It's been confirmed to MayorsManor that the LA Kings will keep the same jersey rotation for next year, including the purple (Forum blue) and gold version for three Legends Nights. As of now, the names haven't been finalized. However, a list of possible candidates is being pulled together. So, let's take a break from the playoff races for a moment and see what you guys think...
Over the course of 45 years, a lot of names have come through the organization. In an attempt to make things a little easier, we'll break this up into three eras. First up, we'll give you a list of pre-Gretzky stars (see below). In the next poll, we'll look at the 1988-2000 era (i.e. Kelly Hrudey, Marty McSorley, etc). Then, later in the week, we'll look at the Staples Center years (i.e. Ziggy Palffy, Ian Laperriere, etc.).
Most of the names on the list are obvious - such as Dave Taylor, who played more games in a Kings uniform (1,111) than any other player and has his number retired by the team. Yet, if you're not as familiar with some of the guys from the very early years, Brian Kilrea scored the very first goal in LA Kings history (something he talked about here). And Eddie Joyal was probably the first superstar hockey player in LA (discussed here).
Please select three people you think the Kings should honor next season:
Poll closes Wednesday at 8pm PST.
The Mayor
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Showing posts with label Joyal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joyal. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Thursday, October 6, 2011
2011 Eddie Joyal Award winner announcement
Few outside Los Angeles - or maybe the Pacific Division - are aware of just how good he truly is. Last year he became even better too, posting a plus-25 and getting some early talk as a Selke nominee before suffering a late-season injury.
He's also one of those rare players who is good all the time. A few friends could ask him to play a pick up game late one night and he'd still dazzle and amaze at both ends of the ice. Mailing-it-in must not translate to his native language.
[note: apparently, awesome doesn't either...as he explains here]
You can argue that pre-season stats are meaningless, just don't tell Kopitar those games don't mean anything. If he's on the ice with a stick in his hand, he wants to score or be involved in a scoring play.
Two seasons ago, he posted five goals and three assists during the NHL exhibition season - earning the inaugural Eddie Joyal Award (given to the player who leads the Kings in pre-season points, honoring a member of the organization's first squad back in 1967 - more on that in a moment).
Last year, Jack Johnson edged out Kopitar for the 2nd annual award.
Borrowing a phrase that Kings fans hope they'll hear often about Kopitar in the months to come, he was back with a vengeance this pre-season.
Showing no signs of the leg injury that forced him to miss the final weeks of last year's regular season and all of the playoffs, Kopitar - who says he trained harder than ever this summer - appears more than ready to start the new season tomorrow.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Anze Kopitar in the lead for 3rd annual Eddie Joyal Award
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| Eddie Joyal, early LA Kings star |
On a more humble note, for the past few seasons, MayorsManor has recognized the player who leads the Kings in pre-season points with the Eddie Joyal Award. It's a small way of recognizing and remembering one of the early stars in Los Angeles.
As the Kings were assembled for their first season in 1967-68, they were a hodgepodge of guys picked and plucked from various clubs across North America. Jack Kent Cooke's upstart group was made up of pieces acquired from the original six teams; plus some free agents, misfits, leftovers, cast offs and other assorted guys on skates. Nobody was quite sure what would emerge.
Joyal, a 6-foot center who had played only 121 NHL games for two different teams over the previous five years, broke out of the pack as one of the early stars. He went on to lead the team in points that year with 57, after assisting on the Kings first ever regular season goal.
More on Joyal in a moment though.
Let's take a look at past award winners and this year's current standings...
The inaugural award was given out in 2009 to Anze Kopitar. That year, he finished the NHL's exhibition season with eight points (5 goals, 3 assists), just ahead of defenseman Jack Johnson's seven points (2g, 5a). Then, last season, Johnson moved from bridesmaid to the top of the heap. He actually posted the exact same numbers, yet beat out Kopitar for the award.
