Speculation: LA Kings News, Rumors, Roster Thread part VII

[Evgeny Oliker]

Where do you guys see Durzi playing this season?

2nd pairing? Or 3rd?

I think if he plays with a defensive Dman he will be ok…

 

[Statto]

Where do you guys see Durzi playing this season?

2nd pairing? Or 3rd?

I think if he plays with a defensive Dman he will be ok…

He’s 3rd pairing currently, he’s not yet showing he’s good enough defensively to play higher up on a regular basis. If Clarke sticks you have to think he becomes trade bait because Roy plays a different role, which is needed.

 

[kinghock]

He’s 3rd pairing currently, he’s not yet showing he’s good enough defensively to play higher up on a regular basis. If Clarke sticks you have to think he becomes trade bait because Roy plays a different role, which is needed.

Here is Kings defense in my view:

Doughty/Bjornfot
Roy/Clarke
Edler/Anderson/Spence

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Clarke looks good. Vilardi looks great. Where the hell is Byfield?

Byfield looked great...then has been out this week day-to-day with illness.

 

[lumbergh]

Here is Kings defense in my view:

Doughty/Bjornfot
Roy/Clarke
Edler/Anderson/Spence

Probably not gonna happen, but I'd like to see:
Clarke-Doughty
Ed/Walker-Roy
Anderson-Durzi
Walker/Ed (7th)

Mix in Edler and Walker. That way Edler gets some time off.

Brandt Clarke looks crazy talented. That first pairing could be completely unstoppable. The zone exits alone would be worth it.

 

[cyclones22]

A player can get on a hot streak of scoring by being in the right place at the right time, unsustainable sniping or getting the secondary assist on a play they really had little part of. What I'm seeing with Gabe is that he's winning foot races to get into the right place at the right time and he's been very strong on his skates. It's completely obvious that he's worked on his skating, strength and stamina. He's not fading at end of shifts now which has been a problem for him.

I think Gabe's undeniable NHL level qualities are vision, stick handling and his shot. All of those are above average. I've seen enough in his time in the NHL to be very confident in those skills. Besides his back injury, the weakest part of his game has been skating and to a lesser extent, confidence. I thought if he could get to Danault level of skating and speed he'd really show out and I didn't think it was going to happen. Phil isn't super fast but he's fast enough to put pressure on a defense. We're seeing that with Gabe right now. It was mentioned on podcasts and broadcasts that it was very noticeable to observers when he first hit the ice in camp.

With regards to last preseason vs this one and why to not get excited, what you saw last preseason with Tkatchev, Andrersson and Gabe were 3 players with skating short comings who had awesome chemistry together. They seemed to know where each other was and what each were thinking and exploited that to some success. When Lias got injured, that pixie dust was gone. You were left with 2 players who were sub-par in their end of the ice and Tkatchev was banished a few games in and Gabe a handful of games after that.

Gabe has looked good with whoever he's lined up with so far. The skating improvement means he's not late to developing plays and he's not chasing the puck and trapped behind it; he's beating players to it. The fact that he's on the wing and is further up the ice makes it even more noticeable. Adding that extra jump in his skating has made all of the difference. Deploying him near the net is also helping, especially for someone big as he is. He doesn't have to carry the puck to the center of the slot, he can lurk and be receive it. Right now, he's brimming with confidence. If his stamina holds up, this is the year he truly breaks out.

 

[kinghock]

Probably not gonna happen, but I'd like to see:
Clarke-Doughty
Ed/Walker-Roy
Anderson-Durzi
Walker/Ed (7th)

Mix in Edler and Walker. That way Edler gets some time off.

Brandt Clarke looks crazy talented. That first pairing could be completely unstoppable. The zone exits alone would be worth it.

Anderson-Durzi even on third pairing scares me a lot…

Probably not gonna happen, but I'd like to see:
Clarke-Doughty
Ed/Walker-Roy
Anderson-Durzi
Walker/Ed (7th)

Mix in Edler and Walker. That way Edler gets some time off.

