GDT: LA Kings vs Anaheim Ducks preseason Split Squad game @5:00pm 9/24/23

[All The Kings Men]

Did Chromiak play?

Yes

 

[King'sPawn]

Did Chromiak play?

He put on a jersey and skates and was on the ice. But saying he "played" seems misleading. I thought he looked awful.

My biggest worry about Laferriere was if he could adapt to the pro game or not. He wasn't dominating on the ice in college, didn't really take over games or anything like that. But Harvard wasn't a stacked squad and really had to work as a team with very little individualism to hang with the bigger programs.

Turns out that worry was completely unfounded as he's settled in seamlessly. Granted I've only seen him a couple of times outside of college, but he's showing the same stuff he did at Harvard. Always in position, very smart player, with a solid, accurate shot. He's not overwhelmed in the slightest and plays confidently. He's not huge, but he always looks bigger than his listed size.

He's a 4th liner at worse, with higher upside. His shot isn't nearly as lethal as Arty's, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him end up an Iafallo clone.

Laferriere, to me, is very much like Trevor Moore. Nonstop motor and effort. Plays in all situations. Those players won't typically "dominate" a game or stat sheet, because in part there's a slightly lower threshold in skill where they won't take over a game, but they will always work on improving their core strength to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

Would love to see a preseason game where he's actually on Danault's line.

 

[Sol]

Overall, disappointing because it was a loss, but conclusions shouldn't be drawn. There were a lot of invitees on this roster.

Aside from Laferriere, Pinelli looked pretty good. I'm a big fan of Ziemmer, but he didn't look too great - a few times he wouldn't shoot because he wasn't in perfect shooting position,

Ingham looked very human.

I thought Chromiak had a terrible game and was hoping he would have separated from the rest of the pack.

Lee going out early in the game didn't look good.

Helenius was pretty invisible as well, unfortunately. I thought he would have used his size more to get control of the puck.

Aside from getting some PK time, Madden also looked ineffective. Given his age and level of development, I would expect a better game from him, but I guess rounding out his skillset to include the PK is good.

More than anything, I just don't like the overall look and execution of a Sturm-coached team.

Edit: I also realized he put Tynan and Hudon out there to start. When will coaches stop depending on vets to get things done? Especially when learning to deal with pressure in OT is best to learn in preseason?

I don’t know why they kept him at all.

 

[King'sPawn]

I don’t know why they kept him at all.

I don't agree with their decision, but I understand. They committed to a coach, and making a coaching carousel means the players have to relearn a new system and get a new person to get acquainted with, and the new coach would have to get to know the players.

It's defensible but also disagreeable. And frankly, my biggest worry if they fire McLellan is that Sturm would get a promotion. I have issues with TMac, but Sturm would be a downgrade, in my opinion.

 

[tigermask48]

I really don't see how keeping Sturm is defensible. His big claim to fame is Germany taking silver in the 2018 Olympics with him behind the bench, but that had more to do with NHL players not playing than it did his coaching.

And that's it for positives on his resume . He was hired by the Kings in 2018 and has failed upwards to being the head coach of the Reign.

He was only a coach for 3 years before LA hired him so it isn't like he had some long pedigree of success like a college or juniors head coach. There's no real resume there at all.

 

[Bandit]

I really don't see how keeping Sturm is defensible. His big claim to fame is Germany taking silver in the 2018 Olympics with him behind the bench, but that had more to do with NHL players not playing than it did his coaching.

And that's it for positives on his resume . He was hired by the Kings in 2018 and has failed upwards to being the head coach of the Reign.

He was only a coach for 3 years before LA hired him so it isn't like he had some long pedigree of success like a college or juniors head coach. There's no real resume there at all.

Yeah but he played for the Kings once so…

 

[Sol]

I don't agree with their decision, but I understand. They committed to a coach, and making a coaching carousel means the players have to relearn a new system and get a new person to get acquainted with, and the new coach would have to get to know the players.

It's defensible but also disagreeable. And frankly, my biggest worry if they fire McLellan is that Sturm would get a promotion. I have issues with TMac, but Sturm would be a downgrade, in my opinion.

