Kings prospect Jeff Zatkoff makes life on the edge work

Just when you think you know the answer to the Kings goaltending depth, leave it to Jeff Zatkoff to change the question.

Originally selected by the team in the third round of the 2006 NHL Draft, it was starting to seem like he was slipping a bit in the organization's overall rankings. Obviously, Jonathan's Quick and Bernier have solidified their place with the big club. However, even last year - when he was thought to be the starting goalie as the season started - he saw undrafted rookie Martin Jones steal his job and make it to the AHL All Star Game.

Yet, things are back on track for the 24-year old Michigan native. In the last 48 hours alone, he's been named the AHL Goalie of the Month and to this year's AHL All Star Game.

Although he's sitting on a 10-4-1 record at the moment, the season didn't start out so well. Sure, he went to Europe with the Kings, but upon returning home he was a little rusty.

"The biggest thing for me personally was getting into game action," said Zaktoff "I played, basically, one period during the pre-season. Then, I came in and played that first game vs. Springfield [AHL]. It was kind of like an exhibition game for me, in terms of finding my game. So, my first real game wasn't where it needed to be and I had some things to work on still. As I played more games I got more and more comfortable, especially with the things I was able to work on over the summer. It's all starting to come together form me."

That's a bit of understatement. His 2.04 goals-against average, .935 save percentage and 6-0-1 mark at home say things are going pretty well.

Los Angeles Kings Prospect Report - November 2, 2011

So, what's been going on with the LA Kings prospects since we checked in last week? Let's take a look around North America at the various levels of hockey...and as an added bonus, this week's report includes some quotes from a goaltender selected at the 2009 NHL Draft and a defenseman taken in 2010.

Manchester Monarchs

Things continue to be a struggle for the guys in the American Hockey League right now. They went 1-2 in their three games last week and only scored a single goal in the two losses.

- Martin Jones was in net for both losses...Jordan Nolan continues to have a fine season thus far, picking up another goal and an assist (six points total through 11 games played...Linden Vey, who was on MayorsManor last week after scoring his first goal as a professional, netted another one in last Saturday's win...Robbie Czarnik, who's been in Manchester all season, finally made his debut on Saturday - and picked up an assist for his efforts...goalie Jeff Zatkoff also picked up an assist in that game, something Jones had done a few games prior...Brandon Kozun, who is off to a slower start than expected, picked up the lone goal (his second of the season) in Sunday's loss...Andrei Loktionov still leads the team in points (three goals, nine assists) and has a plus-5 rating.

- Starting tomorrow night, the Monarchs will play one of those Manchester specials - a three-fer - with games back-to-back-to-back, Friday through Sunday.

Los Angeles Kings Prospect Report - October 24, 2011

It wasn't a good week for the slew of goaltending prospects throughout the Kings organization.

First off, in LA, Jonathan Quick kept Jonathan Bernier from getting any playing time - especially after posting three straight shutouts.

In the AHL, things went south for the Kings' top two prospects in Manchester. After giving up a total of five goals in his first four starts, Martin Jones gave up four goals on Wednesday night and another five on Friday. Ouch! Jeff Zatkoff fared only slightly better, giving up three goals in a 4-2 loss yesterday.

Down in the ECHL, JF Berube - who was looking to rebound after a disappointing 5-4 loss on opening night a week ago - was back in the net for Friday's game in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, he gave up another four goals and the Ontario Reign lost 4-1.

Here's a quick look at several of the Kings' other top prospects...

Los Angeles Kings Prospect Report - October 17, 2011

This weekend looked to be a rough one for the Manchester Monarchs - the Kings top farm team. Their schedule saw them playing three road games, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fortunately, they came out of it with a 2-1 record and scored a total of 15 goals. Martin Jones was in net for the two wins, giving up only one goal in each game. He's looked every bit the part of the goalie many have predicted a big season for - now giving up only five goals total in his four starts (1.26 goals-against average with a .956 save percentage). His only blemish on a 3-1 record was a game he lost 1-0 last weekend.

