) Warren Rychel

Playoff Preview with Hockey's #1 Prospect - Brayden Schenn

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LA Kings Prospect Report - Sweeping Through the Playoffs

Things are moving right along in the junior hockey playoffs.

And if there is a theme so far, this may be the year of the sweep.

Among the Kings prospects participating in post-season play either in the WHL, OHL or QMJHL, there were three series that ended in sweeps during the first round - followed by three more that just took place in the second round.

First out was Tyler Toffoli, who was then signed in Manchester (AHL). He was followed by Brayden Schenn after the Saskatoon Blades were - surprisingly - swept out of the second round.

(More on them later today in the Monarchs report)

On the flip side, Maxim Kitsyn and the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors completed their second consecutive series sweep and have advanced to the Eastern Conference Championships, where they'll play the Niagara Ice Dogs starting tomorrow night.

LA Kings Prospect Report - 2011 Playoffs, Round 2 Updates

While the Kings get ready for their opening round showdown with the San Jose Sharks later this week, their junior prospects are already two games into the second round of the CHL playoffs.

Below is a brief overview of how each of LA's top prospects have fared so far, plus a look ahead to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) post-season plans...

Western Hockey League (WHL)

Brayden Schenn - The team that was tops amongst all WHL clubs this season enters tonight down 0-2 to the Kootenay Ice, who will now host games three and four. Schenn produced ten points in six first round games, posting five goals and five assists. Kootenay's ability to limit him to just one point in the first two games of this series has been a major story line so far. Can the Ice possibly sweep the Saskatoon Blades right out of the playoffs? It sure would make for an interesting conversation about Schenn's immediate future.

Linden Vey - He leads all WHL players with nine goals and 18 points in the playoffs. Exactly what you'd expect from the 2010-11 WHL Scoring Champion.  Vey was also just named the WHL Player of the Week, rightfully so. His Medicine Hat Tigers crushed the Red Deer Rebels in the first two games of this series by scores of 9-1 and 5-0. Vey had a pair of goals in each game. The series moves back to Medicine Hat for games three (today) and four (tomorrow).

[update, Tuesday 4/12/11:  Vey has been announved as the CHL Player of the Week too, so not just the WHL - but, now all of Canadian junior hockey]

Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

...And Now You're Caught Up - April 4, 2011

Opening weekend of Major League Baseball, the Final Four, WrestleMania, a Kings game, the Stars-Ducks game and the list goes on - it was a busy sports weekend for some of you.

So, here are the top ten Kings-related stories you need to know about or may have missed...

* Defenseman Willie Mitchell has been selected as the Kings’ nominee for the 2011 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy - awarded annually to the player who best exhibits perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey (press release). A Kings player has won the award three times previously, Butch Goring 1978, Bob Bourne 1988 and Dave Taylor 1991.

* If you want to relive the Mike Ribeiro Hit On Michal Handzus from Saturday's Stars-Kings game, video is available here.

* Jonathan Bernier's stellar 4-0-1 record in the month of March, including two shutouts, weren't enough to win him Player of the Month honors. Fans instead voted Dustin Brown the winner for the second time this season. See the full results for March and list of all winners this season at this link.

Kings Prospect Report - Round 1 Playoff Updates

While the Kings and nearly all of the Western Conference teams are still fighting for their playoff lives in the NHL, this weekend marked the beginning of post season play for the Canadian (Junior) Hockey League and the NCAA.

As noted last week, all of the Kings top prospects - with one exception, Jordan Weal (who is now in Manchester) - had qualified for the 'second season.'  Here's an overview of where things stand...

Brayden Schenn - his Saskatoon Blades entered the weekend as the #1 seed in the WHL and won both of their opening round games over the Prince Albert Raiders. Schenn had a goal in the first game and a pair of goals in the second. The series resumes Wednesday in P.A. Schenn stopped by MayorsManor last week, the article is available here.

Linden Vey - the 2011 WHL Scoring Champion picked up a goal in each of the first two games for his Medicine Hat Tigers. However, their series with the Brandon Wheat Kings is tied 1-1. Game three will be tonight in Brandon. Vey was a guest on MayorsManor last week, the article is available here.