I think wholeheartedly that if a coach is bad then the system they’re teaching or anything else they’re coming to contact with could also be rotten as well. I don’t think it’s defensible. I don’t think poor results with the organization justify loyalty. He should have been gone before this season. I think keeping him is very short sighted because it’s not like he’s going to get any better. If he couldn’t make the PP mediocre at all then I can’t imagine what he would do for a full 60. Kings had the worst PP under his tenure and he couldn’t and didn’t do anything about it.

 

[King'sPawn]

I think wholeheartedly that if a coach is bad then the system they’re teaching or anything else they’re coming to contact with could also be rotten as well. I don’t think it’s defensible. I don’t think poor results with the organization justify loyalty. He should have been gone before this season. I think keeping him is very short sighted because it’s not like he’s going to get any better. If he couldn’t make the PP mediocre at all then I can’t imagine what he would do for a full 60. Kings had the worst PP under his tenure and he couldn’t and didn’t do anything about it.

I don't disagree with you. I'm just positing their line of thinking.

I was suggesting a house cleaning of Blake and McLellan last offseason, and would have included Sturm.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I really don't see how keeping Sturm is defensible. His big claim to fame is Germany taking silver in the 2018 Olympics with him behind the bench, but that had more to do with NHL players not playing than it did his coaching.

And that's it for positives on his resume . He was hired by the Kings in 2018 and has failed upwards to being the head coach of the Reign.

He was only a coach for 3 years before LA hired him so it isn't like he had some long pedigree of success like a college or juniors head coach. There's no real resume there at all.

More proof that the Kings don't know what to do with young talent

"draft" sturm before anyone else does, hang onto him regardless of results

"draft" Faust before anyone else does, boot him early

 

[Sol]

I don't disagree with you. I'm just positing their line of thinking.

I was suggesting a house cleaning of Blake and McLellan last offseason, and would have included Sturm.

I know you agree with me, I just don’t think their line of reasoning is reasonable. We will see how this new season goes but it seems that the approach has not been tweaked at all since the gameplay is completely identical to last season which is not a good sign at all.

 

[Surf Nutz]

I don't disagree with you. I'm just positing their line of thinking.

I was suggesting a house cleaning of Blake and McLellan last offseason, and would have included Sturm.

Might as well go all they way up to Beckerman, Galaxy have fallen mightily, as well.

I have not seen one poster defend Sturm.

 

[Surf Nutz]

He put on a jersey and skates and was on the ice. But saying he "played" seems misleading. I thought he looked awful.


Laferriere, to me, is very much like Trevor Moore. Nonstop motor and effort. Plays in all situations. Those players won't typically "dominate" a game or stat sheet, because in part there's a slightly lower threshold in skill where they won't take over a game, but they will always work on improving their core strength to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

Would love to see a preseason game where he's actually on Danault's line.

TMac has shown very little likelihood of changing the Nice line.

For the preseason blender evolving tests, at this point after Global I like :

PLD - Kopitar -Kempe - :Byfield din't look sharp
Nice line
Fiala - Byfield - Kaliyev. ->Byfield looked better not deferring from center with younger guys, paves a way to the future. Is wing switch hurting him?
Turcotte -Lizotte - Laffy - Veteran spark plug, reward camp standouts with a chance up with Kings

MA - Spence _Spence deserves a shot
Moverare - Gavri - played well together
Bjornfot - DD - History, DD not looking great late last season and early this one.
allows you to consider trading Roy

 

[tigermask48]

I know you agree with me, I just don’t think their line of reasoning is reasonable. We will see how this new season goes but it seems that the approach has not been tweaked at all since the gameplay is completely identical to last season which is not a good sign at all.

We knew the approach wouldn't change though from the end of season pressers. Blake seemed perfectly happy with the results from the players to coaching.

 

[Surf Nutz]

TMac has shown very little likelihood of changing the Nice line.

For the preseason blender evolving tests, at this point after Global I like :

PLD - Kopitar -Kempe - :Byfield din't look sharp
Nice line
Fiala - Byfield - Kaliyev. ->Byfield looked better not deferring from center with younger guys, paves a way to the future. Is wing switch hurting him?
Turcotte -Lizotte - Laffy - Veteran spark plug, reward camp standouts with a chance up with Kings

MA - Spence _Spence deserves a shot
Moverare - Gavri - played well together
Bjornfot - DD - History, DD not looking great late last season and early this one.
allows you to consider trading Roy

Maybe the Kings need to focus their 1st round picks on the more NHL ready players and avoid projects high up in the draft.