Entering tonight's game in Las Vegas - with only two pre-season games left for the Kings - Kopitar again leads the team with five points (4 goals, 1 assist). Close behind are Trevor Lewis and Dustin Brown (each with four points), followed by Slava Voynov, Justin Williams, Jarret Stoll and Johnson (all with three points).
Kopitar is also the all-time leading scorer over the course of the previous 13 Frozen Fury games (5g, 4a, 9 points), so that bodes well for his outlook later tonight.
Now back to Joyal...
Monday, October 4, 2010
2010 Eddie Joyal Award - winner announced
The hockey world has many sayings.
Over the last few years, one of the more popular ones is 'You have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win.' It was applied to the Penguins - who lost to Detroit in the Cup finals and then came back the following year to win it all. It's also been used when talking about the Blackhawks run to the Cup this past June. Many people are even predicting the Canucks to win the Cup this year, with part of the thinking being they now know how to lose.
This probably isn't one one of those cases. Nonetheless, Jack Johnson bounced back from being a bridesmaid last year, to this year's Eddie Joyal Award winner.
Named after an early star with the Kings (who actually picked up two assists in the team's very first pre-season game on September 18, 1967), the award honors the Kings player scoring the most points during preseason.
Last year, Anze Kopitar beat out Johnson and Wayne Simmonds for the honor.
Entering play last night, Johnson and Kopitar were tied for the lead. So with Kopitar sitting out the game in Anaheim, it was essentially Jack's to lose. However, a four point night by Michal Handzus or Justin Williams could have made things much more interesting. Neither happened.
Johnson picked up an assist in the game, thus breaking the tie with Kopitar. With the helper, he finished the preseason with seven points (2 goals, 5 assists). Worth noting is the fact that Jack had the exact same totals in last year's exhibition play...however that was over six games, versus just four this year.
He's now a winner.
Congratulations to Jack Johnson - the 2010 Eddie Joyal Award winner.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
RELATED ARTICLES
Jack Johnson - comments from Las Vegas
2009 Joyal Award winner announcement
Odds for the 2010 Joyal Award
History of the Joyal Award
.
Over the last few years, one of the more popular ones is 'You have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win.' It was applied to the Penguins - who lost to Detroit in the Cup finals and then came back the following year to win it all. It's also been used when talking about the Blackhawks run to the Cup this past June. Many people are even predicting the Canucks to win the Cup this year, with part of the thinking being they now know how to lose.
This probably isn't one one of those cases. Nonetheless, Jack Johnson bounced back from being a bridesmaid last year, to this year's Eddie Joyal Award winner.
Named after an early star with the Kings (who actually picked up two assists in the team's very first pre-season game on September 18, 1967), the award honors the Kings player scoring the most points during preseason.
Last year, Anze Kopitar beat out Johnson and Wayne Simmonds for the honor.
Entering play last night, Johnson and Kopitar were tied for the lead. So with Kopitar sitting out the game in Anaheim, it was essentially Jack's to lose. However, a four point night by Michal Handzus or Justin Williams could have made things much more interesting. Neither happened.
Johnson picked up an assist in the game, thus breaking the tie with Kopitar. With the helper, he finished the preseason with seven points (2 goals, 5 assists). Worth noting is the fact that Jack had the exact same totals in last year's exhibition play...however that was over six games, versus just four this year.
He's now a winner.
Congratulations to Jack Johnson - the 2010 Eddie Joyal Award winner.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
RELATED ARTICLES
Jack Johnson - comments from Las Vegas
2009 Joyal Award winner announcement
Odds for the 2010 Joyal Award
History of the Joyal Award
.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
2010 Eddie Joyal Award - post Frozen Fury update
As the expression goes...It all comes down to this!
After two-point performances from Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson in Las Vegas, the race for the 2010 Eddie Joyal Award will be decided tonight.
Unfortunately, it won't be a fair fight. Coach Murray will be resting Kopitar. So, Jack - currently tied atop the leaderboard with six points - will have the advantage.
Even seeing their two names among the challengers for the award is somewhat surprising. Sure, in a normal situation, either would be a strong bet to be a top point producer on the team. However, with the Kings playing a shortened six game pre-season schedule, this year appeared to be anything but status quo.
