Marcel Dionne on Jonathan Quick and NHL goaltending

Jonathan Quick in retro gear (photo: Ikiri)

Fresh back from a five-day trip to Russia, Marcel Dionne arrived in LA last week to participate in the LA Kings Fantasy Camp. The night before he joined several other members of the Kings Alumni and this year's campers, I met with Dionne for a one-on-one interview, where we covered a wide range of topics.

[note: His thoughts on Anze Kopitar were posted here]

On his trip to Moscow, Dionne spent time with another Hall of Famer, Phil Esposito. They were there to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Russia-Canada Summit Series - including an outdoor game on legendary Red Square, a contest that featured former NHL greats Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny.

Dionne's 735 goals alone were enough to give some goalies nightmares. But, add in the more than 1,500 scored by that trio of companions and you're talking about an unlimited highlight reel of how to pick up points in the NHL.  Yet, in this feature, we'll take a look at the other side of putting pucks in the net - the guys wearing pads and a mask and trying to stop those snipers.

We began with an obvious one, Jonathan Quick - is he the real deal?

VIDEO: Bob Miller on the Kings vs Sharks rivalry

Another game, another night with minimal offense. The Kings and Sharks skated to a 1-1 tie through the first 60 minutes of action last night in San Jose. Neither side scored in overtime, however the Sharks won via the shootout after four Kings players couldn't find a way to put one past Antti Niemi.

The Kings are 1-0-1 in the Darryl Sutter era.

Yesterday afternoon, Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Miller spoke with Dan Rusanowsky of the Sharks about the San Jose vs. Los Angeles rivalry...

The Kings return to the ice for a morning skate on Monday at 10am, followed by a game that night vs. the Phoenix Coyotes. It will be another 7pm start at Staples Center.

Happy holidays!

The Mayor
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Kings v Sharks - pregame primer with Marty McSorley

MayorsManor interview with Bob Miller

Kings v Sharks - pregame primer with San Jose captain Joe Thornton

MayorsManor interview with Sharks captain Rob Blake

POTY - Darryl Sutter ends his first press conference with double peace sign

Doughty on the Sharks - his memories and concerns

Darryl Sutter to be welcomed aboard by Bob Miller

If there is one thing synonymous with the LA Kings, it would have to be Bob Miller - the voice of the team for nearly 40 years. Fittingly, he'll oversee tomorrow's press conference where Darryl Sutter will be officially announced as the Kings new head coach by GM Dean Lombardi.

Today is an off day for the team, as they returned home late last night from a week-long road trip that saw them go 2-2 (with victories over Columbus and Toronto). Sutter will 'coach' the team at practice tomorrow morning, just prior to the news conference.

As a reminder, all Kings practices are free and open to the public at their training facility in El Segundo. The on-ice workout is scheduled to begin at 10:30am and probably last about one hour.

Sutter's press conference will be for media only. However, the event will be streamed live on LAKings.com at 1pm PST.

For those unfamiliar with the 53-year-old Sutter, he's previously been the head coach in Chicago, San Jose and Calgary. He helped lead the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004 and his career record behind the bench is 409-320-131 in 860 regular season games.

He will make his official debut as the Kings' coach on Thursday when the team hosts the Anaheim Ducks at Staples Center.

For more on Sutter, check out the article titled 'Making the case for Darryl Sutter as coach' we posted last week (linked below).

MayorsManor will be on hand for all the festivities tomorrow, so be sure to follow along on twitter and/or facebook for live notes and quotes.

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

RELATED ARTICLES:

In-depth interview with Bob Miller - great stories and insight about his time with the Kings

Making the case for Darryl Sutter as coach

Dean Lombardi evaluates coach Murray's performance - from exit interview last season

Lombardi - 'Kopitar may be the new Blake Griffin'

Need captions for these Kings-Sabres pics from Germany

The other day we had a lot of fun with a few Drew Doughty pictures from Hamburg, Germany - and several readers came up with some great captions.

Well, the fine folks at the O2 Arena in Berlin just posted an album of over 150 pictures taken during today's game between the LA Kings and Buffalo Sabres.

See if you can come up with an interesting caption for these photos...

