LA Kings prospects on TV tonight, plus other notes

It's Friday, so it's time for some college hockey. Three Kings' prospects will be featured on TV tonight...

- First up, Derek Forbort and the University of North Dakota will be at Minnesota-Duluth (ranked third in the nation). That game can be seen on CBS College Sports at 5 pm PST (DirecTV 614). Forbort, who was injured while playing for Team USA at the recent World Junior tournament, returned to action two weeks ago. On the season, he has one goal and four assists in 20 games played - although the former first round pick is primarily a stay-at-home defenseman.

- Two hours later, NBC Sports Network (DirecTV 603) will air Nick Shore and the University of Denver hosting number-one ranked Minnesota. Selected by the Kings in the third round of last June's NHL Draft, Shore was shut out last weekend after picking up three goals and seven assists in his previous 10 games. Overall, he has 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) in 28 games played. Note: game two of the weekend series can be seen tomorrow night on a few of the FOX Sports regional channels.

- Wisconsin has the weekend off. They'll be at Denver next weekend, which will be the third weekend in a row Badgers sophomore Michael Mersch faces off with a fellow Kings prospect.  Taken by the Kings in the fourth round last June, Mersch has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 28 games.

Kings prospect Kevin Gravel emerging from the shadows

Kevin Gravel (photo: B Hemmelgarn)

When you're taken in the fifth round of the NHL Draft, not many hockey fans know you're name. Even the most diehard puckheads have only a cursory knowledge of guys selected outside of the first - maybe second - round. For every Brayden Schenn, there's at least a dozen more like Jeff Shevalier, Peter Hogan and Greg Hogeboom.

Yet, players like Jamie Benn, Rob Scuderi and Ryan Miller have all gone from being fifth round selections to solid pro players. So, chalk it up to being late bloomers or maybe even scouts missing out on what they had to offer, who knows.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Kings prospect Kevin Gravel has long since moved past the Draft of 2010, all while seeing his stock continue to rise. Currently a sophomore at St. Cloud State University, he also has recently returned from a trip to the World Junior Championships.

Last summer, he penned an article here on MayorsManor and he's back today to fill us in on what's been going on over the last month or so.

After surviving the final roster cuts for Team USA in late December - a process that he describes as "pretty nerve racking, just sitting there wondering if your name was going to appear" - Gravel and company kicked things off with a bang, downing Finland 11-3 in their first game.

"Our confidence was really high at that point," Gravel shared. "Obviously, we were expecting to win that game. But, any time you can put up 11 goals on a team, you're going to be feeling pretty good about yourself."

Big week for five of the LA Kings college prospects

As noted several times here on MayorsManor over the last few seasons, there has been a slow migration around the NHL away from relying so heavily on Canadian junior prospects. Conversely, we've seen a substantial increase in American-born players being taken in the first and second rounds of the NHL Draft.

The Kings are right near the top when it comes to U.S. players currently on the team and/or in the pipeline. With the big club, you have Jack Johnson, Matt Greene, Rob Scuderi, Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis and many others - plus, Jonathan Quick in net.

And the team has a slew of players currently enrolled at major U.S. colleges, including 2010 first round pick Derek Forbort.

Last week, five of the college prospects made some news...

- Forbort was expected to be a major part of Team USA's defensive core at the World Junior Championship. Instead, he was injured along the boards early in the tournament (believed to be his knee) and didn't play in the team's final few games. He returned to the University of North Dakota last week. However, he did not play in either of their games over the weekend. So, we'll need to monitor the situation going forward.

- Kevin Gravel (fifth round 2010) has been coming on strong. He was named to the above mentioned USA squad and scored the game winning goal for them in their final game vs. Switzerland. The win ended an otherwise disappointing tourney for the Americans, who finished seventh overall.

LA prospect Michael Mersch on Wisconsin's big weekend

Mersch celebrates his first goal of the season

LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi had a plan five years ago and it was simple. Stock the team's farm system with goalies first, then defenseman and eventually get to the forwards.

And over the last few drafts he's picked up quite a few potential power forwards, including Michael Mersch - now a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin.