For starters, there was the spilt squad series with Phoenix. Meaning, the most games any one player could participate in was down to five. That said, heading into game one Kopitar would have been a strong bet to repeat as the Joyal winner...and Johnson, who barely lost out on the award last year, had to be a heavy favorite as well.
Then came word that neither player would travel to Colorado for the first pre-season game - reducing their possible game total to four.
When Kopitar didn't register a point in his first pre-season game last Thursday vs. the Coyotes, his chances of going back-to-back weren't looking good.
After two-point performances from Anze Kopitar and Jack Johnson in Las Vegas, the race for the 2010 Eddie Joyal Award will be decided tonight.
Unfortunately, it won't be a fair fight. Coach Murray will be resting Kopitar. So, Jack - currently tied atop the leaderboard with six points - will have the advantage.
Even seeing their two names among the challengers for the award is somewhat surprising. Sure, in a normal situation, either would be a strong bet to be a top point producer on the team. However, with the Kings playing a shortened six game pre-season schedule, this year appeared to be anything but status quo.
For starters, there was the spilt squad series with Phoenix. Meaning, the most games any one player could participate in was down to five. That said, heading into game one Kopitar would have been a strong bet to repeat as the Joyal winner...and Johnson, who barely lost out on the award last year, had to be a heavy favorite as well.
Then came word that neither player would travel to Colorado for the first pre-season game - reducing their possible game total to four.
When Kopitar didn't register a point in his first pre-season game last Thursday vs. the Coyotes, his chances of going back-to-back weren't looking good.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
2010 Eddie Joyal Award - game4 leaderboard update
Anze Kopitar has spoken.
The winner of last year's inaugural Eddie Joyal Award had gone silent last Thursday in his first official appearance since summer ended.
After posting eight points in five exhibition games last season (5 goals, 3 assists), he was showing a goose-egg this time around. Worse yet, with the Kings shortened schedule this year - only six preseason games - he wasn't looking like a strong contender to repeat.
Then Anaheim came to town.
The Kings seemed to appreciate the Ducks showcasing their probable back-up goalie this year, Curtis McElhinney...so much so, that they posted eight goals on him...yes, you read that right. EIGHT!
And that was more than enough to shake up the Eddie Joyal leader board.
Kopitar had four assists tonight to move into a tie with Jack Johnson, who he barely beat out for the award last season (when JJ had 7 points).
Here is the updated leaderboard:
The winner of last year's inaugural Eddie Joyal Award had gone silent last Thursday in his first official appearance since summer ended.
After posting eight points in five exhibition games last season (5 goals, 3 assists), he was showing a goose-egg this time around. Worse yet, with the Kings shortened schedule this year - only six preseason games - he wasn't looking like a strong contender to repeat.
Then Anaheim came to town.
The Kings seemed to appreciate the Ducks showcasing their probable back-up goalie this year, Curtis McElhinney...so much so, that they posted eight goals on him...yes, you read that right. EIGHT!
And that was more than enough to shake up the Eddie Joyal leader board.
Kopitar had four assists tonight to move into a tie with Jack Johnson, who he barely beat out for the award last season (when JJ had 7 points).
Here is the updated leaderboard:
Thursday, September 23, 2010
2010 Eddie Joyal Award - gm3 leaderboard update
Fear not, it's preseason. Not only does it not mean much in the big picture, but the games are being somewhat watered down due to the Kings setting an NHL record by inviting 427 people to training camp this year. In fact, the rumor I heard was that next year they plan on trumping their own 'super camp' idea by being the first team to ever play three preseason games simultaneously.
My understanding is they'll be hosting a game at Staples, while also playing games in Anaheim and San Jose. Should be a good time.
That's next year though...back to the updates on this preseason...
Tonight in Los Angeles the Kings had one goal, from Brayden Schenn (his first of the preseason, assisted by Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson). Over in the desert, Poni Boy (Alex Ponikarovsky) picked up an unassisted goal.