Jeff Zatkoff, who Jones split time with in goal last season, made his first start of the season in yesterday's 5-2 loss. He made 22 of 27 saves. It was his first game action of any kind in quite some time, as he accompanied the Kings to Europe as a three goalie.

Here are some additional early season notes on a few other Kings prospects:

DEFENSEMEN

Jake Muzzin (ranked second among the Kings top ten prospects heading into the season) - this weekend marked his returned to action after suffering a head/neck injury in training camp...he picked up a pair of goals in the three games played...was credited with seven shots on Goal in yesterday's game, doubling is season total to 14

Los Angeles Kings Prospect Report - October 10, 2011

When training camp began back in early September, we ranked the top ten prospects in the Los Angeles Kings organization...and it's that list that we're using today as the template for the first Prospect Report of the new season.

- Goalie Martin Jones:  While many expect him to battle Jeff Zatkoff for playing time in Manchester (AHL) this season, he is the Monarchs starting goalie - for now. Per NHL rules, the Kings were allowed to take three goalies on their season opening trip to Europe. As such, Jones started both games over the weekend and posted a 1.52 goals-against average, giving up two goals on Friday and only one goal on Saturday. His save percentage sits at .940 for the moment.

[note: The Monarchs are now off until Friday. Earlier today, the Kings returned Zatkoff to the AHL. So, expect him to get some playing time in at least one of the three games next weekend.]

- Defenseman Jake Muzzin: He has not played since the first pre-season game of the year vs the Phoenix Coyotes. In that game, he was hit from behind by Mikkel Boedker (photo here) and has been suffering headaches and neck stiffness ever since. Last Thursday he was activated from the injured reserve list and loaned to Manchester, where his status for next weekend's games remains TBD.

- Forward Tyler Toffoli: Last week he was named the assistant captain of his junior team, the Ottawa 67's (OHL). The player with the most goals in all of junior hockey last season (57), Toffoli has picked right up where he left off, scoring five goals in his first five games. The 67's next play on Friday vs. Peterborough.

- Forward Brandon Kozun: After the first pair of games in Manchester this season, Kozun has zero points, two shots on goal and is a minus-one. Expect more production in the weeks to come. This will be Kozun's second year of pro hockey.

- Forward Andrei Loktionov: He continues to shoot the puck in the early part of the season. Loktionov leads the Monarchs with six shots on goal after their first two games. He also leads the team in assists (three) and is has a plus-two rating.

Clarifying the goalie situation - from LA to KC to Europe

It's true - the same glass of water can be seen as half full or half empty, depending on your perspective.

With the latest round of roster cuts at LA Kings camp, one goaltender is headed to New Hampshire and another one will soon be packing for a trip to Europe.

On the surface, it may not seem like Martin Jones got the better end of the deal. However, he's now in Manchester preparing to be the starting goalie for the Monarchs.

Sure, Jeff Zatkoff will be joining the Kings on their trip to Germany and Sweden next week. However, it's highly unlikely he'll even dress for either of the two games being played.

Following the announcement of Jones being assigned back to the AHL, coach Terry Murray shared these thoughts on the young goaltender...

"Jonesy's played very well. He has a really good year in Manchester last year. It looks like he has the right demeanor, the right attitude and the right make-up to be a very good goaltender. His numbers coming from junior (WHL) right through last year in Manchester identify him to be a pretty good goaltender down the road. So, it's very important that all these young guys just continue to play (referring to Jones, Tyler Toffoli and Brandon Kozun, who were all cut from camp on Sunday). They're now in a more important role. They're going to play in critical games, critical minutes and critical situations. It's learning how to handle those situations. That's where you take the next step."

Over the weekend, Zatkoff spoke at length about his time in camp this year, his relationship with Bernier and even about the possibility of being the 'extra' goalie when the Kings head overseas. You can read his interview here.