This weekend, he and his Badger teammates hosted the nation's fifth-ranked North Dakota Fighting Sioux - a team that includes the Kings first round draft pick from 2010, defenseman Derek Forbort.

The two prospects had spent some time together over the summer, both at Development Camp with the Kings (in July) and an evaluation camp for Team USA the following month.

However, the two weren't very friendly this weekend. "We actually didn't even get a chance to talk," said Mersch. "We were both focused on the games. They're a huge rival and we both just wanted to help our teams out."

Mersch certainly did his part. He scored a goal in Friday's opening contest - a game Wisconsin won 5-3.

"We had a power play carry over from the first period and I slid off back door, the puck came across the crease and I just whacked it home," was how Mersch described his contribution in the second period.

LA Kings prospects on TV later this afternoon

Shore and Forbort at Kings camp (photo: C. Ikiri)

There's no denying the growing impact of U.S. college hockey on the NHL.

And the LA Kings have been ahead of the curve in recent years, with a plethora of former student athletes on their roster.

Heck, on defense Drew Doughty is the odd man out, as everybody else went the college route - Matt Greene (North Dakota), Jack Johnson (Michigan), Alec Martinez (Miami-Ohio), Willie Mitchell (Clarkson) and Rob Scuderi (Boston College).

The Kings have been stocking up on those type of players at the NHL Draft as well, with five of their 11 selections over the past two years already committed to going the NCAA route.

Later this afternoon, the top two prospects from that pool will be featured on television.

Defenseman Derek Forbort - the Kings first round pick from 2010 - and his North Dakota teammates will host the University of Maine 5:30 pm PST on Fox College Sports (channel 617 on DirecTV). Forbort is coming off a big weekend last week, having scored the first goal of his NCAA career. For those unfamiliar with him, he was also a member of the Team USA's squad that won a bronze medal at last winter's World Junior Championship (WJC). North Dakota are ranked sixth in the country, Maine is #16.

Today's big college hockey match-up will start an hour earlier on the CBS Sports Network (channel 613 on DirecTV), when #3-ranked Denver travels to #1-ranked Boston College. The Kings third round pick at last June's draft, Nick Shore, is one of the top centers for the Denver team. Earlier this summer, he attended the Team USA evaluation camp for the 2012 WJC and spoke exclusively with MayorsManor about his experience in an article linked below.

Next weekend, Forbort and team travel to Wisconsin to take on Michael Mersch (2011 Kings draft pick) and the Badgers. Then, the following weekend, they'll be home to play Kevin Gravel (Kings 2010 selection) and St. Cloud State.

At the end of February, North Dakota will play at Denver, in one of the most anticipated regular season games of the season. Can Forbort and the Sioux defense shut down Shore and the Pioneer offense? Ah come on, there's plenty of hockey to play between now and then.

The Mayor
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RELATED ARTICLES:

Exclusive - Nick Shore on Team USA WJC camp experience

Exclusive - Michael Mersh on experience at Team USA evaluation camp

Guest author - defenseman Kevin Gravel's Team USA camp journal

Interview with Kings' college prospect Derek Forbort

Forbort defeats Gravel via round two knockout

Brett Hextall ready to play his first game at Staples Center

Brett Hextall vs. the Kings (photo: CIKIRI)

During the Kings and Coyotes two-game Rookie Camp tournament last week, Brandon Kozun made the biggest impression on the management group and fans in Los Angeles.

Over on the other side, it was pretty hard not to notice Phoenix center Brett Hextall.

Sure, he's the son of Kings executive Ron Hextall. However, like the son of any former NHL player who gets drafted, he's slowly carving his own path and making his own way in the world of hockey.

Selected by the Coyotes in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Draft, Hextall signed his first pro contract earlier this year and knows he may still have a ways to go to make it the NHL.

Still, how bad does he want to play in the game tonight vs. the Kings at Staples Center?

"Pretty bad," said the younger Hextall during a recent conversation.

He went on to share that getting into one of the split-squad games tonight against the Kings, especially the one in LA, was one of his main goals coming into camp this season. And why wouldn't it be - most boys still want to impress their father, even long after they grow up to be men themselves.

