LA Kings prospect Nick Deslauriers starting to find his way

Nick Deslauriers (photo: Scott Slingsby)

About 400 miles down the Atlantic coast, gym-tan-laundry is all the rage. Yet, for Kings prospect Nick Deslauriers, it's more about training, eating and shopping when he's not at the rink.

Earlier this week, we spoke by phone and talked about his adjustment to the AHL, as well as his first professional goal - scored last Sunday in front of the hometown Manchester crowd.

"It was a power play," Deslauriers began, when asked to describe the play. "I was with Thomas Hickey, who sets me up all the time. I've had a lot of chances that just haven't gone in. But that time, I took a one-timer and it finally went through."

While he wasn't surprised the puck made it past the goalie - as "Dwight King did a perfect job of screening him" - he was a bit perplexed that it's taken so long. "I think luck finally came to me and it was about time that something happened, with all the shots I've been taking. I've been posting around four to six shots nearly every game."

Drafted by the Kings out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2009, Deslauriers has leaned heavily on Monarchs captain - and fellow Frenchman - Marc-Andre Cliche as he settles in to this chapter of his hockey career.

"We talk a lot," he explained. "We try to talk in English in front of everybody. But, it's kind of weird - two French guys talking English. So, it's fun having one French guy here, just to talk with. If I have some problems that I can't communicate in English, I just go to him and he helps me. Having a little French time together is pretty awesome."

But, it was the support of the entire D-core that worked to keep his confidence high earlier in the season when he wasn't getting much playing time, largely due to the Monarchs having so many defenseman on the roster.

If Murray goes, list of possible replacements for LA Kings

When a tweet appears from a Hall of Fame hockey writer saying 'Kings may be preparing to fire Terry Murray as coach,' you click the link.

And according to a report filed with the LA Times by Helene Elliott and Lisa Dillman here late last night, that may be the course of action in progress at the moment.

Murray's Kings are one game above .500 and have lost four games in a row.

They're in Boston today, preparing for tomorrow night's game with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Bruins. Currently, it's not known if Murray will be behind the bench for that match-up.

If a move is made this week though, here's a quick look at some of the names that may replace him - starting with five known commodities (NHL and AHL coaches), followed by the five leading candidates from junior hockey and wrapping up with five candidates you may hear about - but aren't likely to get the gig.

NHL and AHL Coaches:

John Stevens - LA Kings assistant coach - he may be the short-term solution while a replacement is secured...however, he isn't considered to be a finalist for the job...Stevens is said to coach the same (or very similar) system to Murray and his results while leading the Flyers were mixed

Randy Carlyle - former Anaheim Ducks coach - he's available, due to recently being fired from the Kings Pacific Division rival...supposedly, his players tuned him out a long time ago and he is thought to be extremely hard on players (which may not be such a bad thing for the Kings right now)...his familiarity with the division could be a plus, but according to the Times' article, the 'Kings are not thought to be interested in Carlyle'

Craig MacTavish - another former NHL head coach (Edmonton), he's now coaching Chicago's AHL team...if there is one other team the Kings are most often linked to besides the Flyers, it's the Oilers...so, Mac T has that going for him...he knows several of the current Kings from their days in Edmonton...also another coach thought to be extremely hard on his players and not well liked

Weal and Toffoli will be the only Kings representatives

Over the last few seasons, the LA Kings have been rated as having one of the top prospect pools among NHL teams. However, many of those players with high-end potential are starting to age out of junior hockey.

When it comes to Team Canada at the World Junior Championships (WJC), the Kings have also been well represented in recent years, with Thomas Hickey, Martin Jones, Brandon Kozun, etc.

Besides their annual summer evaluation camp, for the last eight years, Canada has tuned up for that event with a warm-up against a team of Russian players each November.

Dubbed the Subway Super Series, it's six games total, with the team of Russian all-stars playing twice against each of the three major junior leagues - the QMJHL, OHL and WHL.

Last year, the Kings were represented in every game - wtih Maxim Kitsyn (Russia), Nic Deslauriers (QMJHL), JF Berube (QMJHL), Tyler Toffoli (OHL), Jordan Weal (WHL) and Linden Vey (WHL) participating. Each of those players also appeared on MayorsManor during the tournament, offering their perspective on the games (links below).