A lesson learned?

 

[Surf Nutz]

We knew the approach wouldn't change though from the end of season pressers. Blake seemed perfectly happy with the results from the players to coaching.

No point in trying to change right when you are evaluating guys for preseason.

Do so in the system they have been playing, don't throw a monkey wrench and end up with not the best guys but the guys that adapt the quickest.

The place to make changes would be the regular season after you have your lineup and top options, especially if you start poorly.

\\

 

[Sol]

We knew the approach wouldn't change though from the end of season pressers. Blake seemed perfectly happy with the results from the players to coaching.

Which is weird whenever there was glaring issues vs Edmonton that highlighted the big weaknesses in the system that Todd employs. I was hoping we’d see some tweaks at the minimum but it seems like they’ve completely forgoed that. Which is weird because you’d think in the preseason/offseason they’d be more lax in trying new formations. But nothing changed. Since it’s likely if the season is anything similar to last year then the Kings will get their backs blown out again against the Oilers since the oilers had no issue exploiting the system errors the Kings have.


I think I speak for everyone when I say what the f*** was Todd thinking allowing McDavid to build speed from the defensive zone uncontested repeatedly. The 1-3-1 will not work against the teams like the oilers. And the Kings haven’t changed AGAIN. Lol. I know I speak everything of the lens of the oilers but probability of playing the oilers is very high again. There’s only a couple teams in the pacific that are good.

 

[tigermask48]

If the team won't adjust the plan to succeed, and doesn't see a reason to change and try something different, then Occam's Razor says they are inept and bad at their jobs?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Part of me hopes those comments were just media-facing, not trying to lay into people publicly, and that behind the scenes, there was some serious self-reflection and evaluation

but there's really nothing to indicate anyone is accountable to anything so Occam's Razor tells me we're ready to be hurt again by the 1-3-1 while down 4-0 to the oilers in game 7 after being up 3-0 in the series

 

[Sol]

Part of me hopes those comments were just media-facing, not trying to lay into people publicly, and that behind the scenes, there was some serious self-reflection and evaluation

but there's really nothing to indicate anyone is accountable to anything so Occam's Razor tells me we're ready to be hurt again by the 1-3-1 while down 4-0 to the oilers in game 7 after being up 3-0 in the series

Funnily enough I can think of only a few moments of the last series where the Kings were in control. The oilers dictated the pace the entire series. History and the present shows that the Kings are going to get piped by the Oilers again. They aren’t interested in fixing the formation apparently even though the formation is strictly what cost the Kings.


Not one of Todd’s lovers on here can explain to me the logic behind letting McDavid build up a head of steam uncontested from the defensive zone. How many times did the oilers fly by the Kings who were standing like pylons? Lol. The entire f***ing time lol. Bro idk what the hell this organization is thinking but it seems like they’re more focused on developing a bad ass group of old friends with salary rather than a competent team.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Funnily enough I can think of only a few moments of the last series where the Kings were in control. The oilers dictated the pace the entire series. History and the present shows that the Kings are going to get piped by the Oilers again. They aren’t interested in fixing the formation apparently even though the formation is strictly what cost the Kings.


Not one of Todd’s lovers on here can explain to me the logic behind letting McDavid build up a head of steam uncontested from the defensive zone. How many times did the oilers fly by the Kings who were standing like pylons? Lol. The entire f***ing time lol. Bro idk what the hell this organization is thinking but it seems like they’re more focused on developing a bad ass group of old friends with salary rather than a competent team.

If they came out and said that I'd respect it lol

 

[Sol]

If they came out and said that I'd respect it lol

I would too because it’s also silence the undying and unwarranted support people give them.

 

[Surf Nutz]

Which is weird whenever there was glaring issues vs Edmonton that highlighted the big weaknesses in the system that Todd employs. I was hoping we’d see some tweaks at the minimum but it seems like they’ve completely forgoed that. Which is weird because you’d think in the preseason/offseason they’d be more lax in trying new formations. But nothing changed. Since it’s likely if the season is anything similar to last year then the Kings will get their backs blown out again against the Oilers since the oilers had no issue exploiting the system errors the Kings have.


