Kings Article: LA Kings Adrian Kempe Is Looking Better On Left Wing

[FrozenRoyalty]

In case you haven’t noticed, Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe has raised his level of play in recent weeks and it should come as no surprise that his improvement has mostly coincided with his move back to left wing from center.

What exactly is making Kempe more effective on left wing as opposed to playing as a center?

Kempe and head coach Todd McLellan shared their thoughts about this with Frozen Royalty, and you can read all about it here...

LA Kings Adrian Kempe Is Looking Better On Left Wing

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[Ollie Weeks]

Yes, he certainly is.

 

[kilowatt]

Yep. He's a second or third line left wing and he's pretty good at it. Which is good, because we have a lot of centers in the pipeline.

 

[FrozenKing18]

If he’s better at wing, keep him winging.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I like the "he has the tools to be a center" but can't win faceoffs. lol Leave him on wing. He's excelling there.

 

[regulate]

Half the people here have been calling for this for two years. I wonder what took so long. It was obvious.

 

[Choralone]

Half the people here have been calling for this for two years. I wonder what took so long. It was obvious.

Desperation for a next-gen center, "positioning him for need" akin to the flawed concept of drafting for need? Doubling down in trying to force a square peg in a round hole?

Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[Statto]

Desperation for a next-gen center, "positioning him for need" akin to the flawed concept of drafting for need? Doubling down in trying to force a square peg in a round hole?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I think that’s it, and you can see why. There have been games where he’s looked top draw through the middle, but no everyone it going to help out like Montreal did. I think it was worth persevering with initially as there definately seemed to be development with the new role. He certainly has many of the skills needed, and he was also improving in the FO until his confidence went completely.

I think ultimately it became an issue of where he felt comfortable and where he felt confident and the change in system is what really did him in. When he moved to centre he learned the position for the new system and when the system changed he more or less went back to square one. He had no instincts for, or confidence in the role and thats not sustainable. Given the organisation set up now he is needed more at wing anyway. His experience at centre should have helped improve his overall game, so hopefully long term it proves to have been a good exercise.

 

[Bandit]

Not too hard to look “better” considering how he was looking, but his last game was great. Hope he keeps it up.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I think that’s it, and you can see why. There have been games where he’s looked top draw through the middle, but no everyone it going to help out like Montreal did. I think it was worth persevering with initially as there definately seemed to be development with the new role. He certainly has many of the skills needed, and he was also improving in the FO until his confidence went completely.

I think ultimately it became an issue of where he felt comfortable and where he felt confident and the change in system is what really did him in. When he moved to centre he learned the position for the new system and when the system changed he more or less went back to square one. He had no instincts for, or confidence in the role and thats not sustainable. Given the organisation set up now he is needed more at wing anyway. His experience at centre should have helped improve his overall game, so hopefully long term it proves to have been a good exercise.

On the bright side, he could be a much better Peter Harrold. Guy seemed to be able to play every position.