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?

Kitsyn and the Majors are on the board

After dropping their opening game on Friday night to the Saint John Sea Dogs 4-3, Maxim Kitsyn and the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors picked up their first win of the Memorial Cup tournament yesterday.

Sunday's game pitted them against the Kootenay Ice, champions of the WHL. Cody Eakin (Capitals draft pick) put the Ice up first. Then, Kitsyn tied things up with his first point of the tournament. Rob Flick (Blackhawks draft pick) scored the final goal of the game half way through the third period and the Majors went on to win 2-1.

Mississauga was the top team in the OHL's regular season. However, they were defeated in the OHL Finals by the Owen Sound Attack - who they'll play in their next game (Wednesday night). The semi-finals will be played Friday and the 2011 Memorial Cup Champion will be crowned after the final game on Sunday.

It's been quite the year so far for Kitsyn, who wasn't even playing in North America when the season began. His Russian team won the Super Series in November - a tournament featuring a Russian all-star team vs. two games each against the WHL, OHL and QMJHL. He topped that by winning a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in January. Then he joined the Majors and finished the regular season with 26 points (9 goals, 17 assists) in 32 games. He also had 19 points (10g, 9a) in 20 OHL playoff games.

Kitsyn is the lone Kings prospect still playing. After higher ranked prospects and draft picks, like Brayden Schenn and Tyler Toffoli, were eliminated, Kitsyn - a sixth round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft - finds himself just a few wins away from junior hockey's ultimate prize.

That would be quite a hat trick...of hardware.



The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with Maxim Kitsyn

Interview with Brayden Schenn

NCAA Playoff Preview: Interview with Derek Forbort - the Kings 2010 first round draft pick

All three Kings prospects earn medals at World Junior Championships

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

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.

Interview with Kings Prospect JF Berube (QMJHL Goalie)

The future has never...NEVER, EVER!...looked brighter in net for the Los Angeles Kings.

Already blessed with two solid aces at the NHL level (Jonathan's Quick and Bernier), plus two gems in the making at Manchester (Martin Jones and Jeff Zatkoff), it's easy for some to forget about JF Berube.

After all, he plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the often less publicized of the three Canadian junior leagues.

However, Berube - taken by the Kings in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft - isn't somebody to be ignored. He was under consideration for the goalie slot on Canada's recent World Junior team (in fact, he provided a report here from their summer camp last year) and he just finished the regular season in the 'Q' as one of the top goaltenders, statistically speaking.

Last night, his Montreal Junior team won their opening round playoff game against the visiting Halifax Mooseheads 5-3. Of course, Berube was is net.

Prior to the game though, I spoke with him as part of our 'prospect playoff preview' series this week on MayorsManor...

MM: Last summer you said you wanted to approach this season with the goal of being one of the top goalies in the league and you wanted to have a "big season." Did you feel you accomplished that?

Interview with OHL Scoring Champion Tyler Toffoli

Heading into the NHL Draft last June many scouts had Tyler Toffoli pegged as a late first rounder. With some questioning his skating ability, he dropped a bit and when he was still sitting there mid-way through the second, Kings GM Dean Lombardi did his thing - 'Dealer Dean' traded his second and fourth round picks to move up and nab him.

The Kings knew a thing or two about Toffoli already. Hailing from Scarborough, Ontario - the same hometown as forward Wayne Simmonds - it was in fact the same scout who tipped the Kings off on both players.

Like Linden Vey over in the WHL, Toffoli won the scoring race in his league this season. However, technically - since the OHL doesn't have a tie-breaker system - he is the co-champion.  Toffoli tied Flyers prospect Jason Akeson (Kitchener Rangers) with 108 points, even though his 57 goals more than doubled Akeson's 24.

He ended the year strong as well, being recognized as the OHL Player of the Week for the third time this season and capped everything off with a five point game in his final contest - including four goals, staring with a natural hat-trick.

As if that isn't enough, he was also just announced as a finalist for the Red Tilson Trophy, the most prestigious individual award presented by the OHL, going to the league's Most Outstanding Player.

He last visited MayorsManor in November, so I spoke with him this week to talk about all that's been going on and for a look ahead to the playoffs coming up this weekend...

MM: Prior to the season I spoke with your General Manager Brian Kilrea. Some of the things he said about you included calling you a great play maker, somebody still needing to develop physically and that you were a better right wing than a center. Any thoughts on those comments?