Yesterday, Murray offered camp evaluations for the other top prospects just released - Kozun and Toffoli.

Later tonight, the Kings will play the Pittsburgh Penguins at the sold out Sprint Center in Kansas City. Jonathan Bernier is scheduled to be in net for LA, with Zatkoff backing him up. Jonathan Quick will start tomorrow in Colorado versus the Avalanche.

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LA Kings will take extra goalie to Europe - Jones or Zatkoff?

Martin Jones vs. Jeff Zatkoff

Which defensive prospect could potentially take Drew Doughty's spot in the Kings starting line-up on opening night isn't the only question coach Terry Murray is wrestling with as he prepares for the team's departure overseas.

Per NHL rules, teams opening in Europe are allowed to take an extra goaltender with them.

Just what he needs - more goalie drama.

Already bombarded with weekly questions about the 'Jonathan battle' - Quick versus Bernier - now he'll get to deal with 'the third goalie' inquires for the next week or so.

Although Murray has yet to reveal who will be going, this much is clear - it's expected to be one of the two goalies from Manchester, either Martin Jones or Jeff Zatkoff.

For now, Zatkoff says he's trying to put it out of his mind.

"I think we all knew the situation going in, Beriner and Quick are great goalies. Both could be number one in this league. I'm just trying to make the most of my opportunity when I'm out on the ice and prove that not only can I play here, but that I can win at this level too."

He also says he finally has his head clear, after letting the impressive start to Jones' rookie season get between his ears for a few months.

"I think I got caught up with everything that was going on earlier in the year (referring to Jones' strong play in net) and I wasn't playing to the best of my capability. As the year progressed, I was able to overcome that and play more of my game. My numbers the last third of the year, that's the way I'm capable of playing."

POLL: Most impressive King in Rookie Camp game two?

After the Kings-Coyotes first rookie game on Wednesday night, readers of MayorsManor voted Brandon Kozun as the most impressive LA prospect in the game.

He captured 40% of the votes, just enough to beat out Andy Andreoff's 38%.

Yesterday afternoon, the Kings beat the Coyotes 4-3 (game recap here).

If you were at the game or watched it online, who do you think was the most impressive?



Poll closes Saturday at noon.

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LA Kings coach knows exactly what he wants tonight

The time has finally arrived.

Tonight there will be something more meaningful than an intrasquad scrimmage taking place on the ice at the Kings practice facility.

Sure, it's not an NHL regular season game - we'll slowly build back up to that over the next few weeks.

However, a division rival is sending over their best prospects and rookies to take on a Kings team that will include Tyler Toffoli, Brandon Kozun, Jake Muzzin, Nic Deslauriers and others.

Phoenix Coyotes vs Los Angeles Kings at 6pm PST in game one of a two-game tournament. You can watch all the action live on MayorsManor, we'll post the video stream later today on the homepage.

Head coach Terry Murray walked me through the process of putting the line-up together for tonight...

"We (Murray, Manchester coach Mark Morris and the rest of the coaching staff) get get together with the amateur scouting staff also. Mike Futa (co-director of amateur scouting for the Kings) knows these guys very well. He gives us some advice, recommendations, opinions on what the players' strength and weaknesses are. So, we try to sit down as a community thing - get our heads together and put players in a position where they can be successful most importantly."

Second only to 'Who is starting in goal?' - perhaps the most often asked question last year of Murray had to do with the line combinations.

For tonight's rookie game, he said "It won't look too far away from what we've been looking at the last few days. It will be close."

Which means you can probably expect Linden Vey and Kozun together on one line, with Toffoli and Jordan Weal on a different line. The other line to keep an eye on features Michael Schumacher and Andy Andreoff. Closer to game time I'll post the official line combos on twitter/facebook.

Ranking the LA Kings top 10 prospects - who's #1 now?