With all six of the Kings' draft picks this past June being ineligible - three of the picks are playing college hockey, Andy Andreoff is too old, Michael Schumacher is from Sweden and Christopher Gibson will likely play for Finland at the World Juniors - only two of LA's prospects were available for the Super Series this year and both were selected.

High / Low with Terry Murray... on players cut from roster

Schumacher in rookie game (photo: CIKIRI)

Just before game time last night, the Kings released the names of 11 players who had been cut from their list of 60+ players in camp.

Eight of them were camp invitees and the other three were former LA draft picks - Christopher Gibson, Michael Schumacher and Jordan Weal.

Interestingly, the latter group will be heading to three different junior hockey leagues - Gibson to the QMJHL, Schumacher the OHL and Weal goes back to Regina in the WHL.

After the first round of practice today, I asked coach Terry Murray for some highs and lows that each experienced in camp this month.

The normally positive, or at least even-keeled, Murray actually had some pointed criticism of Gibson. Apparently, the five goals he gave up in the third period last week vs. a team of Phoenix Coyotes prospects left a lasting impression...

Murray on Gibson - "Clearly (after) the game that he played, he has a lot of improvement that's needed. First of all, he has to be able to handle his emotions. You're going to be put under the spotlight as a pro player. So, get used to it kid. You have to find a way to get into a game where all your management and coaches are fans are watching and have high expectations of a second round pick. So, you have to get through that and then you take it from there. Working on your game never goes away. He left here with a lot of information from our goalie staff and they'll follow up with him in junior and keep pushing his game along."

Rookie Camp Report: coach Murray on Nic Deslauriers

After Development Camp in July, Kings coach Terry Murray weighed in with thoughts on several of the team's top prospects - including Brandon Kozun, Jake Muzzin and Christopher Gibson.

Yesterday I spoke with him about one of the other players recently named to our Top 10 Prospects list, defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers..

Murray - "Off the ice your seeing a difference in maturity, physical strength, the testing results, the skating results - which are very demanding tests. Those show improvement. I think Deslauriers, he's a hockey player, his best is always in the game. Sometimes he's resting in his game in practice. But, when you get into a competitive game situation - and we've watched him only a couple of times - his game changes. He's very intense, he's very focused. Again, he's a game player and ultimately that's what we want out of all these guys."

Originally drafted by the Kings at the 2009 NHL Draft (third round), Deslauriers finished last season as the top scoring defenseman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) playoffs.

Earlier this summer, he signed a three-year entry level contract with the Kings and is expected to play in Manchester this season (AHL).

To read more of Murray's player evaluations, I've linked to them in the opening paragraph above for your convenience.

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

Goalie Chris Gibson - camp quotes and coaches evaluation

Vey shoots on Gibson at camp (photo: C. Ikiri)

When the Los Angeles Kings used their first selection at the recent NHL Draft to take a goaltender - well, it caught some people off guard.

Sure, everybody's heard the mantra 'take the best player available.'

However, the team will most likely have five goaltenders under the age of 26 playing pro hockey next season - two in LA, two in Manchester (AHL) and one in Ontario (ECHL).

Plus, with the market for goaltenders at a low point over the past few summers, was it really necessary to use such a high pick on another goalie at this time?

"I have no opinion on that," said Kings coach Terry Murray. "Quite honestly, I don't follow the depth of the organization. That's not my job. The people upstairs do what they need to do to keep everything in place."

Murray did admit to being a little confused though when he first met Chris Gibson earlier this week. "He's a Finn, he speaks English and when I first met him I thought he was French (because of his accent)," the coach explained. After Gibson told him he spoke all three languages, Murray responded with 'Wow, that's pretty impressive.'

On the ice, Murray was a little more clear on what the Kings acquired in Gibson. "He's a very competitive guy. This is an 18-year old player who played a lot, (37) games in the Quebec league last year - on one of the poorer teams in the league. He faced the most shots and still, at the same time, had a pretty high save percentage over the course of the year."