#1 - Doughty asks if Ville Leino wants to do the limbo

NHL Premiere: LA v Buffalo pre-game notes, quotes and first goal contest

Good morning. It's time to grab some coffee and enjoy some hockey, all the way from Berlin, Germany. Here's your pre-game primer - featuring notes and quotes from several members of the Kings, as they prepare to face the Buffalo Sabres for the only time this season. Details for today's 'first goal contest' are also listed at the end of this article.

- Two line-up changes from yesterday, as coach Terry Murray will go with Jonathan Bernier in net (as expected). On November 19th last season, Bernier faced the Sabres in Buffalo and gave up four goals on 36 shots. The Kings lost that game 4-2.

- Murray's other change is replacing Trent Hunter with Kevin Westgarth among the forwards. This pushes Ethan Moreau up to the third line with Scott Parse and Jarret Stoll, while Westgarth will fill the right wing spot on the fourth line with Kyle Clifford and Trevor Lewis.

- East Coast Bias: In 21 career games, Mike Richards has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists). Simon Gagne has 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 33 games and Justin Williams has five goals and 10 assists (15 points) in his 26 games vs Buffalo.

- Parse Watch Continues: Due to Dustin Penner's 'lower body' injury (believed to be a sore groin), Parse remains at left wing on the third line. In the season opener on Friday, Parse had 16 shifts for 10:59 of total ice time. He also took two shots on goal and had zero points.

- Morning Math with Jack: After one game, Jack Johnson has an even plus-minus rating. He was on the ice for the final three goals of the game - when Marian Gaborik scored (to put the Rangers up 2-1), when Mike Richards tied it late in the third period and - obviously - when he scored the game winning goal in overtime.

Soo Greyhounds GM says Kings getting Richard Clune II?

Michael Kantor of Soo Greyhounds

With the Los Angeles Kings annual summer Development Camp about to get underway we've been posting pre-camp comments from the players, their coaches and/or their general managers.

Among the group of 35 players who will take the ice at TSC are 14 invited guests - essentially, undrafted players, mostly from Canadian junior teams.

Two such players are coming from the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL. For those unfamiliar, it's one of the most storied franchises in all of Canada. Their alumni includes former Kings Paul Coffey, Wayne Gretzky, Charlie Simmer, Wayne Simmonds and Rick Tocchet.

Several current prospects have also spent time there - including Dwight King, Jake Muzzin and Jordan Nolan.

And now back to this year's camp...

Two players from the 'Hounds most recent roster were invited, defenseman Colin Miller and right wing Michael Kantor.

...And Now You're Caught Up (2/1/2011)

It's been forever since the Kings played a game, right?

Well, not exactly. It only feels that way.

Later tonight they'll begin what they hope is their playoff push over the final 32 games of the season.

To help get you back in the swing of things, here are ten stories you may have missed during the five-day All Star break...

* Jonathan Bernier will make his first career start tonight vs. the Minnesota Wild. Coach Terry Murray actually made the announcement prior to the Kings final game before the break. Jonathan Quick will start tomorrow vs. Edmonton.

* Andrew Brunette will play his 1000th game for the Wild tonight. Keep an eye out - later today we'll have an article up detailing some of his accomplishments, like only missing three games since the start of 2001-02. In 42 career games vs. the Kings he's posted 30 points (8g, 22a).

* Now for your scary stat of the day - according to the 'strength of schedule' table shown here, the five teams with he most difficult schedule in the second half are: Phoenix, San Jose, Edmonton, Chicago and Los Angeles. So, the good news is, three of the other four teams facing tough times are clubs the Kings are battling for a playoff spot in the West. More good news? Teams 6-10 are: Nashville, Anaheim, Columbus, Dallas and Calgary. Thus, the West will probably continue to be a dog fight all the way until the very end.

Holiday Series - Gifts of Christmas Past

[Part one of a three part series]

In Charles Dickens' classic novel A Christmas Carol the reader is taken through a spiritual awakening of Ebenezer Scrooge, a process that includes visits from the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come.

That tale began on Christmas Eve, however we're going to begin a day earlier and with a slightly different twist.

For the enjoyment of you and the other hockey fans in your life this holiday season, we present an essential collection of Kings Gifts of Christmas Past...

Tuesday's 10 Tidbits - Turning the Page

At what point is last season really over? Was it when the Kings were eliminated from the playoffs? Was it draft weekend, with it's heavy emphasis on the future? Was it July 1st, when the free agency window opened? Perhaps, it's when training camp finally opens in a few weeks.

