Happy 4th of July to all the MayorsManor readers and a special thank you to all the military personnel and their families. We appreciate all that you do to keep us safe and allow us to spend so much time thinking about hockey, instead of the horrible things people in other parts of the world deal with on a daily basis.
With that said, here’s a little Americana themed poll for today – who’s the best U.S. born player to ever play for the Kings?
The top 10 candidates are listed below in alphabetical order:
Dustin Brown – first round draft pick (2003), 305 points (141g, 164a) in 513 games played with the Kings
Jimmy Carson – first round draft pick (1986), 561 points in 626 NHL games, including 219 games for the Kings over four seasons (108g, 111a)
Craig Conroy – 542 points in 1,009 regular season NHL games, including 82 points in 130 games with the Kings
Tony Granato – played in 773 regular season NHL games (with 492 points – 248g, 244a), including 380 games with the Kings where he racked up 305 points (148g, 157a)
Jack Johnson – first round draft pick (2005, Carolina), 100 points (22g, 78a) in 282 games with the Los Angeles Kings
Jonathan Quick – the lone goalie on the list, 96 wins in 180 games played for the Kings, with a 2.44 goals-against-average and .912 save percentage
Jeremy Roenick – 513 goals and 1,363 points in his NHL career, was only the third American-born player to reach the 500-goal mark, in the 2005-06 season he had 22 points in 58 games for the Kings
Mathieu Schneider – played in 1,289 games and posted 743 points (223g, 520a), spent three seasons in LA and posted 84 points in 193 games on the blueline
Rob Scuderi – stay at home defenseman, shot blocker, Stanley Cup champion (2009, Pittsburgh), 65 points in 455 NHL games, including 26 points over the last two seasons with the Kings
Bryan Smolinski – first round pick (1990, Boston), 651 points spread over 1,069 NHL games, including 296 games in Los Angeles (with 191 points – 78g, 113a)
Honorable mention:
Jason Blake – signed by the Kings as a free agent out of college, he played 82 games over three seasons (picking up 28 points), for his career he has 268 points in 826 NHL games
Matt Greene – defensive minded defenseman with 47 points in 379 NHL games, including six goals and 28 assists the last three seasons in Los Angeles
Shawn McEachern – 579 points in 911 NHL games, played less than one season in LA (with 21 points in 49 games), was originally acquired from Pittsburgh in exchange for Marty McSorley, then six months later the Kings sent him back to the Penguins (along with Tomas Sandstrom) to reacquire McSorley – in what has to be one of the worst trades in team history
Ed Olczyk – first round pick (1984, Chicago), 794 points over 1,031 games in the NHL, spent only season in LA – posting 44 points in 67 games (21g, 23a)
Kevin Stevens – amassed 726 points in 874 NHL games, probably remembered more as a Penguin, however he was drafted by the Kings (sixth round, 1983) and played two seasons in LA, totalling 47 points in 89 games
Poll closes Tuesday at noon.
If you missed last year’s 4th of July article, you should check it out here. It’s a great story about a former King who celebrates his birthday today.
The Mayor
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