Think About This...

It's Thursday, so I know you all wish it was 24 hours from now...while you're sitting around waiting for your weekend to begin, in honor of the Game 7s this week, here are 7 things to think about today (besides the fact that I was able to make two baseball references in an article about hockey):

*  The Kings have been off work now for 18 days, yet they moved up in the draft last night.  With Montreal winning (8th seed in the East), the Canadiens will now draft later.  This has pushed the Kings up to #19 now, from #22 originally.  That's the little silver lining for all you Cammi fans who were steamed watching him advance another round. Or did you just accept it because you were happy Sid was eliminated?

* Manchester opened their third round series with Hershey last night and things didn't go so well.  Former first round draft pick Jonathan Bernier gave up four goals - not the norm for him this season.  One of the guys probably joining Bernier in LA next season, Andrei Loktionov, scored one of the Monarchs two goals in the loss.  Assisting on the goal was a guy that possibly could be joining them in LA next year, Kyle Clifford (his first pro point).  KC was a coach's pick as MVP of the prospects camp last September and he plans on making a strong push to become a King this fall.  He's a tough-as-nails winger and dropped the gloves late in the first period, another first in his pro career.  Now can he pick up his first goal when the Monarchs skate in game two tomorrow night?

10 Tidbits for a Tuesday

There isn't a lot of hockey news right now in Los Angeles...however, from various points around the globe there are several stories brewing with connections to the Kings:

* Ryan Smyth was injured at the Hockey World Championships taking place over in Germany.  He was thought to have rolled his ankle at practice on Sunday.  Then, an MRI reveled the situation was much worse - a fractured left ankle.  He's headed back to LA tomorrow and is expected to be fully healed before camp opens in September.  TSN has the full story here.

* Team USA - captained by the Kings Jack Johnson - is in deep trouble in the same tournament.  They lost in front of 77,000 fans in the opening game on Friday.  They followed that up with a second overtime loss yesterday, this time to Denmark (by the same score of 2-1).  On the loss to Denmark - a team that didn't even qualify to play in the recent Olympics - Johnson summed it up best "It's inexcusable.”  The American squad will now face Finland on Wednesday.  With a win they can avoid being pushed into the regulation round.  Not exactly the fate you would have forecasted for the team prior to the tournament.

Kings + Michigan + IIHF + USA...and the Spirit of 76(k)

In just a few hours...in a time-zone far, far away...Captain Jack (Johnson) and his Kings teammate, Matt Greene, will lead Team USA onto the ice at the 2010 Hockey World Championships.

Surrounding them will be slightly over 76,000 fans...enough to set a new world record for hockey attendance.  And enough people to make a hell of a lot of noise.

In fact, yesterday on NHL radio an executive from USA Hockey (Jim Johannson) said that he expects most of the crowd to be standing and singing much of the game...if not the whole game.  According to Johannson, it's just par for the course when you pack a football stadium (that's soccer stadium to you Yank') full of hockey fans and get them all liquored up.  That's how they roll, Euro style.

Captain Jack and Greener aren't the only players with a connection to both the Kings and the attendance record.  Former Kings forward Mike Cammalleri was at the University of Michigan back in 2001 when the Wolverines faced off against Michigan State in the Cold War game...played outdoors at the Spartan's football stadium, filled with 74,000 students, fans and alumni.  That fun filled event set the current record, which will be broken later this afternoon.

Although the 76,000 and change that will witness today's tournament opening game between Germany and the U.S. will just barely beat the current hockey attendance record set by Michigan-MSU, it's going to obliterate the record for the World Championships.  It was way back in 1957 when 55,000 fans filled (then) Lenin Stadium in Moscow to watch the Soviets and Swedes battle it out for gold at the final game of the Worlds.  After today, that achievement will be no more.

Hey Bud, let's party...well, almost.

With their series tied 2-2, the Manchester Monarchs traveled to Worcester tonight for a pivotal game five match-up vs. the AHL's Sharks.

Ho, hum...another game, another shutout for Jonathan Bernier.

