Green Bay is a football town, so good for them.
For the rest of you, it’s back to hockey from here on out.
To help you catch up on all the news you may have missed this weekend during the pigskin hysteria, these are the ten stories you need to know…
* Calling all Anze Kopitar fans – remember those two goals he scored last weekend in the NHL All Star game? Well, you can now buy the first puck he netted to put Team Lidstrom on the board. Simply be the high bidder here.
* Last Wednesday two Kings prospects faced off when Jordan Weal and the Regina Pats took on Brayden Schenn and the Saskatoon Blades. It will happen again this coming weekend when Weal and the Pats host the league’s scoring leader (and fellow Kings prospect) Linden Vey. But, back to Schenn for a moment…he had a Gordie Howe hat trick on Super Bowl eve. However, in your quirky fact for the day – he’s never had a regular hat trick in his WHL career. Hard to believe.
* Ducks’ goaltender Jonas Hiller was scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday due to dizziness. Doctors haven’t been able to figure out what’s wrong with him, even though he thinks he’s just tired and needs a few days off. With Anaheim currently ahead of LA in the standings this is something worth monitoring for the next few days.
* In more prospect and goaltending news – JF Berube, the Kings fourth round draft pick in 2009, is often forgotten about given the team’s young goaltenders in LA and Manchester. However, he’s quietly putting together a nice season in the QMJHL. He was recently named the Player of the Week and his numbers continue to improve (now third in the league with a 2.56 goals-against-average and second with 25 wins). Also, if you’re a UFC fan, go here to see a pic of his GSP inspired mask.
* Kerry Fraser. The name says it all, as he’s probably the most well known referee in NHL history. A few days ago we posted a new podcast with him and if you haven’t heard it yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. He talks about lecturing Mario Lemieux, an emotional Theo Fleury asking for his help and gives many details of what really happened in the Kings ’93 playoff series with Toronto and Montreal. Plus, we play word association. It’s all right here.
* Speaking of Theo Fleury, with the Kings in Calgary over the weekend he made his inaugural visit to MayorsManor and he certainly didn’t disappoint. He shared his thoughts on playing the Kings back at the Great Western Forum; picked his top goalie, defensemen and forwards in the NHL today…and of course we played word association too. See what he had to say here.
* Jeff Cowan signed a professional tryout contract this week with the Toronto Marlies (AHL). Kings fans may remember he played 80 games for the team over three seasons (2004-06), before being claimed on waivers by Vancouver. Trivia question – he wore two different numbers during his time with the Kings. Can you name them both? (answer at the end of this article)
* Another former King, center Craig Conroy, retired this week. While he was best known as a member of the Calgary Flames, he did play 52 games for the Kings in the 2006-07 season. Notes on the press conference and what’s next for him are available here.
* Last February I posted some pics from the Olympics and one of my favorites was the one with the pucks stacked up in the shape of the Vancouver Olympics logo (Team Canada trainers did this before all their games). Well, check this out – a loyal MayorsManor reader snapped this shot (to the right) of the pucks waiting for the Kings to take the ice in Calgary Saturday night. I’m not sure what’s more impressive, the crown after the ‘LA’ or the puck used to cross the ‘A’. Nice job.
* A few weeks back word leaked out that the Kings are most likely making some changes to their jerseys for next season (story here). It looks like the Dodgers are letting fans vote on which throwbacks they should wear this year. Maybe the Kings should look into something similar. Just an idea.
And now you’re caught up.
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TRIVIA ANSWER: Jeff Cowan wore #8 and #15 for the LA Kings