By now you know, Brayden Schenn has been traded.

The most talked about Kings prospect in years, perhaps ever, is no longer part of the organization - having been shipped to Philadelphia for Mike Richards.

Essentially, the GM Dean Lombardi swapped Schenn for the guy many people hoped he would become, Richards - who already is himself!

You still with me?

His departure creates a need to reset the rankings. Sure, this naturally happens every year, with certain players moving up or down based upon their prior season. However, the Schenn trade had one of the largest impacts on the rankings, as he was ranked the #1 prospect in all of hockey on most lists - not the Kings #1 prospect, but the entire NHL.

Enough about Schenn though, that's last year's camp news.

In about an hour, nearly all of the top prospects who one day may call Los Angeles home will hit the ice to kick off this year's Rookie Camp.

With that, below is the debut of the MayorsManor prospect rankings.

Many of you just skipped ahead and aren't even reading this paragraph, but here goes anyway... Understand that people use different criteria when putting a list like this together - i.e. the player closest to making it to the NHL gets ranked first, the player with the most upside or even the player who fits the team's needs best.

The following rankings are based on if I was a GM. In my opinion, these are the players who I see as having the most overall value. A very simple, watered down explanation would be this - all things being equal, I would take a goaltender first if building a team. The only exception would be if there was a Crosby or Ovechkin-like talent available. Things become a little dicier from there because trying to compare the value of a defenseman over a forward is like comparing apples and apple juice. Your body needs both, but for different reasons.

After an initial run at it, I went back though and where needed, gave a slight bump to guys who were probably more NHL ready, thus they are further along in the development curve - so, their skill set is a little more 'real' as opposed to pure 'potential.'

LA Kings 2011 Rookie Camp Primer - the goaltenders

Given Dean Lombardi's mandate to 'build from the net out' when he took over as GM of the Los Angeles Kings five years ago, perhaps we're doing this in reverse order.

Earlier today we posted key news and notes on the 13 forwards and eight defensemen who will attend tomorrow's Rookie Camp.

Let's now head to the crease and take a look at the four netminders who will try to stop the barrage of pucks thrown at them over the next five days...

Jean-Francois Berube - 6-foot-1, 168 lbs - some might say he's exceeded expectations since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Draft - he had an exceptional year last season, posting a 2.60 GAA and .902 save percentage in 50 games - he was near the top of all key statistics in the QMJHL and was even better in the playoffs - nicknamed 'Hollywood,' he's most likely bound for Ontario (ECHL) for the upcoming campaign - we've featured his mask designs several times on MayorsManor (I personally liked the one with UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre on it) - if you'd like a sneak peek of the brand new mask he'll be debuting this weekend, click here - plus, here are some thoughts from JF earlier this summer, including notes on his recent hip surgery - check my twitter tomorrow for updates on his health

Robbie Czarnik, the somewhat forgotten LA Kings prospect

Czarnik at Kings DevCamp (photo by K. Spatz)

Earlier today we took a look at Kings prospect Andy Andreoff and his possible move from the OHL to the AHL this season.

You can definitely count on fellow Kings prospect, Robbie Czarnik, leaving the OHL though - he's out of junior eligibility.

The 6-foot center was originally selected by Los Angeles in the third round of the 2008 NHL Draft.  He began playing college hockey at the University of Michigan - who gave him a full scholarship at 15 years old - before moving on to play for the Plymouth Whalers.

Last season you didn't hear much about him though, given that Tyler Toffoli was running away with the goal scoring title and Russian superstar-to-be Maxim Kitsyn came over to play in the OHL after the World Junior Championships in January.

So, I asked him, does he feel like the forgotten prospect?

"No, not really," he said. "I don't really look at it that way. They're goal scorers, but I put up points too and I have another side of my game. I'm excited that I’m a two-way forward."

