I attended a small reception at Staples Center before the Kings vs. Ducks game tonight (Sep 25, 2006). There was a Q&A session with Assistant General Manager Ron Hextall and I asked him if both Patrick O'Sullivan and Anze Kopitar would be wearing Kings uniforms on opening night of the regular season. His response, paraphrased, is as follows:
Dean Lombardi and I both believe in developing young players the right way by having them advance through the junior/minor leagues. Patrick O'Sullivan has paid his dues, proven himself at the AHL level, and is ready for a shot at the NHL. Anze Kopitar, on the other hand, has not played at that level and, quite frankly, we had him penciled in for Manchester prior to the start of training camp. That being said, we feel that Anze Kopitar has been the best player on the team up until this point and we've taken notice. We'll see how he continues to play for the rest of the preseason and make a decision then. If I had to decide right now... *pauses for a moment*... I'd say both of them will probably be wearing Kings uniforms on opening night.
He also stated that Marc Crawford is commonly considered a "Top 5" coach, but that he personally feels that Marc is the best coach in the league. Ron Hextall also mentioned that Dean Lombardi is one of the hardest working, most hands-on GMs in the league. He believes that most GMs spend much of their time in the office working the phones, but that Dean Lombardi not only does that but is also very hands on. He often goes the extra mile by attending non-NHL games with his scouts.
A number of other questions were asked about the goaltenders, Avery, etc. and the answers were pretty much the stock ones we've all heard during the offseason.
Anyhow, this is my first new post, so please bear with me if I've repeated anything or made any mistakes.