If the truth is somewhere in between all those points, let's try to put a bow on the 2009-10 campaign once and for all...with a partial tribute to the season that was.

Along with a special 'thank you' to the numerous guests that graciously donated their time this year for interviews...we proudly look back at 10 Tidbits from the past 10 months...

1. October 2009 - The Mayor's predictions on where the Kings would finish and why, it's all right here...in special correspondent Jim Fox's first High / Low article, he calls out Drew Doughty for his "worst game as a King."...Clean up on Aisle 11 - Anze Kopitar scores his first career hat trick and the Kings create a mess of their own on the ice as well...10 Tidbits on Scott Parse - yet another college hockey player gets a chance to play in LA.

2.  November 2009 - Remembering a Rivalry - preview of the Calgary Flames vs. LA Kings...What Shoulda Been - Ryan Smyth, the Kings and the Oilers.

3.  December 2009 - Interview w/ Mike Modano - on the eve of a Kings-Stars game Mo' looks back at his career...Interview w/ Ethan Moreau - the Oilers captain offers up a special preview of the LA-Edmonton game and talks about his near-nude photo shoot for ESPN.

Bob Miller & Daryl Evans on NHL Power Play

With the Kings in Toronto to take on the Leafs tomorrow night, Bob Miller and Daryl Evans stopped by Gretzky's restaurant this afternoon for an appearance on the NHL Power Play, available on both radio and TV throughout North America at 1pm PST.

While it was great to have them talking Kings hockey for over 30 minutes - instead of listening to their normal stories about the Bruins, Flyers, Blackhawks, Penguins and Capitals - there wasn't a lot of new ground broken for fans that follow the team in LA.

Here are some highlights for the curious though:

Bob said this is the 4th year of rebuilding and the expectations are the playoffs this year. His big question coming into the season was how good would Quick be - and up to this point, he's been great.

Daryl eluded to Dave Taylor deserving part of the credit for any success the team has this year, as he drafted guys like Brown and Kopitar.

Bob said Doughty has been outstanding. Dean is very cautious about kids coming in to the NHL too soon, but that hasn't been a problem with Doughty. He probably could have been rookie of the year. The poise he has is so impressive. He's going to be a Norris candidate for many years to come. Both he and Johnson are great players. For Doughty, it's like the bigger the game, the bigger he plays.

Re: Lombardi's comments about Jack and Michigan - Daryl says Jack had to adjust his game when he came to the NHL. He is a strong skater, shoots the puck a ton, can finish guys in the corner, etc. The style you play in college is more run and gun. There is more structure in the NHL. And the minus 18 is not indicative of his play. For example, he hasn't been on the ice a lot with the Kopitar line, so he isn't getting the pluses. Also, he's been on the ice a lot against the other team's top line.

Bob chimes in that he hates the plus/minus stat. He also says Dean meant it as a comment about how much Jack has developed since coming into the NHL. Jack has a great shot, can move up into the play when he needs to, etc.

Bob thinks Quick struggled a little bit at the start of the year, then he turned it around. Last week against Buffalo, Miller was outstanding, but so was Quick. He doesn't think Quick will be out of his league at all when he is with Team USA.

Daryl is not concerned about Quick's fatigue down the stretch. Says Quick is very athletic and the more he plays the more he gets into it.

RE: Frolov's play this year - Daryl says he's not finishing the same way as in the past. His puck protection on a consistent basis hasn't been there, like it was in the past. It's mind boggling given that it's a contract year. Bob added that he's always been a streaky player. However, there is no doubt the Kings want more goal scoring from Frolov.

On the subject of LA needing a superstar to draw, Bob would like to think its about winning. But, he realizes that what has kept the Lakers at the top of the sports pages all these years is that they keep replacing superstar with superstar year after year. He's just not sure who would be available for the Kings to go out and get, Gretzky was a once in a lifetime type deal. Daryl says they can develop the superstar in house, with guys like Doughty. The Kings are an exciting team to watch right now and that helps attract new fans too.

They wrapped things up talking about the Miracle on Manchester and the Triple Crown.

You can watch the full 3o+ minute video stream via Kings Vision by clicking here.