Thus, after three games we have a three-way tie for this year's Eddie Joyal Award:
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
2010 Eddie Joyal Award - gm1 leaderboard update
With the first preseason game now in the books for the Kings, we have an early leader for this year's Eddie Joyal Award.
Although both of the predicted winners, Brad Richardson and Michal Handzus (listed at 2-1 favorites), each scored a goal in the Kings victory over the Avs, it was two players completely off the board that took the early lead.
Justin Williams, who scored the final goal of the game, also picked up an assist on the game winner - giving him two points for the night. Tying him with a pair of points was Jarret Stoll.
So, after one game, here are the leaders:
2 pts Williams (1g, 1a)
2 pts Stoll (2a)
1 pt tied with one goal each: Richardson, Handzus and John Zeiler... yes, John Zeiler!
Although both of the predicted winners, Brad Richardson and Michal Handzus (listed at 2-1 favorites), each scored a goal in the Kings victory over the Avs, it was two players completely off the board that took the early lead.
Justin Williams, who scored the final goal of the game, also picked up an assist on the game winner - giving him two points for the night. Tying him with a pair of points was Jarret Stoll.
So, after one game, here are the leaders:
2 pts Williams (1g, 1a)
2 pts Stoll (2a)
1 pt tied with one goal each: Richardson, Handzus and John Zeiler... yes, John Zeiler!
The 2nd Annual Eddie Joyal Award
Today, we take another look at a guy from the inaugural season - Eddie Joyal.
With pre-season set to officially start later this evening, it seems appropriate to review what he did while wearing the purple and gold...and why there's an award named after him.
In the summer of '67 there were certainly plenty of questions heading into the King's first training camp. Different than a team of high-end 'assets' like Dean Lombardi has spent the last few years acquiring here in Los Angeles, it was a bunch of 'miscellaneous parts' at that point. As an expansion team, Jack Kent Cooke's upstart group was a hodgepodge of pieces acquired from the original six teams; plus some free agents, misfits, leftovers, cast offs and other assorted guys on skates.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Eddie Joyal Award Winner announcement
Preseason does a lot of things - providing clarity isn't one of them. It does allow owners to make a little extra cash, as they charge regular season prices for glorified scrimmages. The NHL gets an opportunity to expand their fan base by staging exhibition games in new cities - like Kansas City and Seattle. Fans of former NHL cities, like Winnipeg and Quebec, even get a chance to reminisce for a few hours when the preseason caravan stops by their town.
However, even with sometimes exciting games filled with lots of toughness (read: fighting), some crazy officiating (blatantly missed offsides and penalty shots called) and kids throughout the league battling for spots on their respective teams with each 30 second shift...the one thing that isn't there when its all over is clarity.
Are the Red Wings going to finally slip this year? Will Tampa Bay really bad THAT bad AGAIN? And here in LA, we're wondering if Anze Kopitar's strong preseason was a precursor to an 80 point season or was it just another example of things that happen in preseason...well, they stay in preseason?
If they would have taken my bet in Vegas this past weekend, I'd have bet on the former, not the latter. One thing is clear though - after eight preseason games, Anze Kopitar is the winner of the inaugural Eddie Joyal Award, given to the Kings player that leads the team in scoring during the preseason.
As written about a few weeks ago (click here for the article), Joyal was a points machine during the Kings first two seasons back in the late sixties. he led the team in points during '67-68 and followed that up by leading the team in goals and points in '68-69. His knack for showing up on the score sheet was evident right from the start - during the very first Kings game ever, a preseason game on September 18, 1967, he notched two assists.
Forty something years later Kopitar led this year's squad during preseason with 8 points, coming on 5 goals and 3 assists. Perhaps even more impressive was that he did it while playing in just 5 games. The Slovenia native just edged out American Jack Johnson and Canadian Wayne Simmonds for the award. JJ, who totalled 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in six games should see plenty of power time come regular season.