Now 23, he's left college behind and has his sights set on the next phase in his career. However, he did offer up a few scouting related comments on one of his former teammates at the University of North Dakota - Kings 2010 first round pick, Derek Forbort.

DevCamp 2011: pre-camp comments from Kevin Gravel

For those who follow the Los Angeles Kings prospects, especially the defensemen, you're probably familiar with names like Derek Forbort, Thomas Hickey and Viatcheslav Voynov.

Yet, start to remember the name Kevin Gravel.

The 6-foot-4 blueliner recently wrapped up his freshman season at St. Cloud State University, where he won William Radovich Award for the most improved player.

He's also been invited to Team USA's evaluation camp next month for the upcoming World Junior Championship. Several other Kings prospects will be there with him and being selected for the team that will compete at next winter's tournament would certainly raise his profile.

First things first though. He'll be in LA for Development Camp on Monday and I recently spoke with him...

MM: What have you been up to since the season ended?

KG: Well, we had spring workouts until school ended. Then, I headed home for a little over a month and now I'm back in St. Cloud working out with the guys that are here and getting ready for Development Camp in LA.

MM: Now that you've had some time to process everything, what was the high of the season and the low? Any regrets?

KG: There aren't really any regrets. Obviously, it would have been nice to go further, maybe live up to some of the expectations we had. But, by the end of the year we were a very good hockey team that could beat anyone in the country. My 'high' of the season would have been the little stretch where we had a six game winning streak. We also had a real good stretch towards the end of the season against North Dakota, Denver and Wisconsin too. That really had us feeling good. Unfortunately, we just couldn't keep it going.

MM: Speaking of those schools, the Kings already had Forbort (UND), who we've spoken about previously, and they just drafted Nick Shore (Denver) and Michael Mersch (Wisconsin). Any memories from playing those two guys this year?

Wisconsin coach on LA Prospects Forbort, Gravel & Shore

Earlier this week, Wisconsin assistant coach - and former LA King grinder - Gary Shuchuk joined us to talk about the Kings fourth round selection in this year's draft, Michael Mersch.

Shuchuk, now an assistant coach at Wisconsin (NCAA), helped oversee Mersch's development during his just completed freshman season. Among the comments he shared was his belief that the 6-foot-1 prospect is patterned after somebody like Brendan Shanahan. Not bad.

Today, Shuchuk joins us again - this time to talk about three other Kings prospects that his Badgers played recently...

MM: You guys played Denver at the beginning of the season and the Kings just drafted Nick Shore in the third round. Any memories of him when the two schools met up?

GS: He's a good player. He's another big forward, a potential power guy. I think he has a lot of upside. He's probably a better skater than Michael (Mersch) right now. He's a smooth skater with a lot of power and a good shot. He plays hard, goes in the corners, not afraid to muck it up. He's good.

Interview with Kings college prospect, dman Derek Forbort

 Standing 6'5" and a freshman at the University of North Dakota, Derek Forbort is still years away from seeing time on the blue line in Los Angeles.

Still, when he goes from being the Kings number one draft pick in June 2010 to the team's highest rated defensive prospect eight months later (according to The Hockey News), people take notice.

He was a member of the Team USA squad that won a bronze medal at the recent World Junior Championships and later this afternoon his Fighting Sioux team will enter the NCAA tournament as the number one seed in their regional.

As part of our 'prospect playoff preview' series this week, Forbort made another visit to MayorsManor...

MM: The recent Hockey News 'Future Watch' edition listed you at #49 among all NHL prospects, covering all the teams in the league. That also placed you as the highest rated defenseman among the 10 Kings prospects. Did you see it and does that mean anything to you?

Is Matt Greene Coming to Twitter Soon?

After 'When is Brayden Schenn going to play for the Kings again?' and "Who's starting in goal tomorrow night?' - perhaps the question I get asked most often is 'When is Matt Greene going to join twitter?'

So, I took the question to the man himself...

MM: Dustin Brown is on twitter, Dustin Penner says he's thinking about, Oscar Moller was just called up and he's on twitter - when are we going see you tweeting?

MG: I doubt that will ever happen. I don't even know how you would go about doing that or why I would go about doing that.

MM: People want to hear what you have to say, you're a pretty funny guy...