One19
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

LA Kings HockeyFest 2009: Saving the Best for Last

In the Rick Knickle spot (#1) - Growing Up Kings with Hardy, Nicholls & Robitaille

Come on people, if you don't know about Rick Knickle, you clearly weren't paying attention yesterday during my rant about the goaltending situation during the winter of '92-93.

Which #1 were you expecting me to reference...Mario Lessard?

Jim Fox (the host) started the session talking about how he and Harpo (Mark Hardy) had been out late the night before dancing at the Bullpen in Redondo Beach. Why we were supposed to care, I still don't know. In the 90s Harry O's in Manhattan Beach was where lots of the players used to hang out. Maybe once you retire you move over to the Bullpen. Or...given Dean's love for baseball, perhaps they thought "the Bullpen" would score some bonus points with the boss.

This session was great, although you always felt they were holding back a bit on some of the stories. One guy would be talking and then just look at another guy like "remember what else happened? (wink wink)"

Highlights included:

* Bernie Nicholls discussed his love of the fans, especially kids. One time he tossed a puck into the stands for an elderly gentleman after the pre-skate shoot around. When he came back out for the game the fan was holding a big towel on his head and was acting like he was nursing an injury. A few days later Bernie gets a letter stating he is being sued for $20k for the injury...and ANOTHER $20k because the guy could no longer perform his manly duties. Luc chimed in with the perfect solution. To save the $20k Bernie just offered to do it for him.

* Bernie and those damn pucks. Looks like another time he was fined by a minor league team for giving away all of the practice pucks after a shoot around. Can you imagine a team fining a player for interacting with the fans? I know things run on a shoe sting budget in the minors, yet this takes it to a whole new level.

* The PumperNicholl - there really isn't some great story behind the origin of this legendary move (or moves). Bernie simply says he loves scoring goals - "it's exciting" - and that Bob Miller can claim the naming rights. Apparently it didn't retire with him though. He says he still does it when he plays in charity games and such. Wonder if the opposing teams appreciate that a little less than the fans in the crowd.

* Harpo was reminded that none of his former teammates ever would have selected him as the guy "most likely to end up in coaching." To which he replied, "Why because I showed up to camp drunk one year?" Being traded to New York was a "devastating day in my life" he added, an event that started his awakening into maturity. He "learned how to win" from Mark Messier.

Quick side note - when people in the 90s would talk about the Kings being the Oilers South they were partially right. There were so many former Oilers here it was crazy - Gretzky, Huddy, McSorley, Kurri, Coffey, etc. However, the ONE guy they missed out on was Messier. Sure, the Kings had the best player in the game in #99, just think about what could have been if they had the best leader in all of pro sports!

Harpo also credited Rick Dudley (then of Phoenix, more recently the just appointed assistant GM in Atlanta) for getting him started in coaching when he made him a player/coach. He said he took to it right away.

* Following up on the Luc fighting at his 2nd training camp story I wrote about in the recap from Saturday...Luc says it was Dan Brennan he tried to scrap with. The scuffle ended when Bernie started yelling at Dan "STOP - you're going to kill him!" Yes, that was the end of Luc's fighting career, over before it ever really started.

* Apparently, Bernie liked the puck as much as Marcel. Well that and he says he always preferred the sure thing. Which is probably what led to him telling Ken Baumgartner "If I ever give you the puck, it was a mistake. Give it back!" Somebody call JR and tell him his t-shirt company needs to add that to their line.

* Memory lane - Luc says the hit Harpo laid on Mike Keane in game 3 of the '93 playoffs was the best hit he ever saw on the ice.

File under useless trivia - Mike Keane has the Stanley Cup tattooed on his leg three times...one for each cup he has won. Sorry, no link available.

They lost that game in overtime, but the hit lives on...or at least the story of the hit. Harpo says after the glass was shattered he looked in and saw Michelle Pfeiffer, so he winked at her before skating off. Click here to relive one of Harpo's finest moments via YouTube.

* Bernie sure wasn't shy with his opinions. He claims that Gretzky should have been called for a penalty in the '93 series with Toronto...better yet, he says he should have been ejected from the game! Watch the video and decide for yourself by clicking here.

* An interesting fact was brought up about tough travel schedules. Dallas plays all of their division games two time zones away.

* Bernie went on to say that teams in the West (mainly California teams) claiming "travel" is the reason they haven't won a cup are just making excuses. He then walked off the stage doing the PumperNicholl.