Coach Murray on camp performance of Muzzin, Deslauriers

Jake Muzzin, LA Kings (photo: Kasey Spatz)

Sure, nobody won a job or lost a job with the Los Angeles Kings due to their performance at this week's development camp.

However, the annual showcase allows Kings' coaches and management an opportunity to evaluate the on and off ice skill sets of their top prospects.

And when it comes to the team's blueline, they appear to have a depth unmatched in their franchise history.

In fact, part of the reason they were able to trade former first round draft pick Colten Teubert to Edmonton in the Dustin Penner deal was the emergence of two other defensive prospects, Jake Muzzin and Nic Deslauriers (and after all, doesn't everything seem to come back to Penner these days?).

When Muzzin is at his best, he brings a physical element to the ice - something he briefly spoke about during camp this week.

Further, Deslauriers continues to round out that part of his game as well, while simultaneously improving his offensive numbers.

Even with the defensive group in LA pretty much set (Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene and Alec Martinez), the Kings still have a pretty deep pipeline, with guys like Muzzin, Deslauriers, Thomas Hickey, Andrew Campbell, Derek Forbort and Kevin Gravel - just to name a few.

For specific comments on the performance of Muzzin and Deslauriers this week, we turn to Kings Coach Terry Murray, who shared the following:

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?

DevCamp 2011: Pre-camp comments from JF Berube

Hollywood is headed to Los Angeles.

Goaltender JF Berube - nicknamed Hollywood - finished his junior season as one of the top goaltenders in the Quebec league (QMJHL). After playing in 50 regular season games he had a 2.60 goals-against-average (fourth best in the league), a .902 save percentage (sixth best), 32 wins (second best) and three shutouts (tied for third most).

His Montreal Junior team swept thier first round opponent, the Halifx Moosseheads. But lost their second series to the Lewiston Maineiacs 4-2 (including an overtime and a double-overtime game). He finished the post-season with six wins in 10 games played, a 2.79 goals-against-average and a 0.901 save percentage. His two shutouts tied for the league lead.

Originally selected by the Kings in the fourth round of the 2009 draft, Berube has been a guest on MayorsManor numerous times and he's back today to offer up some pre-camp comments...

MM: First off, any comments on fellow Quebec league goalie Christopher Gibson - the Kings just drafted him in the second round last weekend.

JFB: I didn't play him a lot. But, I know he's a very good goalie. He's square to the puck and has good feet.

MM: You recently signed your entry level contract. How good does it feel to have that behind you now?

JFB: I'm really happy that the Kings decided to put me under contract for the next three years. I really like the organisation and all the coaching staff, so it was really good news for me.

MM: Any thoughts on coming to camp?

More from Laperriere - talking Luc, health, life after hockey

A few days ago Ian Laperriere joined us to talk about the Mike Richards trade. Did the Kings get good value in the blockbuster swap with the Flyers? Lappy thinks so. If you missed the full interview, you can read his thoughts here.

Because everybody loves Lappy, he's back today for more. This time around we cover his health, winning the Masterton Trophy at last week's NHL Awards and his plans for life after hockey.

MM: People always want a health update. So, how are you feeling these days? Any news?

IL: You know what, I feel pretty good. Other than my eye, that's what drives me nuts, I still have issues with blurry vision in my right eye. Other than that, I feel great. I've been training hard and I'm probably in the best shape of my life. But, still, when I'm on the ice, with my eye, I don't feel quite myself. Until that goes away, I don't plan on going back. At least I'm feeling pretty normal though.

MM: So, you're not using the 'R' word yet?

IL: I still have a year left on my deal and I'm going to give myself that year. If my eye doesn't get any better, I'm just going to call it a career. It didn't get that much better over the last year, so I don't expect it to be cleared in one more year. But, if it does, great. If it doesn't, I'll move on and do something else. Either way, I'm OK with it.

MM: Last time we spoke you were spending quite a bit of time with some of the younger players in the Flyers organization. Is that something that you're still involved with?

LA Kings Draft Update: Round two - goalie Chris Gibson

In a little bit of a surprise move - or what some might call a Dean Lombardi draft day special - the Kings selected a goaltender with their first pick (#49 overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft.