When he was in LA for Development Camp in July he says there wasn't one particular part of his game he was trying to show off. Instead, he wanted the coaching staff to see that he's continued to make improvements in his all-around game - including "puck protection, competing at all times and defensive-zone coverage."

Once Dev Camp was over though, he headed to Miami for a little R&R.

"My girlfriend lives down there," he explained. "So, I went and visited her for a little bit. She goes to Michigan with me. I had never been down there before, but it was a good time. We went to the beach and spent time in downtown Miami, South Beach and then went to the Keys for a few days."

Yes, even though he took his hockey game to the OHL, he still takes classes at Michigan.  Czarnik says he has no ill feelings towards the school - in fact, he loves it. He just felt he could better develop his skills in the OHL.

Czarnik also likes to pester his girlfriend on twitter. Earlier this summer he tweeted quite a few 'Go Mavericks' blats during the NBA Finals.

"I don't really care that much for basketball," he admitted.  "I was constantly giving her a bad time when they were playing Miami and she wasn't too happy about it. I went against the Heat because she's obsessed with the team. So, it was just a funny thing I would play with her about."

He also likes to tweet about some of his favorite TV shows - like Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dexter, American Idol and Gossip Girl...wait, what?

LA Kings 2011 Rookie Camp - full roster and schedule

The Los Angeles Kings have announced the official roster and schedule for this year's Rookie Camp, which is set to begin on Saturday at their training facility in El Segundo, CA.

Camp itself will consist of four-days of on-ice activities and then culminate in the fourth annual Rookie Tournament vs. the Phoenix Coyotes.

SCHEDULE

Sat, September 10: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Sun, September 11: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Mon, September 12: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Tue, September 13: On-ice practices from 10 a.m.-Noon; 4-5 p.m.

Wed, September 14: Pre-game skate from 9 a.m.-10:15 a.m.; Game at 6 p.m.

Thur, September 15: Game at 2 p.m.

note: all times are subject to change


LA KINGS 2011 ROOKIE CAMP ROSTER

Exclusive: Nick Shore on Team USA WJC camp experience

Nick Shore - LA Kings prospect
(photo by Cikiri)

Like it has been for some of you, summer has been filled with plenty of camping for many of the Los Angeles Kings top prospects.

First, there was the Kings Development Camp in early July. Then, a few of the elite were selected to attend evaluation camps for various countries preparing to participate in this winter's World Junior Championship.

Last week, Tyler Toffoli checked in from Team Canada's camp. And over the last few days, we heard from Kevin Gravel and Michael Mersch.

Next up is Nick Shore, a college player (University of Denver Pioneers) selected by LA in the third round of this year's draft.

Last summer, he was invited by Team USA to their summer camp as well. However, he didn't make the team that went on to the tournament this past January.

He arrived back home in Colorado yesterday and shared the following thoughts on his second go around at evaluation camp...

- Overall impression: "I thought I had a really good camp. Obviously, it was my second year there, so I felt a little more comfortable and more prepared. In the games that I played, I think I played pretty well too. So, now I'm focused on having a big first half to the season and hopefully I'll get invited to the (selection) camp in December."

- Changes to the structure of camp: "Last year, there wasn't necessarily workouts, but it was definitely a much more rigorous warm-up and cool down. We didn't have as much of that this year, so I think it made it a little bit easier."

- On his interactions with the coaches: "The way it worked was coach Dean Blais wasn't around as much during the first part of camp. We had our own coaches and stuff like that (note: the group of 40+ campers was split into two groups for the first few days, team blue and team white). So, we didn't interact much. But, yeah, some of the coaches were pretty funny and they were fun to be around."

- On Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, who helped out during the early part of camp: "Any time there is an NHL coach there, you have to listen to everything he has to say. The main thing with him was the way he approached the game. He did everything in a very professional manner and I think even though this was a camp in the middle of summer, he was still very professional in all aspects. I think that really transferred over to my game and the rest of guys in camp."