Interview with WHL Scoring Champion Linden Vey

If you've been following along all season - of even half way paying attention - you know that many of the Kings prospects are having exceptional years.

Linden Vey, a fourth round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, would have to rank right up at the top of the list, having just won the WHL scoring race on Sunday.

His 116 points (46 goals, 70 assists) helped lead the Medicine Hat Tigers to a third place finish in the WHL's Eastern Conference and they'll begin their 2011 playoffs this Friday night against the Brandon Wheat Kings.

Here's a bit of a season recap and playoff preview with the newly crowned scoring champ...

MM: So - Linden Vey, WHL scoring champion - how does that sound?

LV: Obviously it's been a long year and I wouldn't have thought at the start of the year that this is something that would be happening right now. But, it's been a good season and I have to give credit to my team. I don't think I could have done it without my team. We have a good group and we've had a good year. We reached 100 points and we've all had a good year this year.

MM: You had 24 goals in each of the last two seasons and then nearly doubled that with 46 goals this season, why the big jump? What do you attribute that to?

Special Seasons Continue for LA Kings Prospects

Over the past few seasons the Kings have been blessed with stellar performances from several of their prospects playing junior hockey.

Andrei Loktionov won a Memorial Cup in 2009, Thomas Hickey captained Team Canada at the World Junior Championships, Brandon Kozun was the CHL's Top Scorer and Martin Jones the WHL's Top Goaltender - just to name a few.

This year, the club has already had a representative on all three medal winning teams at the World Junior Championships (Maxim Kitsyn/Russia gold, Brayden Schenn/Canada silver and Derek Forbort/USA bronze).

And things are heating up in all three of the CHL circuits, the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

In fact, it's not inconceivable that the Kings will have representatives on all four teams that make the Memorial Cup Tournament (comprised of the three league champions and the host city).

Kitsyn is now playing for the OHL's Mississauga St. Michael's Majors. They're hosting the tournament, so he's in.

Here's an update on three of the other leading candidates:

OHL Season Kickoff w/ Ottawa GM Brian Kilrea

Yesterday's look at the Windsor Spitfires featured a glimpse into the man running the reigning and defending champion (that's a Bruce Buffer-ism for all you MMA fans), Warren Rychel.

Later tonight, the OHL season gets underway for two franchises at different points in their development. Neither the Ottawa 67s, nor the Soo Greyhounds enter action ranked in the top-10.  However, both are looking to make some noise as the season wears on.  Tonight, they begin by playing each other.

Each team is led by a GM with strong ties to the Kings organization too.  Dave Torrie has had numerous recent draft picks in the Soo - guys like Wayne Simmonds, Jordan Nolan and Andrew Campbell.  Over in Ottawa, Brian Kilrea's legendary career behind the bench saw him coach former Kings Jim Fox and Rychel, along with this year's second round selection, Tyler Toffoli.

Kilrea also will forever be linked to Los Angeles because of his unique accomplishment on October 14, 1967...when he became the first player in Kings history to score a goal for the franchise.

A few years ago he hung up his coaching whistle - after winning over 1,100 games and earning a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame - for a stint as the GM of the 67s.

Prior to their game tonight with the Soo, we caught up with the junior hockey legend to talk about his time in the OHL.

In another MayorsManor exclusive interview, we talk with Brian Kilrea...

OHL season kickoff w/ Windsor GM Warren Rychel

Several of his former teammates will tell you, 'Warren Rychel' wasn't exactly the first name that came to mind when thinking of which players would turn into coaches or general managers after their days on the ice were over.

Yet, there's no arguing with the results.

The former Kings tough guy is coming off back-to-back championships at the helm of the Windsor Spitfires. He was voted the 2008-09 OHL Executive of the Year and appears as hungry as ever to continue winning. Some of his current peers even say he may just be the hardest working GM in the league.

So, how did a guy who once posted consecutive NHL seasons of 300-points in penalty minutes make the successful transition from enforcer to executive?

Prior to his Spitfires taking the ice tonight for the start of the new OHL season we went looking for answers to that question and several others.

It's an exclusive interview with Warren Rychel...

MM:  Five years prior to going to the Stanley Cup Finals in '93 with the Kings you were playing junior hockey in the OHL.  It's 20 years later and you're a successful executive running a team in the league.  Catch us up, how did you go from NHL tough guy to running the Spits?

