LA Kings Prospect Report - notes on Forbort, Gravel

The Kings top pick from last summer's draft, defenseman Derek Forbort, has been invited to this summer's Team USA evaluation camp.

The sessions, held each August by Canada, the U.S. and other countries are the first step to assembling rosters for next winter's World Junior Championship - which will be played in Western Canada, starting the day after Christmas.

At the 2011 WJC, Brayden Schenn and Canada were denied gold by Team Russia (which featured Kings prospect Maxim Kitsyn). Meanwhile, Forbort and Team USA picked up a bronze medal.

Set to attend this year's camp with Forbort are several names that may also be familiar to MayorsManor readers, including - Kevin Gravel (also a Kings prospect), 2010 NHL first rounders Nick Bjugstad (Florida), Charlie Coyle (San Jose) and Emerson Etem (Anaheim), plus Matt Nieto (Long Beach native, currently at Boston University and 2011 NHL Draft eligible).

Gravel was a freshman this year at St. Cloud state.  He played in 36 games, scoring six points (one goal, five assists).  Forbort, also a freshman, reached the NCAA Frozen Four with North Dakota.  However, they lost in the semi-finals to Michigan (yes, Jack Johnson was happy...Matt Greene was not).  During the regular season Forbort played in 38 games, picking up 15 assists (no goals).

The camp will be held in Lake Placid, N.Y. and overseen by coach Dean Blais, who returns to Team USA after guiding the 2010 squad to WJC gold. Former King, turned Stanley Cup winning coach, Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins will also serve as part of the camp's coaching staff.

Which NHL team will have the most prospects? That's the Chicago Blackhawks, with three. The Kings are tied with three other teams, each having two prospects at the camp.

To read more about last summer's camp, click here - see what Bjugstad and Coyle shared on MayorsManor (including their thoughts on Forbort's performance).

Meanwhile, Forbort and Gravel, both Kings prospects - and two huge defensmen - squared off several times this season...something we chronicled here.

Kyle Clifford and JF Berube filed reports from Team Canada's camp last summer too - those interviews can be found here (KC) and here (JFB).  See what they had to say about fellow Kings prospects like Schenn, Tyler Toffoli, Nic Deslauriers and many more.

Finally, if you missed the previous interview with Nieto, who just may get selected in the first round later this month, check it out here.

The Mayor
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Tuesday's 10 Tidbits on Team USA's WJC Camp

Nearly all of the best hockey players in the world make a stop at the annual World Junior Championships, held each year right after Christmas.

Both the Canadian and U.S. programs just completed their evaluation camps for this winter's tournament. Yesterday, Kings prospect Kyle Clifford checked in with a report on what went down with Team Canada - including his comments on the five other Kings players who joined him in Newfoundland.

Today, we catch up with a few of the young stars that attended the rival's camp...that of team USA, the defending champions!

Two first round selections at the recent NHL Draft in Los Angeles join us for this special report, Charlie Coyle (San Jose) and Nick Bjugstad (Florida). They have all the details of the happenings from Lake Placid, NY...including their thoughts on the play of Kings first round pick, Derek Forbort.

NHL DRAFT 2010: Interview with prospect Charlie Coyle

Every kid selected in this year's draft will have his own story to tell.

In this prospect profile we get to know somebody that could be tailor made for the Los Angeles Kings in the first round.  Charlie Coyle is ranked #24 by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.  His favorite off-ice activity?  Working out.  His coaches say the 6'2" forward is a strong, powerful skater who protects the puck real well along the boards.  Teams around the league have taken notice too, as he had already met with 15 of them prior to the NHL Combine last month.

And for a star driven town like LA, how about this little gem of info - his celebrity look-alike...Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.

NHL.com mock drafts have him going late in the first round, so he should be there at #19 when the Kings pick (assuming Dean Lombardi hasn't already traded it away for something different).

Charlie spoke with The Mayor about his past, present and future as he heads towards the NHL Draft later this week.

First off, who got you started in hockey?

Everybody on my dad's side of the family plays hockey.  I'm cousins with (former NHLers) Tony Amonte and Bobby Sheehan.

As a player, when did you start to realize "Hey, people are really starting to pay attention to me"?