And then there's this little tidbit...Bud Holloway had ANOTHER game winner! This guy is playing out of his mind right now. The Monarchs have been victorious in seven playoff games this year, with Holloway picking up the game-winner in SIX of those!

Incredible? Amazing? Unbelievable? How about all of that and a little more...damn, Bud.

His goal was the only puck to find the back of the net the entire game.  Meanwhile, Bernier stopped 30 shots at the other end of the ice.  So, with their 1-0 victory, the Monarchs now hold a 3-2 lead in the second round series.

Holloway (3rd round) and Bernier (1st round) were both selected by the Kings in the 2006 NHL Draft, just a few months after Dean Lombardi was hired.  For now, they're polishing their resumes in Manchester.

Bud, Bernier and the boys will be looking to party hard on Friday night. A win at home and the series is over.

To view video highlights from last night's game, courtesy of the AHL, click here.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Captain Jack steers Team USA onto TV

Captain Jack Sparrow once said 'The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can’t do.'

And according to Team USA...well, Jack Johnson CAN indeed play hockey - pretty well, in fact.  Earlier today he was named Captain of the USA squad getting ready to play in the Hockey World Championships over in Germany.

More on that in a minute though.  The other big news is...and hockey fans probably haven't uttered these words since the dispute with Versus was resolved about six weeks ago...DAMN YOU DIRECTV!  It looks like NBC's Universal Sports will be televising the Championships.  However, if you have DirecTV, you won't be seeing anything - they don't carry the channel.  Cable subscribers can click here for more info.

Now back to Captain Jack (Johnson, that is)...

NHL.com draft note

With the Kings out of the playoffs now most (some?) of the attention among LA hockey fans has turned to the draft - being held here in SoCal next month.

NHL.com has also slowly been rolling out their draft experts over the last month or so, offering various predictions for the first round.  Last month they offered five different mock drafts - eat your heart out Mel Kiper fans.  A few of their guys had the Kings drafting...gulp...a player labeled 'the Next Frolov' - Stanislav Galiev (we had a recap article on that one up here).

Well, today came a new nugget from NHL.com.  They asked three of their experts to do a second mock draft.  Hope you're sitting down for this one.

After each player projected to be taken by the Kings the author was allowed a one line justification of his pick.  It usually is a comment about the player.

However, Brad Holland's prognostication had this gem on the Kings organization:

PICK:  Nick Bjugstad, C, Blaine (HIGH-MN)SKINNY: Not much the Kings need – they're loaded in almost every position – Bjugstad a good backup to Kopitar.


Re-read it a few times.  Not often will you see things like that written about the Kings.

Even though it's not completely true - they aren't loaded with forwards - it's still amazing what Dean Lombardi has done with the franchise in just a few short years.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Kings Johnson & Greene get things started for Team USA

The IIHF's World Hockey Championships kick off on Friday in Germany. As a tune-up, Team USA played their lone pre-tournament game earlier today. And a pair of Kings defensemen helped lead the charge. Jack Johnson had a goal, while Matt Greene chipped in with an assist in the 3-1 win.

The following is a snipet of the official game recap from USA Hockey:

After Yorick Treille gave France a 1-0 lead at 11:01 of the first period, Okposo knotted the score with his first marker 4:52 into the middle frame. Matt Greene (Grand Ledge, Mich./Los Angeles Kings/Univ. of North Dakota) sent a pass to Nick Foligno (Buffalo, N.Y./Ottawa Senators), who fed Okposo with a cross-ice goalmouth pass for a tap-in goal past Fabrice Lhenry.

While on the power play, the U.S. grabbed a 2-1 advantage with 7:29 remaining in the second period. T.J. Oshie (Warroad, Minn./St. Louis Blues/Univ. of North Dakota) collected a Brandon Dubinsky (Anchorage, Alaska/New York Rangers) pass behind the French net and fed Jack Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Los Angeles Kings/Univ. of Michigan) at the top of the left circle, where he fired a one-timer over Lhenry's blocker.

