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.

Manchester Mondays with Muzzin

Saturday night Jake Muzzin played over 16 minutes against the Islanders, the most ice time he's seen so far in his brief 10-game career in the NHL.

He's expected to have some increased responsibilities on the blue line over the next few weeks while the Kings wait for Willie Mitchell to heal up. Yet, that's didn't stop Jake from agreeing to be our unofficial Manchester reporter.

Although he's currently with the big club, the young defenseman has been sent down and called back a few times over the first month of the season. So, we're leaning on his point of view for this week's Manchester Mondays report...

MM: Let's start with Colten Teubert. He's still out with a wrist injury, right?

JM: Exactly. He's practicing, but he has the yellow jersey on (non contact). So, I think he should be back shortly.

[update: per a team press release late this afternoon, Teubert has been activated from IR]

From Thomas Hickey on down, nearly all of the Kings top prospects on the defensive side of things are in Manchester this season.  Any other updates from the blue line?

It's a healthy competition right now.  They have seven 'D' that are playing well and when Teuby gets back there's going to be another one.  It's a good competition.  It's a good problem to have for the team because when one sit out one guy he's going to work that much harder to get better and get back into the line-up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy!

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