I think I speak for everyone when I say what the f*** was Todd thinking allowing McDavid to build speed from the defensive zone uncontested repeatedly. The 1-3-1 will not work against the teams like the oilers. And the Kings haven’t changed AGAIN. Lol. I know I speak everything of the lens of the oilers but probability of playing the oilers is very high again. There’s only a couple teams in the pacific that are good.

Again with mostly returning players from the Reign/ Kings pre season, especially 2 games in, is for testing new players not new systems.

The Kings were up 2-1 in the series, with a 3-0 lead and should have gone up 3-1 in the series. Narrow window for the Oilers to win 3 straight.

What happend? Just what statistics point to: a coach that loses lead in games and in series.

I sure wish we could have got Trotz, Cassidy or even Gallant.

Guys here playing where is Wilbur?

The final accountability is the Coach and having the right coach falls on the GM.

The problem is TMac and Blake picking and sticking with him.

I know what Tod was thinking with the 1-3-1. If two and maybe even one guy looses the Oiler breakout at center ice, there is a high probability the team is screwed.

You have a better chance if one of the three loses the break in and the high man is back checking by that point.

I know the Golden Tights played it different and had more success.

So systems evaluation should be upcoming in the regular season

If the team won't adjust the plan to succeed, and doesn't see a reason to change and try something different, then Occam's Razor says they are inept and bad at their jobs?

Occams razor says its time for a new coach and you are mostly very furry and demand a very will shaved and oiled chest.

Tmac is going to be gone and he could even be fired before the season shifts to the playoffs.

I would too because it’s also silence the undying and unwarranted support people give them.

And they would all be fired by AEG.

 

[tigermask48]

No point in trying to change right when you are evaluating guys for preseason.

Do so in the system they have been playing, don't throw a monkey wrench and end up with not the best guys but the guys that adapt the quickest.

The place to make changes would be the regular season after you have your lineup and top options, especially if you start poorly.

\\

I legit 100% cannot tell if this is sarcasm or not, because it isn't funny, and if it isn't sarcastic boy, is it a spicy take...

 

[Sol]

Again with mostly returning players from the Reign/ Kings pre season, especially 2 games in, is for testing new players not new systems.

The Kings were up 2-1 in the series, with a 3-0 lead and should have gone up 3-1 in the series. Narrow window for the Oilers to win 3 straight.

What happend? Just what statistics point to: a coach that loses lead in games and in series.

I sure wish we could have got Trotz, Cassidy or even Gallant.

Guys here playing where is Wilbur?

The final accountability is the Coach and having the right coach falls on the GM.

The problem is TMac and Blake picking and sticking with him.

I know what Tod was thinking with the 1-3-1. If two and maybe even one guy looses the Oiler breakout at center ice, there is a high probability the team is screwed.

You have a better chance if one of the three loses the break in and the high man is back checking by that point.

I know the Golden Tights played it different and had more success.

So systems evaluation should be upcoming in the regular season



Occams razor says its time for a new coach and you are mostly very furry and demand a very will shaved and oiled chest.

Tmac is going to be gone and he could even be fired before the season shifts to the playoffs.



And they would all be fired by AEG.

The Vilardi hand of god goal in a close game. The series wasn’t close. They lost the farm in game 3 completely.

You don’t think it’s a higher probability that the team is screwed by letting the fastest player in the league build up steam against the weakest defense in the NHL? I’m going to give you a moment for you to actually be honest so use it well, do you think it’s a better plan having our offense (our most skilled position) playing defense or playing offense? Subjecting our defense to the speed of the oilers was a death sentence and that’s exactly what happened. Teams that play trap are usually the teams that are strong defensively that they can handle whoever tries to penetrate the defensive line.


Let’s say you’re a glass cannon, Todd decided to not use the Kings best position. Rather he decided to play so defensively with a team that has shitty defense and weak goaltending. Insane.

 

[Surf Nutz]

I legit 100% cannot tell if this is sarcasm or not, because it isn't funny, and if it isn't sarcastic boy, is it a spicy take...

It's not Spicy or Sarcastic.

What percentage of his tenure has TMac used the 1-3-1?

Maybe if he has figured out his lineup and options you try something else late pre season, however as stated, it's super unlikely.

I am here to discuss likelihoods and stay away from fantasy GM/Coaching.

Maybe it's just me/

I am just not this cat's meow!