Ontario Reign announce 2010-11 schedule...Teubert?

The Ontario Reign, billed as the "proud affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings", have announced their schedule for next season.  Before you ask, the NHL schedule usually comes out the day after the MLB All Star Game held in mid-July. (udpate: the NHL has decided to release the schedule three weeks early this year, it's coming out 6/22)

Former LA Kings first round draft pick Colten Teubert has finished up each of the last two seasons with the Reign, following his junior team's completion of their CHL season.  To date, he's already played 24 games in the ECHL, including 6 playoff games.  He could possibly begin next season in Ontario...along with Kings goaltending prospect Martin Jones of the WHL's Calgary Hitmen.

We did an interview with Teubert back in March while he was with the Reign - covering things like possibly being traded at the deadline in a package for Ilya Kovalchuk or Ray Whitney, his thoughts on Thomas Hickey, Canada-USA memories at the World Juniors, guys taken below him in the draft already playing in the NHL and much more. You can read the interview by clicking here.

There should be plenty of news about Teubert, Jones and other Kings prospects throughout the summer.  For now, here are the Reign's home games in October/November:

Saturday, October 23, 2010 vs. Stockton
Thursday, November 4, 2010 vs. Alaska
Saturday, November 6, 2010 vs. Alaska
Friday, November 19, 2010 vs. Victoria
Saturday, November 20, 2010 vs. Victoria
Friday, November 26, 2010 vs. Las Vegas
Saturday, November 27, 2010 vs. Las Vegas
Sunday, November 28, 2010 vs. Utah

For a complete schedule...and ticket information...visit http://www.ontarioreign.com/.

The Mayor
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Doughnuts with the Morning Coffee

LA Kings defenseman...and Norris Trophy candidate...Drew Doughty checked in with the guys at NHL Live this morning to discuss basketball, golf, the NHL awards, Philly vs. Chicago, Chris Pronger, playing at the Olympics and more.

Here are the highlights of the 10 minute conversation:

* He's back home in London, Ontario...will probably return to LA sometime in late July.

* Breaking down the Stanley Cup Finals - I don't know who's going to win.  I kinda think Chicago is going to win.  I'd like to see Philly win because they're the underdog, coming back from 0-3 in their earlier series.

* Are the Blackhawks as fast as they look?  They have skill in all areas of the ice.  They're hard to play against, they're really good at moving the puck.  They have good hands, good shots.  They don't take it easy on anybody.  From their first line to their fourth line they have scorers that can put the puck in the net.  They're a solid, all around team.

* Handicap the Norris race -

One small piece to a much a bigger puzzle

The day after appearing on NHL radio (see yesterday's article) and stating that his priority may be to "make sure I keep what I have", GM Dean Lombardi took the first step of what should be an interesting summer...he resigned winger Scott Parse.

A one-time college hockey player, Parse was drafted prior to Lombardi joining the organization.  At the 2004 entry draft the Kings claimed him in the sixth round.  He made his NHL debut this season, picking up an assist in his debut...and went on to score 11 goals and 24 points in his 59 games with the team.

The Kings announced the two year deal in a press release HERE.  It appears the deal is for $900k per season.

The Mayor
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Recap: Lombardi on NHL Live

Today on NHL Live...LA Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi stopped by.  Below is a quick recap of the conversation where they talked about the draft, Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar, Ron Hextall and several other things - including how to improve the team this summer.  Of course, the segment was full of great quotes by Dean...as usual.

Take a look...

* What are you looking for at the draft?  It's the ol' cliche, I'm looking for the best available player.  You don't want to fall into the trap of drafting by position when dealing with 18 year olds.  The only time you want to draft by position is when you're trying to decide between two players and you value them the same.  You use the term "asset value" - and the market place traditionally values defenseman more.

* The Kings have two good ones in Doughy and Johnson (not really a question).  That's what I told the owner when I first came in, we didn't have a young defenseman in the system. 

Dean Lombardi - LIVE!

NHL Live - broadcast on XM204 and shown on the NHL Network - will have a special guest tomorrow... LA Kings President and General Manager Dean Lombardi.

No word yet on if they'll be taking calls or just an interview.  Either way, there are PLENTY of topics that are sure to come up...Frolov at the World Championships, Fro's free agency, the Quick / Bernier debate, Scheen at the Memorial Cup, Manchester's playoff run, the upcoming draft in LA...and tons more.