MG: I get told to shut up at numerous points during the day. I don't think there should be any kind of a platform where I need to talk any more than I actually do.

MM: Well, here's something that would have made for a great tweet for you - over in the NCAA playoffs it looks like the brackets have been set up for a possible North Dakota - Boston College final. Are you working on any bets with Rob Scuderi yet?

MG: They have to win a couple games before that happens. But, I'm sure we'll figure something out if it does get down to that.

[note: last season Davis Drewiske lost a bet with Scuderi on the NCAA Championship Game, something he talked about here]

I'll be checking back in with Greene on that one for sure. 

UND opens the college hockey playoffs this weekend and Kings prospect Derek Forbort (a freshman for the Fighting Sioux) will be on MayorsManor to preview things before their game on Saturday.



The Mayor
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...And Now You're Caught Up - March 21, 2011

It's been another busy week in the sports world, so you may have missed a few odds and ends out there.

Don't worry - we've got you covered.

Here are the ten Kings related (or at least hockey related) items you should definitely know about heading into the week ahead...

* Call it the junior hockey version of Kings Undisputed, here's a short video produced by the Saskatoon Blades with Brayden Schenn talking pre-game routines, new cars and a few other things.

* For the second straight year, a Kings prospect (Linden Vey) won the WHL scoring title. And as an added bonus, another prospect (Tyler Toffoli) won the OHL scoring title. Full story here.

* Former Kings defenseman Rob Blake was just announced as the Assistant General Manager for Team Canada at the upcoming World Championships (talking place in Europe during the NHL playoffs). Consider it an open audition to head up Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Russia.

Interview: Catching Up with Derek Forbort

A few months ago prospect Derek Forbort stopped by to talk about being drafted by the Kings (first round, 2010) and adjusting to life as a freshman at the University of North Dakota.

Fresh off of winning a bronze medal last week at the 2011 World Junior Championships, he's back again. In the interview below we reflect on his experience at the WJC, talk about this weekend's big match-up vs. Minnesota and look ahead to the second half of the NCAA season...

MM: So much has been written about the games themselves, how about we start away from the rink - what did you guys do on the off days in Buffalo (at the WJC)?

DF: We went to a couple movies. We saw 'The Little Fockers' on Christmas Day, which is a pretty brutal movie. We hung out at the hotel a lot really. Not much else. There wasn't really a lot going on in Buffalo.

MM: Besides the high of winning the bronze medal, what were some of the other highlights for you personally?

DF: I played with a lot of the guys last year (in the US National Program), so it was a lot of fun getting back together with the boys, seeing what they've been doing lately and so on.

MM: On the flip side, I would assume losing to Canada in the semi-finals was the low...

DF: Oh, definitely!

MM: Is it something that eats at you or do you just file it away in the back of your brain?

Drew Doughty Is Odd Man Out in LA

LOS ANGELES, CA -- The Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings each have one. So, we can't be talking about Stanley Cups.

The Chicago Blackhawks have a pair. No, this has nothing to do with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

In San Jose, they have a trio. While the Penguins have four.

Yet in L.A., the Kings have six and one more an injured reserve.

You see, every defenseman on the Kings' roster is from a U.S. college hockey program - with one exception, Drew Doughty.

It's a rather surprising statistic considering outside of a few pockets - Boston and Minnesota, for example - most Americans don't even have college hockey on their radar. In fact, casual hockey fans in the U.S. probably just think that hockey players come from...um, Canada. While that may be true historically, there is a major shift underway.

College sports news tends to come in two waves. Right now it's bowl season, so it's college football 24/7. This gives fans of the Raiders, Giants, Cowboys, etc. a chance to see some of the best up and coming grid iron warriors.

In the spring, it's March Madness - featuring non-stop college hoops news. Again, giving fans of the Lakers, Celtics, Heat, etc. the opportunity to check out future NBA ballers.

But, what about hockey?

It's become a big time part of hockey development.

The Kings are not only stacked with former college hockey players at the NHL level, they're betting big on the future too - having taken Derek Forbort in the first round of last June's draft. He's currently a freshman at the University of North Dakota, one of the top college programs in the country.

Equally as impressive as the sheer numbers on the Kings' roster are the accomplishments of those players while in school...