You can read the full report by clicking here.

Team USA will begin pool play on Friday vs. host Germany. They'll then play again on 5/10 and 5/12.  For you diehards out there, you can watch the games online for a small fee. Just click here for the details.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Goose Eggs All Around

If only it was Tuesday night...or Thursday night...we could've used the tired ol' radio expression TwoFer Tuesday in the headline...

It was a double dose of shutouts Friday night for a pair of Kings prospects.

Jonathan Bernier and the Manchester Monarchs blanked the Worcester Sharks 5-0 to take a 2-1 lead in their second round AHL series.  Bernier's sixth playoff win with the team moved him into a tie with Jason LaBarbera for the most in Monarchs history. 

Bud Holloway, featured here yesterday, picked up an assist in the game - running his points streak up to seven games.  Shockingly, it was somebody other than Bud with the game winning goal...this time the honor went to Gabe Gauthier.  The four other Monarchs goals were scored by Trevor Lewis (2), Corey Elkins and David Meckler. 

Bernier and Lewis were both drafted in the first round by the Kings back in 2006 - just a few months after Dean Lombardi took over as General Manager.  Meckler was taken that same year, in the 5th round.

You can click here to read the official Monarchs recap of the game.

Up north in Calgary the Hitmen, led by Kings goalie prospect Martin Jones, blanked the Tri-City Americans 7-0 in their opening game of the WHL Finals.  League scoring champion - and Kings 6th round pick last summer - Brandon Kozun scored yet again.

Both series resume tomorrow night.  And...as a special bonus - you can catch the Hitmen v Americans game on TV (it's on tape delay, but still)...Fox Sports NorthWest will be showing the game at 12:30am PST on Sunday Morning (or late Saturday night, depending how you look at it)...DirecTV viewers can tune to 687.  Tell your DVRs to record WHL hockey...watch Jones and Kozun...enjoy.

You can view FSN's full TV schedule for the series by clicking here.

One more bit of news for you on the way out the door today...

Kyle Clifford, the only other Kings prospect of note still playing, had a pair of goals on Thursday night for the Barrie Colts...however, it wasn't enough, they lost...and are now down 0-2 in the OHL Finals vs. the Windsor Spitfires.  That series resumes in Windsor on Sunday afternoon. 

Readers of this site may recall back in September when Kings Assistant Coach Mark Hardy had plenty of good things to say about Clifford coming out of Rookie Training Camp.  Drafted last summer in the second round, he looks like a kid to keep an eye on.

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

One Helluva Video

Hey Bud, What's Your Problem?

If you were around in the early 80s, you know all about today's headline...taken from a classic movie that helped launch Sean Penn's career - Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

In turn, perhaps these are the playoffs that launch the career of Kings prospect Bud Holloway. Drafted in the third round, just months after Dean Lombardi was hired in 2006, he's on fire with Manchester right now.

The Monarchs have won five games in the AHL playoffs this spring...Holloway has scored the game winner in all of them!

A few guys taken before him have received more press - names like Bernier and Trevor Lewis...and his former teammate with the Seattle Thunderbirds, Thomas Hickey, received more pub when he was taken by Lombardi in the first round the following year...yet, Holloway has consistently just been biding his time and putting up points.

He finished his junior career by posting the third most goals in the WHL (2007-08).  Last year he started the season with Manchester and scored a goal in his debut.  He later made his way to Southern California...just not to play with the Kings, being sent down to the ECHL's Ontario Reign.  The 6' winger was perhaps the best player in Ontario, including leading the team in points and assists during the playoffs.

After this season he'll have one year remaining on his three-year entry level contract.

Holloway lead the Monarchs in points this season...and now has points in six straight playoff games.

He'll be looking for more Friday night when the Monarchs and the Worcester Sharks lace 'em up for game three of their second round series.

Aloha!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119


note: the official recap of the game can be found on the Monarchs website.

...and if you're having a bad day or in need of a good laugh, click here to see a 2 minute clip of Spicoli meeting Mr. Hand for the first time.