The other Wayne in the news this week had a very impressive preseason himself, tying Kopitar for the team lead in goals (5) after playing in 6 games. Not bad for a guy that netted just 9 goals during his rookie season, coming back and nearly averaging a goal a game during preseason. Will he keep up that pace during the real 82? Probably not. Correction, absolutely not. Yet, 20-25 isn't out of the question.
Finishing up on Anze...he looks ready to go. He's playing on the top line. More importantly, he is playing with two skilled guys that should also find the net often. The Kings haven't had a top line with this kind of potential in several seasons. Since...surprise...the last time they made the playoffs.
One thing is clear as we put the remnants of this preseason in a box and place it on the top shelf of some closet inside TSC, this isn't the same team as last year. The pieces seem to be in place. Offense, Defense, Goaltending - seems more than "good enough" to me. Is it enough though to finally make a return to playoff hockey?
Two points are available Saturday night. Two points that sure would be nice to already have come March and April of next year when the importance of clarity rears its ugly head again.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
photo by Michael Zampelli of LetsGoKings.com
However, even with sometimes exciting games filled with lots of toughness (read: fighting), some crazy officiating (blatantly missed offsides and penalty shots called) and kids throughout the league battling for spots on their respective teams with each 30 second shift...the one thing that isn't there when its all over is clarity.
Are the Red Wings going to finally slip this year? Will Tampa Bay really bad THAT bad AGAIN? And here in LA, we're wondering if Anze Kopitar's strong preseason was a precursor to an 80 point season or was it just another example of things that happen in preseason...well, they stay in preseason?
If they would have taken my bet in Vegas this past weekend, I'd have bet on the former, not the latter. One thing is clear though - after eight preseason games, Anze Kopitar is the winner of the inaugural Eddie Joyal Award, given to the Kings player that leads the team in scoring during the preseason.
As written about a few weeks ago (click here for the article), Joyal was a points machine during the Kings first two seasons back in the late sixties. he led the team in points during '67-68 and followed that up by leading the team in goals and points in '68-69. His knack for showing up on the score sheet was evident right from the start - during the very first Kings game ever, a preseason game on September 18, 1967, he notched two assists.
Forty something years later Kopitar led this year's squad during preseason with 8 points, coming on 5 goals and 3 assists. Perhaps even more impressive was that he did it while playing in just 5 games. The Slovenia native just edged out American Jack Johnson and Canadian Wayne Simmonds for the award. JJ, who totalled 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists) in six games should see plenty of power time come regular season. The other Wayne in the news this week had a very impressive preseason himself, tying Kopitar for the team lead in goals (5) after playing in 6 games. Not bad for a guy that netted just 9 goals during his rookie season, coming back and nearly averaging a goal a game during preseason. Will he keep up that pace during the real 82? Probably not. Correction, absolutely not. Yet, 20-25 isn't out of the question.
Finishing up on Anze...he looks ready to go. He's playing on the top line. More importantly, he is playing with two skilled guys that should also find the net often. The Kings haven't had a top line with this kind of potential in several seasons. Since...surprise...the last time they made the playoffs.
One thing is clear as we put the remnants of this preseason in a box and place it on the top shelf of some closet inside TSC, this isn't the same team as last year. The pieces seem to be in place. Offense, Defense, Goaltending - seems more than "good enough" to me. Is it enough though to finally make a return to playoff hockey?
Two points are available Saturday night. Two points that sure would be nice to already have come March and April of next year when the importance of clarity rears its ugly head again.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
photo by Michael Zampelli of LetsGoKings.com
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Eddie Joyal Award
In the summer of '67 there were certainly plenty of questions heading into the King's first training camp. This was different than the team of "assets" Dean Lombardi and staff have been assembling here in Los Angeles the past few years. This was a team of "miscellaneous parts." As an expansion team, Jack Kent Cooke's upstart group was a hodgepodge of pieces acquired from the original six teams; plus some free agents, misfits, leftovers, cast offs and other assorted guys on skates.
Without a proper training facility in SoCal back then, camp was held in Canada. And after weeks of drills, scrimmages and just a general getting to know you atmosphere it was time for the Kings to wear their now famed purple and gold jerseys for their very first pre-season game on September 18, 1967.