Dean usually provides some sort of a new Dean-ism when given forums like this.  Can't wait for what he comes up with.  My guess is it's going to have a baseball twist to it.  We'll see.

If you can't catch it on radio or television (sometime between 9-11am PST), check back here.  MayorsManor.com will have a full recap.

IN DEAN WE TRUST - visit the store today

The Mayor
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Last Kid Standing

And we're down to one.

Although the Kings made an early exit from the playoffs this season, nearly all of their top prospects were making significant playoff runs...until about 48 hours ago. Friday night it was the CHL scoring champion, Brandon Kozun and his goaltender Martin Jones calling it a season. Last night it was Bernier, Hickey, Voynov, Clifford, Holloway, etc. when the Manchester Monarchs were defeated in the AHL Eastern Conference Finals by the Hershey Bears.

So, who's left? None other than last year's number one draft pick.  The kid the Kings picked fifth overall.  Brayden Schenn.  His Brandon Wheat Kings were an unlikely pick to be playing in the CHL Memorial Cup finals later today...yet, after finally knocking off the Calgary Hitmen on Friday night (in a game where Schenn had three assists), here they are...just one win away from the Cup.

Today's final will be shown on the NHL Network at 4pm PST.  You should go out of your way to watch the game.  The semi-final was one of the best hockey games of the year - and this is in a year that included a great World Jr tournament and several incredible Olympic games.  The host crowd in Brandon was wild and boisterous throughout the game...while the action on the ice matched it...a back an forth affair that had you on the edge of your seat the entire game.

The defending champion Windsor Spitfires may prove to be too tough for the Cinderella Wheat Kings...but, that won't stop the home town crowd from trying to will their team to the Championship.

Oh, and did I mention that the likely #1 pick at next month's draft, Taylor Hall, plays for Windsor?

If you haven't watched any of the Memorial Cup action yet, here's something that should catch your eye...for all the negative press the hockey world gets for their generally antiquated presentations of games on TV, the CHL has come up with a rather novel idea...letting viewers at home listen in while the on-ice official talks with the off-ice officials about disputed goals.  This is pure genius.  Can you imagine if the NFL let fans listen in when the referee went into that little black box during the instant replay stoppages?

Kings season ticket holder and avid hockey fan, movie producer Jerry Bruckheimer, was recently on NHL Live radio and provided a myriad of ideas to improve the game presentations on television.  My favorite may have been the overhead camera, ala the NFL.  I previously reported (via twitter) the Dallas Stars were going to test something similar a few months ago.  Wonder how that turned out, never heard anything more.

Along the same lines...Kings television analyst Jim Fox provided his own idea earlier this season on ways to bring the game closer to the fans...he suggested having the NHL actually explain why a player is suspended or not suspended, using video tutorials. Great idea.  Letting fans listen to the referee is similar, only it's in real time. Love it!


Anyway...plenty of story lines to follow at the Memorial Cup...including an important one for Kings fans...Schenn is looking to go out with a bang, as he's hoping to make the jump from junior hockey to the Kings roster next season.  As such, he's hoping to bring home some hardware today!

The Mayor
www.twitter.com/Mayor119

Friday Follies

Take a break for a few minutes.  Enough will all the analyzing, critiquing, guessing, prognosticating, rumors, wishful thinking, sulking and other stuff that has gotten you to this point in the week.

Just sit back and relax...enjoy some "highlights" of a different sort...the Kings present the season in review...blooper style:



The Mayor
www.twitter.com/mayor119

Kings Out, King In...plus three other news items

So, the Kings are out of the playoffs...but, King is still alive and well.  As in, Dwight King...the 6'3" left wing - a fourth round pick of the Kings back in 2007 - has been getting his playoff groove going the last few days.  King's Manchester Monarchs appeared to be clicking just fine through the first few rounds of the playoffs.  Then, they ran into the AHL juggernaut that is the Hershey Bears.  King and his fellow band of Kings prospects blinked and they were down 0-2 in the series to the defending AHL Calder Cup Champions.

However...they say a team is never in trouble until they lose on home ice.  The boys must have taken that to heart.  They battled back in game three Monday night, rallying for a 3-2 win in OT.  Then, last night they rode the back of Jonathan Bernier (again!) to pick up a 1-0 victory.  Bamn...series tied.  The pivotal game five will be Thursday, with the winning team heading back to Hershey with a 3-2 series lead.  I'm sure Ron Hextall hopes it's the Monarchs.  Don't you?

Three other things Kings fans should keep an eye on:

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.