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:

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.



The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor

RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with Maxim Kitsyn

Playoff Preview with Nic Deslauriers

Interview with Hockey's #1 Prospect - Brayden Schenn

Interview w/ Kings Prospect Nic Deslauriers (QMJHL dman)

Timing is everything in life. How many times have you heard that saying?

For Kings prospect Nic Deslauriers it rang true earlier this season.

A year after being taken by the Kings in the third round of the NHL draft he found himself traded by his junior team over the summer. He was off to join the Gatineau Olympiques and a few months later he attended Team Canada's evaluation camp for the 2011 World Junior Championships.

Things were falling into place for a breakout campaign from the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) defenseman. Then, a knee injury occurred early in the season, putting him on the shelf for over a month and gone was any hope of playing at the WJC.

He pressed on, came back from the injury, posted solid numbers and tonight he made his return to the playoffs.

Prior to game one of Gatineau's series with Rimouski he made his third visit to MayorsManor...

MM: You guys finished the regular season with nine straight wins. How much confidence does that give you and the team heading into the playoffs this weekend?

Super Series Game 1 Report w/ Nic Deslauriers

The road to this winter's World Junior Championships continues, as the Subway Super Series is now underway.

For the past seven years Russia has sent over a team of junior level all-stars to play a six-game series against the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). It's a pretty straight forward tournament, with two games each against the QMJHL, OHL and WHL.

Besides the international aspect of the event, it also serves as a key component to Team Canada's evaluation process for their final roster that will be assembled prior to the World Junior Championships in late December.

As reported previously, several Kings prospects will be competing in this series over the next two weeks - including three players in the opening pair of games.  Defenseman Nic Deslauriers (drafted in the third round, 2009) and goaltender JF Berube (fourth round, 2009) are part of the Quebec team.  While, forward Maxim Kitsyn (sixth round, 2010) is skating for Russia.

Overall, the CHL had won 36 of 42 games since it began in 2003, including a clean sweep last fall.  More specifically, entering play yesterday the QMJHL had a record of 9-5 against the visiting Russians.

In game one last night, Team Russia prevailed 5-4.  Their goaltender, Dmitry Shikin, made 36 saves including 16 in the third period.

Deslauriers was kind enough to check in with MayorsManor this morning and filed the following game report...