Interview with Dave Torrie, GM of the Soo Greyhounds (OHL)

Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver...are all names that come to mind when thinking of places in Canada.

Sault St. Marie isn't one of them. Located about six hours from the hockey hotbed of London, Ontario, the OHL Arena Guide notes "For a city as isolated as Sault Ste. Marie, visiting fans are a seldom-seen rarity."

However, it hasn't stopped the locals from packing the home town building to watch their Greyhounds. Through the years the team has featured a who's who of hockey - Ron Francis, Phil Esposito, Tony Esposito, Paul Coffey, John Vanbiesbrouck, Marty Turco...and that Wayne Gretzky guy.

For the last seven years the organization has been run by Dave Torrie, a man with his own impressive resume - he owned, coached and managed the Chatham Maroons (a successful junior B franchise) for 10 years and previously served as a scout and player personnel director for the 'Hounds. Thus, the man knows hockey, especially at the junior level.

In an article a few days ago he offered up his opinions on several Kings prospects that have spent time in the Soo.  Today, he's back for more - with insight into the world of junior hockey, the art of drafting players and thoughts about a very interesting road trip they'll be taking this coming weekend as part of their training camp.

Enjoy!

MM:  Earlier this summer the Kings drafted Tyler Toffoli out of the OHL.  As a player born in 1992 he was part of the 2008 OHL draft, which has become one of more controversial drafts of late.  Several top players taken in the first round that year were accused of manipulating the draft by saying they were going to college instead.  Is this a common occurrence in junior hockey?

Last Kid Standing

And we're down to one.

Although the Kings made an early exit from the playoffs this season, nearly all of their top prospects were making significant playoff runs...until about 48 hours ago. Friday night it was the CHL scoring champion, Brandon Kozun and his goaltender Martin Jones calling it a season. Last night it was Bernier, Hickey, Voynov, Clifford, Holloway, etc. when the Manchester Monarchs were defeated in the AHL Eastern Conference Finals by the Hershey Bears.

So, who's left? None other than last year's number one draft pick.  The kid the Kings picked fifth overall.  Brayden Schenn.  His Brandon Wheat Kings were an unlikely pick to be playing in the CHL Memorial Cup finals later today...yet, after finally knocking off the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night (in a game where Schenn had three assists), here they are...just one win away from the Cup.

Today's final will be shown on the NHL Network at 4pm PST.  You should go out of your way to watch the game.  The semi-final was one of the best hockey games of the year - and this is in a year that included a great World Jr tournament and several incredible Olympic games.  The host crowd in Brandon was wild and boisterous throughout the game...while the action on the ice matched it...a back an forth affair that had you on the edge of your seat the entire game.

The defending champion Windsor Spitfires may prove to be too tough for the Cinderella Wheat Kings...but, that won't stop the home town crowd from trying to will their team to the Championship.

Oh, and did I mention that the likely #1 pick at next month's draft, Taylor Hall, plays for Windsor?

If you haven't watched any of the Memorial Cup action yet, here's something that should catch your eye...for all the negative press the hockey world gets for their generally antiquated presentations of games on TV, the CHL has come up with a rather novel idea...letting viewers at home listen in while the on-ice official talks with the off-ice officials about disputed goals.  This is pure genius.  Can you imagine if the NFL let fans listen in when the referee went into that little black box during the instant replay stoppages?

Kings season ticket holder and avid hockey fan, movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, was recently on NHL Live radio and provided a myriad of ideas to improve the game presentations on television.  My favorite may have been the overhead camera, ala the NFL.  I previously reported (via twitter) the Dallas Stars were going to test something similar a few months ago.  Wonder how that turned out, never heard anything more.

Along the same lines...Kings television analyst Jim Fox provided his own idea earlier this season on ways to bring the game closer to the fans...he suggested having the NHL actually explain why a player is suspended or not suspended, using video tutorials. Great idea.  Letting fans listen to the referee is similar, only it's in real time. Love it!


Anyway...plenty of story lines to follow at the Memorial Cup...including an important one for Kings fans...Schenn is looking to go out with a bang, as he's hoping to make the jump from junior hockey to the Kings roster next season.  As such, he's hoping to bring home some hardware today!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119