Brandt Clarke looks crazy talented. That first pairing could be completely unstoppable. The zone exits alone would be worth it.

Anderson-Durzi even on third pairing scares me a lot…

 

[Fishhead]

Where do you guys see Durzi playing this season?

2nd pairing? Or 3rd?

I think if he plays with a defensive Dman he will be ok…

Durzi doesn't belong on the ice in a meaningful game right now, he is going to need a good amount of reps to get back into game mode. His reads are subpar and he's slow as it is, so even being a little bit behind for him is disastrous.

He will eventually settle in on the 3rd line until someone outplays him. Doughty-Anderson and Edler-Roy are the standard pairings and I would have expected the team to start the season that way. But due to Clarke, now I'd guess the opening night pairings are:

Doughty-Anderson
Clarke-Edler
Roy-Bjornfot

If Toby is sent down for waivers, someone is going to be on their offside with Roy. Probably Walker but I don't think he's up to game speed either.

 

[Piston]

So Kopitar is scratched, and the Kings call up Tynan, an AHL journeyman with no NHL future, to take his place. God forbid they give an opportunity to Kupari to play on the top line with better wingers. This fetish of always playing veterans and never putting kids in a position where they might thrive even in a meaningless preseason game is the death knell of this management team. What use is it to invest heavily in scouting and drafting and then never giving the products of these efforts and opportunity to succeed? I'm officially off the Blake and McLellan bandwagon.

 

[lumbergh]

So Kopitar is scratched, and the Kings call up Tynan, an AHL journeyman with no NHL future, to take his place. God forbid they give an opportunity to Kupari to play on the top line with better wingers. This fetish of always playing veterans and never putting kids in a position where they might thrive even in a meaningless preseason game is the death knell of this management team. What use is it to invest heavily in scouting and drafting and then never giving the products of these efforts and opportunity to succeed? I'm officially off the Blake and McLellan bandwagon.

I think Kupari is being groomed for the Trevor Lewis role. All-around Swiss Army knife, defensive center. That's the way he makes the team this season. It's not through the top six.

 

[Lt Dan]

So Kopitar is scratched, and the Kings call up Tynan, an AHL journeyman with no NHL future, to take his place. God forbid they give an opportunity to Kupari to play on the top line with better wingers. This fetish of always playing veterans and never putting kids in a position where they might thrive even in a meaningless preseason game is the death knell of this management team. What use is it to invest heavily in scouting and drafting and then never giving the products of these efforts and opportunity to succeed? I'm officially off the Blake and McLellan bandwagon.

I don't think that you could be more off here. Your reaction is purely emotional
Did you watch the game??? That wasn't even the first line. MDV was

Moore – Danault – Vilardi
Fiala – Tynan – Kempe
Iafallo – Kupari – Kaliyev
Anderson-Dolan – Lizotte – Doty


Byfield is sick. Kupari is going to fill him for him and was out with his linemates on the line that he is going to start the season with. I think that move is giving the team a better chance to form some chemistry and succeed than the old line blender.

I also have no problem with the Kings throwing Tynan a bone. We all know he isn't making the team, but by all reports he has been an incredibly positive influence on the kids.

The Kings gave Kopitar a day off in a meaningless game and gave a potential fill in player a game on what was the second line for that game and you are acting like the Kings just shelved Coca Coca Classic for New Coke/ Coke II

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

So Kopitar is scratched, and the Kings call up Tynan, an AHL journeyman with no NHL future, to take his place. God forbid they give an opportunity to Kupari to play on the top line with better wingers. This fetish of always playing veterans and never putting kids in a position where they might thrive even in a meaningless preseason game is the death knell of this management team. What use is it to invest heavily in scouting and drafting and then never giving the products of these efforts and opportunity to succeed? I'm officially off the Blake and McLellan bandwagon.

lol…have you missed the part that this kid named Brandt Clarke has played a prominent role in every single preseason game? How about these guys like Vilardi or Kaliyev…also playing prominent roles? I think they are throwing Tynan a bone— he’s 30 yrs old and is doing great things for the Reign. Settle down, turbo.