The Kings never led in the game and eventually lost 7-3. However, a name that was soon to become extremely popular with the initial group of fans showed up twice on the score sheets that night. Netting two assists in the game was one of the King's first real superstars - Eddie Joyal.
Joyal, the guy who wore #16 before Marcel Dionne, went on to net 23 goals during the inaugural campaign and added 34 assists to lead the Kings in points. He followed that up during the Kings second season with 33 goals and 52 points, both team highs. Like today's game, where the biggest stars are usually the goalscorers, Joyal was one of the main guys LA fans would come to see.
As a tribute to all he did for...and all he meant to...the first group of guys that ever proclaimed "We are Kings", as the Mayor I'm proud to introduce the newest offering here at MayorsManor.com:
the Eddie Joyal Award
This prestigious honor will be earned by the Kings player tallying the most preseason points. Sure, preseason means little in the big picture. However, it certainly meant something to Eddie Joyal in September of '67. And it still means something to some Kings fans.
As summer winds to a completion each year the diehards look forward to the start of training camp and all that comes with it. The first look at some draft picks, speculating on line combinations and debating where the team will finish the season - all topics of delight for hockey starved fans in LA. Equally important is the feeling of hope that hangs heavy in the air. Hope that the sum of the Kings parts will equate to having a chance to win most nights.
Eddie Joyal was part of that hope in 1967-68.
Of course, greatness in the preseason doesn't guarantee anything in the regular season. Yet, scoring goals in these meaningless games gives some fans hope that more will follow during the regular season.
Before Eddie Joyal led the Kings in points during that first season, he had two helpers in the first preseason game.
Here's hoping your favorite player puts up some points tonight to kick off this year's preseason. Who knows - if he gets on a role, your guy could even end up winning the inaugural Eddie Joyal Award in just a few weeks.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
Without a proper training facility in SoCal back then, camp was held in Canada. And after weeks of drills, scrimmages and just a general getting to know you atmosphere it was time for the Kings to wear their now famed purple and gold jerseys for their very first pre-season game on September 18, 1967.
The Kings never led in the game and eventually lost 7-3. However, a name that was soon to become extremely popular with the initial group of fans showed up twice on the score sheets that night. Netting two assists in the game was one of the King's first real superstars - Eddie Joyal.
Joyal, the guy who wore #16 before Marcel Dionne, went on to net 23 goals during the inaugural campaign and added 34 assists to lead the Kings in points. He followed that up during the Kings second season with 33 goals and 52 points, both team highs. Like today's game, where the biggest stars are usually the goalscorers, Joyal was one of the main guys LA fans would come to see.
As a tribute to all he did for...and all he meant to...the first group of guys that ever proclaimed "We are Kings", as the Mayor I'm proud to introduce the newest offering here at MayorsManor.com:
the Eddie Joyal Award
This prestigious honor will be earned by the Kings player tallying the most preseason points. Sure, preseason means little in the big picture. However, it certainly meant something to Eddie Joyal in September of '67. And it still means something to some Kings fans.
As summer winds to a completion each year the diehards look forward to the start of training camp and all that comes with it. The first look at some draft picks, speculating on line combinations and debating where the team will finish the season - all topics of delight for hockey starved fans in LA. Equally important is the feeling of hope that hangs heavy in the air. Hope that the sum of the Kings parts will equate to having a chance to win most nights.
Eddie Joyal was part of that hope in 1967-68.
Of course, greatness in the preseason doesn't guarantee anything in the regular season. Yet, scoring goals in these meaningless games gives some fans hope that more will follow during the regular season.
Before Eddie Joyal led the Kings in points during that first season, he had two helpers in the first preseason game.
Here's hoping your favorite player puts up some points tonight to kick off this year's preseason. Who knows - if he gets on a role, your guy could even end up winning the inaugural Eddie Joyal Award in just a few weeks.
The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119
www.facebook.com/MayorsManor
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