[note: The remainder of this article appears exclusively on TheFourthPeriod.com, where The Mayor will be providing additional Kings coverage throughout the season. Please click here now to continue reading...and learn more about Jack Johnson, Matt Greene, Rob Scuderi, Willie Mitchell and others.]

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Forbort def. Gravel via Round Two Knockout

For all the talk surrounding the importance of drafting junior hockey players, outside of Drew Doughty, every other defenseman currently on the Kings roster is a former college hockey player - Jack Johnson (Michigan), Peter Harrold and Rob Scuderi (Boston College), Davis Drewiske (Wisconsin), Willie Mitchell (Clarkson Univeristy), Alec Martinez (Miami-Ohio) and Matt Greene (North Dakota).

And don't think for a minute those guys forget their college pride once they make the NHL. A few weeks ago Drewiske shared this story with me when talking about last year's BC vs. Wisconsin NCAA Championship Final, "I had a little bet with Scuderi and Harrold on the Championship game. I said if UW won, they each had to spend a day wearing my letter jacket from Wisconsin - which is just hideous, an ugly thing. If BC won, they had their senior sweaters, you know maroon and gold. Obviously, BC won the Championship game 5-0. So, I had to spend a day - I think we were in Vancouver - with the BC colors on, which didn't feel right at all."

Forbort vs Gravel - Round One Results

While it isn't uncommon for two Kings prospects to play each other in junior hockey, it doesn't happen nearly as often at the NCAA level.

Yet, with the Kings loading up on former college hockey players right now, especially on defense - Matt Greene, Rob Scuderi, Jack Johnson, Peter Harrold, Davis Drewiske, etc. - it could become a little more frequent.

Last night was one such occasion, as two potential future additions to the Kings' blue line faced off against each other for the first time. Derek Forbort (first round pick 2010) and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux were hosting the St. Cloud State Huskies and Kevin Gravel (fifth round 2010).

UND entered the weekend ranked #7 in the nation, while SCSU has remained unranked this year.

Prior to the game, Gravel told me "I think this weekend is going to be a good weekend for us. We've been inconsistent at times this season and there's no better team to turn the season around than against North Dakota. We'll be ready to go tonight."

Future Fridays - Interview w/ Derek Forbort

When you're drafting an 18-year old kid it's a gamble, regardless of the round.

However, when he's 6'5", plays defense, has an off the charts hockey IQ, has already won a gold medal with Team USA and was recruited to a college hockey program that's won seven national titles ...well, the odds are slightly in your favor.

It probably also doesn't hurt that he's from Minnesota - promoted as the State of Hockey.

Add it all up and it's easy to understand why Kings GM Dean Lombardi was willing to trade a first and second round selection to Florida at this year's NHL Draft just to move up four spots - giving him the ability to take Derek Forbort 15th overall.

While names such as the Ducks' Cam Fowler and Erik Gudbranson of the Panthers may have received more buzz before the draft, it's Forbort who many scouts believe may ultimately be the better player.

He recently began his freshman year at the University of North Dakota. The same school where Kings defenseman Matt Greene played three years and was the team captain when they lost in the NCAA Championship final to Denver in 2005.

Later tonight Forbort and his Sioux teammates will take on those same Denver Pioneers in a match-up of two teams ranked in the top-15 this season.

In the interview below he makes his inaugural stop into MayorsManor to talk about the games this weekend and give some thoughts on being drafted by the Kings - plus, he even helped clear up a little misconception that's been floating around for a few months...

Draft Watch - Lots of prospects on TV

Want to see some Kings prospects on television this weekend? How about some of the kids that will be drafted by NHL teams at the 2010 Draft being held in Los Angeles? How about some college hockey tournament action?

All three can be seen over the next three days, including a Calgary Hitmen game - which features LA Kings goaltending prospect Martin Jones in net and possible WHL scoring champion Brandon Kozun at right wing. So fire up the DVRs...

Here is a quick rundown on games you can choose from:

Seattle Thunderbirds vs. Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

Unless you've been living under a rock (or not reading this site), you know how much Kings GM Dean Lombardi loves the Western Hockey League. So much so that the last three years running he's taken a player from the Dub in the first round - Thomas Hickey ('07), 'Mr. Nasty' Colten Teubert ('08) and Brayden Schenn ('09).