 

[King'sPawn]

I don't think that you could be more off here. Your reaction is purely emotional
Did you watch the game??? That wasn't even the first line. MDV was

Moore – Danault – Vilardi
Fiala – Tynan – Kempe
Iafallo – Kupari – Kaliyev
Anderson-Dolan – Lizotte – Doty


Byfield is sick. Kupari is going to fill him for him and was out with his linemates on the line that he is going to start the season with. I think that move is giving the team a better chance to form some chemistry and succeed than the old line blender.

I also have no problem with the Kings throwing Tynan a bone. We all know he isn't making the team, but by all reports he has been an incredibly positive influence on the kids.

The Kings gave Kopitar a day off in a meaningless game and gave a potential fill in player a game on what was the second line for that game and you are acting like the Kings just shelved Coca Coca Classic for New Coke/ Coke II

View attachment 591438

I think Piston has a good point. If Byfield and Kopitar are unavailable in the regular season, would Tynan be the player they want filling in that role? Or, why not have Kupari get the shot up there, boost his confidence, see how he handles the responsibility.

It was preseason after all.

 

[Lt Dan]

I think Piston has a good point. If Byfield and Kopitar are unavailable in the regular season, would Tynan be the player they want filling in that role? Or, why not have Kupari get the shot up there, boost his confidence, see how he handles the responsibility.

It was preseason after all.

Has there been any talk of Kopitar not being available to start the season? I haven't heard a blip
We know Byfield is out with an illness.

I would much prefer Kupari play with the linemates that he is going to start the season with (Iafallo and Kaliyev and build some chemistry , because we know Byfield is sick, than two players who's C was given a day off because it was a meaningless preseason game.

 

[Piston]

Has there been any talk of Kopitar not being available to start the season? I haven't heard a blip
We know Byfield is out with an illness.

I would much prefer Kupari play with the linemates that he is going to start the season with (Iafallo and Kaliyev and build some chemistry , because we know Byfield is sick, than two players who's C was given a day off because it was a meaningless preseason game.

We will have to agree to disagree . Kupari is a former #1 pick. It is far too early to pigeon hole him into a checking role. The guy has a unique combination of size and skating ability. Why not see if he can handle a top 6 assignment in a meaningless game? Maybe, Trevor Lewis is his ceiling but why not find out if there's a lot more there. We already have enough prospects that have turned into suspects (Turcotte, Thomas, Madden et. al.) without creating another one. I just think this is poor organizational deployment of talent, and Blake and McLellan deserve to be called on it.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I generally agree with @piston here but I'm trying my best to give them the benefit of the doubt right now and thus far they've done ok with it

 

[King'sPawn]

Has there been any talk of Kopitar not being available to start the season? I haven't heard a blip
We know Byfield is out with an illness.

I would much prefer Kupari play with the linemates that he is going to start the season with (Iafallo and Kaliyev and build some chemistry , because we know Byfield is sick, than two players who's C was given a day off because it was a meaningless preseason game.

No talk of Kopitar being out long term. The point I was making is that, in a preseason game, if we're mixing players around anyway, I'd rather the Kings get more mileage/playtime with a bonafide prospect who can move around in the lineup than a career AHLer.

 

[TruKingFan]

So Kopitar is scratched, and the Kings call up Tynan, an AHL journeyman with no NHL future, to take his place. God forbid they give an opportunity to Kupari to play on the top line with better wingers. This fetish of always playing veterans and never putting kids in a position where they might thrive even in a meaningless preseason game is the death knell of this management team. What use is it to invest heavily in scouting and drafting and then never giving the products of these efforts and opportunity to succeed? I'm officially off the Blake and McLellan bandwagon.

Ahhhh…didn’t take long for the DQ to come out. Are you turning in your Kings card as well coz won’t be good for your mental health rooting for a team you hate the management and coaching staff! AND have a chance to do even better than last season. Bah-bye.