LA traded away their first round selection in the Dustin Penner deal earlier this year. So, the team didn't hit the podium until the second round, where they announced 'We proudly select Finnish goaltender Christopher Gibson.'

He played last season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he led all goalies with a .920 save-percentage and was second overall with a 2.42 goals-against average. He was named a First Team All-Star.

Gibson lists Mikka Kiprusoff as his favortie athlete - a netminder Lombardi is very familiar with from his days in San Jose.

The Kings also know about goalies coming out of the QMJHL, having recently taken Jonathan Bernier and JF Berube from the junior circuit.

To see what the Kings did in the third round click here.

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

RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with Kings 2010 first round pick Derek Forbort

Interview with Kings goaltending prospect JF Berube

Clearing the Crease with Jonathan Bernier

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

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

Kings' Junior Prospects Come Up Empty

Unlike the Kings, who limped into the playoffs (winning only one of their final six games in regulation), the team's prospects were riding high as the post-season arrived.

They had the WHL scoring champion (Linden Vey, Medicine Hat Tigers), a player on the top team in the WHL (Brayden Schenn, Saskatoon Blades), the OHL scoring champion (Tyler Toffoli, Ottawa 67's), a player on the top team in the OHL (Maxim Kitsyn, Mississauga St. Michaels Majors), one of the top goaltenders in the QMJHL (JF Berube, Montreal Junior) and one of the top defensemen in the 'Q' (Nic Deslauriers, Gatineau, Olympiques).

They all stopped by MayorsManor to offer playoff previews.  And they all had such high hopes.  Yet, over the last six weeks they've all been bounced, one by one.

Toffoli exited first, in a four game sweep. Next was Schenn, swept out of the second round.

Berube and Montreal also lost in the second round - although their series went six games.

Vey and Medicine Hat were swept out of the WHL's Western Conference Finals.

Gatineau pushed the QMJHL Championship series to double overtime of game six last night. Unfortunately, they came up on the losing end, 3-2...and lost the series 4-2.

Deslauriers did finish as the highest scoring defenseman in the QMJHL playoffs though (20 points - 5 goals and 15 assists - in 24 games).

Kitsyn and the Majors made it all the way to overtime of game seven of the OHL Championship. Still, they lost 3-2.

And with that, it's over. All of the league championships have now been decided.

None of the Kings' prospects came away with a title.

Now, it's on to the Memorial Cup. For those unfamiliar, it's a four-team tournament comprised of the three league champions (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), along with the host city. This year, it will be in Mississauga. So, Kitsyn still has one more shot at hoisting something this spring. Things get underway Friday.

For the record, the last Kings prospect to win the tournament was Andrei Loktionov with the Windsor Spitfires in 2009.



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

RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with Windsor GM (and former King) Warren Rychel

Interview with WHL Scoring Champion Linden Vey

Interview with QMJHL defenseman Nic Deslauriers

Interview with Russia's Maxim Kitsyn

Interview with Hockey's #1 Prospect - Brayden Schenn

order here --> MayorsManor Store

SAVE 12% TODAY - USE COUPON CODE TSHIRTSALE12 

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 - for some, the playoffs continue

The herd is starting to thin.

When the junior hockey playoffs began a few weeks ago the Los Angeles Kings were well represented. They had the WHL scoring champion (Linden Vey), a player on the top team the WHL (Brayden Schenn), the OHL scoring champion (Tyler Toffoli), a player on the top team in the OHL (Maxim Kitsyn), one of the better goalies in the QMJHL (JF Berube) - plus a few others.

Now, we're in the third round and many of them have been eliminated. Ironically though, the Kings still have one player left in each league...

WHL - Vey has continued to put up numbers in the playoffs and still leads 'the Dub' in post-season points (12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points). However, his team is facing a daunting 3-1 hole heading into game five tonight. Even more troubling, his team's high powered offense has gone silent - scoring just one goal total in the last two games. His Medicine Hat Tigers will need to beat the Kootenay Ice in their barn if they plan on seeing a game five in this series. Note: Kootenay was the the team that beat Brayden Schenn's Saskatoon Blades in the last round.