OK, so he didn't walk off the stage doing the PumperNicholl. Fine. He should have. How's that - better?

* All four guys on stage claimed that Patrick Roy was the toughest goalie they ever faced. A few other names were thrown around as tough too - like, Brodeur and Fuhr. However, it was Roy by overwhelming consensus.

* Back to Bernie - he says the Islanders practiced harder than the Kings played in games most nights. Luc added when he was first breaking in with the Kings (or was that Growing up a King to keep with the theme?) he was given more grief for his softball skills than his hockey skills. The Kings were the defending softball champions and they took their title serious...seriously.

* Who else, but Bernie - He is working on a 13 week hunting show for Versus. You can see it by ordering DirecTV now...oh, never mind. It's somewhat of an extension of a hunting piece he did for the NHL Network awhile back. Once a sniper, always a sniper.

* Superstitions - Luc used to use sticks with white tape on the blade in the first and third periods, alternating to black tape in the second. Harpo's only superstition was dressing his left side first. FASCINATING! Bernie takes the cake though. On game days he didn't want to be separated from his stick. So, he would take it home with him, to lunch, even to bed. I kept waiting for a series of one liners after that little tidbit, they never came.

Great way to end the day - and the weekend - with such a fun session. Overall, I would say this session tied for "best overall" with Saturday's expert panel.

Now that we know what it's like growing up a King, next year I'll be hosting "Growing Up a Kings Fan!" I'm already gathering my stories, photos and videos.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/MayorNHL
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LA Kings HockeyFest 2009: Sunday's Runner-Up Session

Pick your Z...

In the Alex Zhitnik or Doug Zmolek spot (#2) - Bob Miller's One Man Show

Like yesterday, the session I entered the day most looking forward to didn't end up earning my top billing when all was said and done. Great show. Great speaker (obviously). Just slightly one upped later in the day.

The voice of the Kings - our Vin Scully - brought a myriad of stories and video highlights from the team's 40+ years in LA.


* He opened things with 1967 and a video package entitled "Getting to Know You."

* Talked about driving up to Jack Kent Cooke's house in a rented Plymouth Omega (no link available). Cooke said he liked small cars too - like Maseratis.

* Bob isn't too fond of the way Cooke treated people or his (less than legendary) marketing ideas. For example, he once suggested that Bob say "...and there goes Marcel down the ice like a Datsun" as a way of plugging their automobile sponsor. Bob politely suggested they go a different direction - like mentioning the Datsun Scoreboard when referring to the score of the game.

* In the early days the Kings had several early players worthy of being in GQ magazine Bob claims. One notable exception was Butch Goring - who once spilled pasta sauce on his white turtle neck on the first night of an eight game road trip. He showed up the next day with what some players thought was a clean replacement. No - he simply turned the shirt around backwards and put a jacket on!

* For the trivia buffs...the hardest shot Bob has ever seen belonged to Dennis Hull of the Blackhawks.

* More trivia? He'll never forget the '76 playoffs. The worst call he remembers making was when Mike Corrigan tied the game against Boston in game six, after being down 3-0 that night. Relax Bob. More fans probably remember Goring scoring to win it at 18:28 of overtime - the longest game in Kings history at that point. Or what happened after - something Bob proudly proclaimed he has never seen since (or before) - a hockey player carried off the ice on the shoulders of his celebrating teammates.

* Of course, there were stories about the triple crown line, the trade of '88 that came with new team colors and more. There were also some less feel-good moments...like "I don't mind telling you I hated the Oilers (of the early 80's), their arrogance really bugged me."

* What had to be the kick to the gut moment of the whole weekend was watching Montreal celebrate winning the cup in '93. Sure, that playoff run was brought up in nearly every session throughout the weekend. Yet, this wasn't about the great Toronto series leading to the finals or even the stick incident in game two. This was a video featuring a celebration by the team that beat the Kings. The prior night Marcel refused to watch the video clip of Simmer breaking his leg. I felt the same pit in my stomach reliving that dreadful day. OUCH.

Bob's session ran 30 minutes over and easily could have gone another hour. The man is a hockey encyclopedia.

If you don't have his book, get a copy now (details and link below). It's easy reading and full of great memories.

Check out Bob Miller's book at Amazon:


The Mayor
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