LA Kings Summer Vacation - a chat w/ Jonathan Bernier

Jonathan Bernier (photo: D. Sheehan)

The long-rumored and highly speculated goaltending controversy in Los Angeles never really developed last season.

For anybody willing to listening, Kings coach Terry Murray proclaimed Jonathan Quick his starter prior to camp, during camp and numerous times throughout the season.

Then, Jonathan Bernier started off slowly when given a few chances in the early part of the schedule. Once the second half rolled around though, he posted very strong numbers, including a 4-0-1 stretch in March.

So, Murray surprised some people in the days before the playoffs when he proclaimed that Bernier would not even be considered for post-season play. Quick was going to play every minute of every game. Period. Although it was probably more like 'exclamation point!'

After splitting the first two games with the Sharks in their opening round series, the Kings were up 4-0 in game three and then collapsed on home ice - eventually losing 6-5 in overtime. Many saw it as an opportunity for Bernier to sneak into a game, either that night or in game four. It never happened.

Six nights later the Sharks won the series and summer was officially underway for the Kings players.

A few days ago, Bernier left for France. His brother plays hockey over there and the two will be training and spending time together for the next week. Before he headed overseas though, I spoke with him about the whole situation described above and a few more things, including trade rumors...

Who's that goalie? - new favorite game of Kings' Rich Clune

Jones and Zatkoff (photo: S. Slingsby)

Some guys like to kick the soccer ball around before a game. Others like to rock out to their ipod. Some like it loud, some like it quiet. Hockey players have are all sorts of pre-game rituals.

For Kings prospect Rich Clune, apparently checking the line-up isn't one of them.

Maybe it's not a big deal though. Like the Kings one-two punch in goal last season, with Jonathan's Quick and Bernier, Clune's Manchester Monarchs featured their own dynamic duo in Jeff Zatkoff and rookie Martin Jones.

Despite their stellar numbers between the pipes, it's not a position Clune has much interest in learning more about.

"Goalie is the toughest position in hockey to play," said Clune. "I can't even begin to walk a day in their shoes because I've never done it. It's a lot of pressure."

As for the play of one over the other, Clune started out with - "Jonesy could potentially be a starting goaltender in the NHL." He then quickly retorted with, "Zats is a little bit older and it might take him a little bit more time to develop and it's also about finding the right place and the right fit. He could also play in the NHL someday."

And then back the other way, "Jonesy is going to be a starter in the NHL one day, for sure. With goaltenders you can't really put a year on it though. Look how long it took Jon Bernier to get to where he is. And everyone knows how good he is."

LA Kings coaches heaping praise at goalie Martin Jones

Martin Jones (photo: Kasey Spatz)

You never quite know what you're going to get with a prospect.

Young forwards usually need to learn the defensive side of the game before being NHL ready. Defensemen tend to mature around the age of 24. Goalies, historically, take a little longer.

As is the case with LA's two Jonathans, Quick and Bernier, Martin Jones is probably a little ahead of the curve.

Only 21, he was signed as a free agent in October 2008. The following season he wrapped up his junior career in stellar style, being named the 2009-10 WHL Goaltender of the Year (behind a 2.21 goals-against average and .919 save percentage).

What did he do for an encore? He turned pro, went to Manchester (AHL) and practically stole the starting job from Jeff Zatkoff. In 39 games played, he posted a 23-12-1 record with a 2.25 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage. He also was the starting goaltender in the AHL All-Star Game - yes, as a rookie.

Summing it up, he's pretty much sky rocketed to third on the team's overall depth chart in net.