OHL - Kitsyn's Mississauga St. Michaels Majors are already guaranteed a spot in next month's Memorial Cup tournament. However, the OHL's regular season champs aren't resting on their laurels. They swept their opponents in the first and second rounds, then finished off the Ice Dogs in five games to take the Eastern Conference Championship. Now they'll move on to the OHL Finals, where they'll play the winner of the Windsor Spitfires v Owen Sound series (Owen Sound currently lead 3-1 and game five is tonight. You may recall that Windsor is run by former Kings enforcer Warren Rychel and they're the two-time, defending OHL Champions. Their first title team included Kings prospect Andrei Loktionov). Kitsyn had a goal last night, his seventh of the playoffs.

QMJHL - Defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers and his Gatineau Olympiques teammates trail the Quebec Remparts 2-1 in their series. Gatineau opened the series with a win, but have dropped two straight. They'll be looking to tie things up tonight in game four, before the series returns to Quebec on Friday night. Deslauriers scored in game two of this series and his 11 points (three goals, eight assists) are fifth best among defensemen in the QMJHL playoffs.

Each league will crown a champion in about two weeks time and then they'll all compete in the 2011 Memorial Cup beginning on Friday, May 20th.

The Kings Prospect Report will continue here on MayorsManor for the duration of the playoffs and into the summer months.



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

RELATED ARTICLES:

Interview with WHL Scoring Champion Linden Vey

Interview with Russia's Maxim Kitsyn

Interview with QMJHL defenseman Nic Deslauriers

Interview with Windsor GM (and former King) Warren Rychel

Playoff Preview with Hockey's #1 Prospect - Brayden Schenn

order here --> MayorsManor Store

SAVE 12% TODAY - USE COUPON CODE TSHIRTSALE12 

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.

LA Kings Prospect Report - 2011 Playoffs, Round 2 Updates

While the Kings get ready for their opening round showdown with the San Jose Sharks later this week, their junior prospects are already two games into the second round of the CHL playoffs.

Below is a brief overview of how each of LA's top prospects have fared so far, plus a look ahead to the Manchester Monarchs (AHL) post-season plans...

Western Hockey League (WHL)

Brayden Schenn - The team that was tops amongst all WHL clubs this season enters tonight down 0-2 to the Kootenay Ice, who will now host games three and four. Schenn produced ten points in six first round games, posting five goals and five assists. Kootenay's ability to limit him to just one point in the first two games of this series has been a major story line so far. Can the Ice possibly sweep the Saskatoon Blades right out of the playoffs? It sure would make for an interesting conversation about Schenn's immediate future.

Linden Vey - He leads all WHL players with nine goals and 18 points in the playoffs. Exactly what you'd expect from the 2010-11 WHL Scoring Champion.  Vey was also just named the WHL Player of the Week, rightfully so. His Medicine Hat Tigers crushed the Red Deer Rebels in the first two games of this series by scores of 9-1 and 5-0. Vey had a pair of goals in each game. The series moves back to Medicine Hat for games three (today) and four (tomorrow).

[update, Tuesday 4/12/11:  Vey has been announved as the CHL Player of the Week too, so not just the WHL - but, now all of Canadian junior hockey]

Ontario Hockey League (OHL)

Interview w/ Kings Prospect Nic Deslauriers (QMJHL dman)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

LA Kings Prospect Report - Close to The End

The college hockey season is over, junior hockey wraps up this weekend and the AHL isn't far behind.

That's right - the playoffs are almost here.

Most junior teams have a pair of games left this weekend and nearly all of the Kings top prospects in the CHL are poised for great playoff runs, as detailed below.

Also making the rounds recently is The Hockey News 'Future Watch' special edition, which crowns Brayden Schenn as the number one pro prospect.

Other Kings in the top 75 were Andrei Loktionov (#39), Derek Forbort (49), Tyler Toffoli (51) and Viatcheslav Voynov at (54).

Here's a quick run down on those five and a few other notes on the CHL and NCAA playoffs...

Schenn - has posted incredible numbers since being acquired by his hometown team, the Saskatoon Blades, at the trading deadline (20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in 25 games). Regardless of the outcome in their final games this weekend, the Blades will end the regular season with the best record in the WHL. Thus, they're heavy favorites to win the league championship and move on to the CHL's Memorial Cup.