LA Kings season high/low with Davis Drewiske

Over the next few days, MayorsManor will be bringing you several articles using our high/low format. The topic this time around is the LA Kings season as a whole, with players sharing their personal high and low point of the last 80 games played.

First up is Davis Drewiske. Even though he’s only played nine games all year, after practice this morning he still had some opinions on the subject…

“For everybody, the low point had to be Terry (Murray) getting fired,” shared the Kings seventh defenseman. “I think everybody feels pretty responsible for it. That was the low point for me personally, even though I got to play some games after it happened. But, you feel responsible and you think if we would have played better it probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Switching to the more positive aspect of the question wasn’t that difficult for him though, as the answer truly was the other side of the same coin.

“Right after that, I played a few games in a row and scored a couple goals – even though we got beat 8-2 in one of them,” he said. “So, I guess that’s not really much of a high point. But, there haven’t really been a lot of high points personally. Hopefully we get a couple coming up here.”

Being out the line-up since mid-February hasn’t meant that Drewiske’s been completely off the grid. While still visible at practice with the team, it might be some of his behind-the-scenes work on game nights that is most appreciated by teammates.

“In between periods we’ll watch the games in the player’s lounge and guys will come in and out of the locker room. They’ll ask, ‘Did you see this or did you see that?’ Not to dish out too much advice, but if guys are asking, we do watch the game pretty closely,” he said.  “To be around the guys in the locker room and to hear what the coaches are talking about and the adjustments they’re making, it all keeps us connected mentally and to the game.”

Speaking of the mental side – the other night he took part in the pre-game warm-ups, even though he wasn’t playing in the game. Is that something that’s difficult to go through, especially considering how badly he wants to play? Is it the ultimate tease?

“Even if you know you’re probably not going to play, you just try to mentally approach it like you are,” he explained. “I think it’s good to trick yourself or trick your mind, trick your body into getting into that routine. You do everything you would, as if you were playing – go through the same things in your mind, the same pre-game meal, nap and that kind of stuff. You want to stay ready so it’s not so foreign when it actually does come.”

Like a good solider, he filled in for Slava Voynov at practice today. However, according to coach Darryl Sutter the Russian rookie was just getting a maintenance day and he’ll back in the line-up tomorrow.

So, for Drewiske, the waiting game continues. And maybe that regular season high point will still find a way to peek through the clouds in time for Saturday’s regular season finale.

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