Tonight's game starts at 7pm PST on Fox Sports NorthWest (DirecTV channel 687). The showcase player in the game will be T-birds goalie Calvin Pickard. He's currently ranked #1 among all North American goalies by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. The 6'1" netminder is expected to give Team USA phenom Jack Campbell a run for his money at the draft. One of them is expected to go early in the opening round as the first goalie taken this year.

Kelowna also features two ranked players of their own...Mitchell Chapman (ranked #151) is a 6'2" defenseman who loves to drop the gloves. To see his latest fight, as well as some other clips of his physical altercations, click here to see some clips from hockeyfights.com.

Brett Bulmer, a 6'2" right wing, is ranked #164.

Also playing in the game are Tyson Barrie (selected in the third round of last year's draft by the Avalanche) and Prab Rai (a 5th round pick of the Canucks in '08). Both are among the top 20 scorers in the WHL's Western Conference.

Becuase the Olympic talk never ends around here...Nashville Predators and Team Canada defenseman Shea Weber played his junior hockey for the Kelowna Rockets.

And one final note on Kelowna...in two weeks the Detroit Red Wings will take a very rare late season bonding trip to Kelowna. It seems that GM Ken Holland and coach Mike Babcock figured it would be a great way to spend the off days between a Monday game in Calgary and a Friday game in Edmonton. They'll be hosting an open practice for the town and have a few other events planned. To read more about their unique plans click here.

Saskatoon Blades vs Calgary Hitmen (WHL)

This game is on Sunday afternoon and will be a double treat...you can catch five ranked players for this year's draft in action...plus catch two Kings prospects.

Martin Jones has been an outstanding free agent signing for the Kings. He played a little at the recent World Junior Championships for Canada (winning a silver medal) and has been rock solid in goal for the Hitmen all year - winning WHL player of the week honors in February.

Meanwhile, last year's 6th round pick by the Kings, Brandon Kozun, has been a one man wrecking crew. He also played for Team Canada at the World Jrs and is the only 2x player of the week this season in the WHL. He currently has 94 points, only 3 behind league leader Jordan Eberle of the Regina Pats.

Saskatoon's ranked players for the 2010 draft:
#56 - Curtis Hamilton 6'2" LW
#68 - Charles Inglis 5'11" C

Calgary's ranked players:
#85 - Matt Mackenzie 6'1" D (to read a scouting report on him click here)
#181 - Cody Beach 6'4" RW

Mackenzie also played for Team Orr at the recent CHL Top Prospects game. He finished the night with zero points and a +1 rating.

Calgary and Saskatoon are two of the top three teams in the WHL, with Calgary leading all teams at 97 points. Saskatoon has 93 points, good for third best in the Eastern Conference. So, on paper, this looks to be an outstanding game.

It will be the first WHL game of the year to be broadcast in the U.S. on the NHL Network (DirecTV channel 215). The puck is scheduled to drop at 4pm PST on Sunday.

NCAA College Hockey

Friday 4:30pm PST - #5 ranked Boston College at #10 New Hampshire (Rob Scuderi went to BC and helped take his team to the NCAA hockey championship game three of his four years, finally winning it all in 2001...his final season as an Eagle) - NESN (DirecTV channel 628)

Friday 5:30pm PST - Michigan Tech at #7 ranked North Dakota (Kings d-man Matt Greene played for the Fighting Sioux, losing out on the NCAA championship to Denver during his final season there, 2004-05) - NESN (DirecTV channel 628)

Friday 6:30pm PST - Colorado College at #1 ranked Denver - FSN Rocky Mountain (DirecTV channel 683)

Saturday 4:30pm PST - CCHA Tournament - Lake Superior State at Michigan (like Jack Johnson says 'Go Big Blue') - Fox Sports Denver (DirecTV channel 663)

Saturday 6pm PST - #1 ranked Denver at Colorado College - FSN Rocky Mountain (DirecTV channel 683)

Take lots of notes, there will be a quiz later.

Read. Watch. Enjoy.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119