After Development Camp in July, Kings coach Terry Murray weighed in with thoughts on several of the team’s top prospects – including Brandon Kozun, Jake Muzzin and Christopher Gibson.
Yesterday I spoke with him about one of the other players recently named to our Top 10 Prospects list, defenseman Nicolas Deslauriers..
Murray – “Off the ice your seeing a difference in maturity, physical strength, the testing results, the skating results – which are very demanding tests. Those show improvement. I think Deslauriers, he’s a hockey player, his best is always in the game. Sometimes he’s resting in his game in practice. But, when you get into a competitive game situation – and we’ve watched him only a couple of times – his game changes. He’s very intense, he’s very focused. Again, he’s a game player and ultimately that’s what we want out of all these guys.”
Originally drafted by the Kings at the 2009 NHL Draft (third round), Deslauriers finished last season as the top scoring defenseman in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) playoffs.
Earlier this summer, he signed a three-year entry level contract with the Kings and is expected to play in Manchester this season (AHL).
To read more of Murray’s player evaluations, I’ve linked to them in the opening paragraph above for your convenience.
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