 

[TruKingFan]

We will have to agree to disagree . Kupari is a former #1 pick. It is far too early to pigeon hole him into a checking role. The guy has a unique combination of size and skating ability. Why not see if he can handle a top 6 assignment in a meaningless game? Maybe, Trevor Lewis is his ceiling but why not find out if there's a lot more there. We already have enough prospects that have turned into suspects (Turcotte, Thomas, Madden et. al.) without creating another one. I just think this is poor organizational deployment of talent, and Blake and McLellan deserve to be called on it.

In 74 games in Ontario Kupari has scored 12 goals and 39 points. Not exactly an offensive dynamo is he? I think he’s an NHL’er but won’t be on a scoring capacity. Is that a wasted 1st rd pick then? Another story altogether. And you calling out Blake and TMac mean diddly squat except for you (and a few others) I suppose.

 

[johnjm22]

In 74 games in Ontario Kupari has scored 12 goals and 39 points. Not exactly an offensive dynamo is he? I think he’s an NHL’er but won’t be on a scoring capacity. Is that a wasted 1st rd pick then? Another story altogether. And you calling out Blake and TMac mean diddly squat except for you (and a few others) I suppose.

Kempe:

YEAR	TEAM	LEAGUE	GP	G	A	PTS
2014-15	Manchester Monarchs	AHL	3​	0​	0​	0​
2015-16	Ontario Reign	AHL	55​	11​	17​	28​
2016-17	Ontario Reign	AHL	46​	12​	8​	20​

Keep in mind both Kempe and Kupari came into the AHL as teenagers. Most prospects come to the AHL aged 20+ because they're coming out of Junior or the NCAA.

 

[johnjm22]

Kempe and Kupari are actually very similar prospects.

 

[KingsFan7824]

So Kopitar is scratched, and the Kings call up Tynan, an AHL journeyman with no NHL future, to take his place. God forbid they give an opportunity to Kupari to play on the top line with better wingers. This fetish of always playing veterans and never putting kids in a position where they might thrive even in a meaningless preseason game is the death knell of this management team. What use is it to invest heavily in scouting and drafting and then never giving the products of these efforts and opportunity to succeed? I'm officially off the Blake and McLellan bandwagon.

My only issue with this take is the word is. It could be the death knell, but their process just hasn't cost the Kings anything yet. It might, but there's nothing currently definitive. That's the only odd part about the negative assessments for me. Obviously the Kings are far from perfect, but why does everything have to be over and done with all the time?

I was surprised when Danault ended up taking time away from every C except Kopitar, and I'll be surprised again if that continues this year with a now 35 year old captain, but I'm willing to let their process play out.

 

[Kingspiracy]

Probably a silly question, but has a center ever made the switch to dman at nhl level?

Im not nuanced enough in the game, but aside from hurt feelings and wasting a top talent, could kopitar play top 4 LD to any level?

It would open space for some of the kids.

He's a big boy with top defensive accumen, he'd still get plenty of icetime.

 

[King'sPawn]

Probably a silly question, but has a center ever made the switch to dman at nhl level?

Im not nuanced enough in the game, but aside from hurt feelings and wasting a top talent, could kopitar play top 4 LD to any level?

It would open space for some of the kids.

He's a big boy with top defensive accumen, he'd still get plenty of icetime.

These are two separate questions.

As far as center specifically, Sergei Fedorov was forced to play defense at times by Bowman, if memory serves. It was in short spurts though.

Brent Burns was also drafted originally as a right wing to defense early in his career.

As for Kopitar, I don't think he'd be able to make the switch. He's been playing forward at a high level for over 20 years. That's 20 years of on-ice routines he'd have to re-develop, and the NHL is not forgiving for learning curves.

 

[TruKingFan]

Kempe and Kupari are actually very similar prospects.

Kempe is a better goal scorer version of Kupari. I don’t think Kupari will even be close. Time will tell.