As for his performance at Development Camp this week, here's what Head Coach Terry Murray and (former Stanley Cup winner, now) Goaltending Coach Bill Ranford thought of his performance:

Coach Murray - "This young man, to me, has maybe grown more than anyone on the ice right now (in camp). I've seen incredible change in maturity and composure. In sitting in and listening to the goaltender sessions they had before getting on the ice, he's very astute, very analytical, technical, well-spoken. He's a man. He's becoming a very intelligent person about the game and I think it just translates right into his game on the ice. We're seeing that big body, he's really grown a lot too, in a couple years now. We're seeing a player who's going to keep pushing it up here. He definitely needs more time and needs to be the number one guy in the American Hockey League and all of that stuff. We have a player on our hands here."

Interview - Brandon Kozun on challenges of physical game

Brandon Kozun (photo: Kasey Spatz)

For those who don't follow Kings' prospect Brandon Kozun on twitter, he's a bit of a chirper. Supposedly, he's also known as quite the prankster in Manchester - according to some of the other Monarchs players.

So, it seemed like a natural place to begin when talking to Kozun at this week's Kings Development Camp.

On Martin Jones saying Kozun tried, but failed to get any of his pranks over on him because he's 'wittier' - "I don't know about that. Jonesy tends to to think that he's smarter than everyone else."

On Linden Vey succeeding him as the WHL scoring champion - "I congratulated the kid. He did a good job there. Good for him. Obviously if you put up that many points you're going to have a lot of (skills) that can translate to the next level. He has a good work ethic and hopefully it works out for him.'

From there, things progressed into a series of more hockey-related questions...

On the overall camp experience and any differences compared to prior Kings camps - "It's nice to come here and work with the developmental team and work on your game. We have one of the best staffs in the league and it's nice to get a chance to access them...It's similar (this year). It's kinda one step above for the guys who have been here. There's two groups and the guys who came before have done a little different stuff, a little bit of a higher pace, higher competition. It's been good though. It's fun to come out here and see yourself get better."

Kings Dev Camp: Detailed Black v White scrimmage notes

Throughout the day today at Kings Development Camp I tweeted various notes from the scrimmage and quotes from several players.

For those who like a little more detail, below is a semi-thorough recap. Special thanks and a major stick tap to Scott Coffman of The Fourth Period for the assist here:

First Period Highlights

Team Black started Martin Jones in net and Team White went with Matej Machovsky (camp invitee from Brampton, OHL)...Team Black also includes Tyler Toffoli, Linden Vey, Michael Schumacher, Derek Forbort, Andrew Campbell and Nic Deslauriers...Team White also includes Jordan Weal, Ray Kaunisto, Brandon Kozun, Nic Dowd, Nick Shore, Jake Muzzin and Kevin Gravel.

Michael Kantor rocks Gravel, who skates back to the bench very slowly...Team Black is on the board first when Toffoli scores...it looked like a missed play by defenseman Alex Roach, allowing Toffoli to bang home a jam play...minutes later Machovsky makes a big save on a breakaway against Toffoli, don't think Toffoli got the shot he wanted...half way through the first period and it's all Team Black, very little offensive pressure from Team White.

LA Kings Dev Camp 2011 - comments from Martin Jones

During the regular season I usually don't post game recaps. However, given the interest in Development Camp this summer, I'll have a full game report from today's scrimmage posted later tonight (link).

First though, here are some comments from Kings goaltending prospect Martin Jones.

Coming off an impressive first year in Manchester - where he went 23-12-1 in 39 games, with a 2.25 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage - he looked strong again in net today. He played the first half of the scrimmage (20 minutes of running time), gave up zero goals and stopped a flurry of activity in front of his net during the final two minutes of the half.

Afterwards, he answered some questions...

What do you see for yourself going into this fall's camp?

MJ: I'm going to work hard throughout the summer and I'm going to try and make the team. Obviously, with the numbers that they have, with (Jonathan) Bernier and (Jonathan) Quick coming back, it will be a tough task. But, my mindset is just going to be 'make the team.' From there, wherever I play it's just going to be a great experience and I need to make the most of it...This upcoming year I'll probably be back in Manchester, but it's not going to change my mindset.

What are the benefits of this camp for you personally?