MayorsManor.com

NHL blog, LA Kings hockey news and interviews from The Mayor

You are here: Home / HockeyBlog / 10 Tidbits (and Opinions) from 2021 Rookie Faceoff Tournament

10 Tidbits (and Opinions) from 2021 Rookie Faceoff Tournament

By

Over the past 12 years or so, we’ve always had a good time with our 10 Tidbits format. Yet, it’s been a while since we broke it out for an article, so flying back from Arizona we thought it might be a good time to do so.

The following thoughts are not ranked in any particular order; they’re just more a collection of thoughts and opinions we jotted down throughout the weekend.

1. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Phoenix is such an interesting place. Overall, it’s usually so beautiful and clean — along with scorching hot at 7am in the morning — that I often tend to forget the rather arduous process that one signs up for when agreeing to fly into Sky Harbor Airport. Immediately upon landing, you taxi for what feels like an hour. Considering the travel time in from SoCal is only about an hour, you’ve now nearly doubled your time inside the plane. Then, you bus over to the car rental facility which features about a dozen escalators that travel multiple stories. Once you finally get the car, you’re about 30 minutes from the two major sports hubs on opposite sides of the sprawling desert. The entire process reminds me of going to Dallas, sans the humidity.

Why do I even mention all of this? Well, just as we were leaving town, I spotted a new Sky Tram under construction. I haven’t had a chance to go look it up, but I’m hoping it’s running before baseball’s Spring Training. That should at least make it a little easier to get to/from the airport and car rental location.

2. Colorado is as Colorado does

When you think of the Colorado Avalanche, speed and skill come to mind above all else. While the Rookie Tournament isn’t designed to feature many of their big name NHL stars, the young squad in burgundy and blue had a very similar feel to the parent club. Alex Newhook and Bowen Byram were their most notable prospects in Game 1, while Jean-Luc Foudy was very visible in the other game I watched them play. From a Kings perspective, it was impressive to see LA’s youngsters largely contain Byram on Friday.

3. Ozzy Rocks

Once upon a time, NHL teams referred to their road trip through California as a visit to the Death Triangle. In recent years, it’s been far easier across the board, as all three California teams have struggled. While the Kings and Ducks appear to be headed toward a collision course sooner rather than later — via a pair of rebuilds that are coming across like a hockey arms race, with both stockpiling a treasure chest of high-end prospects — the same can’t be said for San Jose. Saddled with a myriad of heavy contracts weighing them down, the Sharks future plans haven’t been quite as transparent as their Southern California cousins.

By comparison to what LA and Anaheim brought to the tournament, San Jose had a roster that only featured one defenseman from their 2020 and 2021 NHL Entry Drafts combined. Up front was a slightly different story, with their star attraction on paper being 18-year-old forward William Eklund, their first round selection (seventh overall) from earlier this summer.

Admittedly, we didn’t watch all three of the Sharks games closely. That’s not going to stop us from hopping on the Ozzy Wiesblatt (crazy) train. We liked what we saw from San Jose’s 2020 first round selection (31st overall) this weekend and he’ll be somebody to keep eye on moving forward. He was solid in his six game AHL audition last season, yet he’s likely headed back to the WHL this season. Thus, it could be a while before he’s playing regular games in California – with either the Barracuda or Sharks.

4. Free Naming Rights

In an era where nearly everything in sports seems to carry some form of corporate sponsorship, we saw something in Scottsdale that is such an absolute home run, we had to mention it here.

The Coyotes have named one of the sheets at the Ice Den, their practice facility, after team icon Shane Doan. Now, yes, MayorsManor and Doan have had a mutually respectful relationship for many years. And we can never get enough talk about him going, whether it’s here on MayorsManor or over on Kings Of The Podcast (be sure to check out his visit a few months ago here).

That’s not what makes this so great. I’m all for tapping into the history of a franchise and keeping fans (and players) connected with the team’s past. It’s not just important, it’s vital.

Doan was an obvious choice for the Coyotes. This, of course, got me thinking about how to pull off something similar at the Kings training facility in El Segundo. What player could you possibly use to honor 50+ years of Kings history? Luc Robitaille is the obvious choice. Unfortunately, the Kings could never make a move like that as long as he’s in a management role with the club. Even though it would be more than justified, it would likely come across as too self-serving in our highly critical world. Ditto for Rob Blake. So, who then?

It can’t be Dave Taylor. He’s working for the Blues.

It can’t be Gretzky. He’s more of an Oiler at this point.

As I pondered this on the plane ride back, there is only one name that makes the most sense… Dustin Brown.

Naturally, it can’t be done while he’s still playing. And he’s probably 2-3 years away from stepping away, but that’s perfect. It gives the team time to start planning things out. Get to work on that Kelly Cheeseman (or whoever he’ll delegate this project too).

5. If you move it, will they still come?

As if hockey fans in the greater Phoenix area haven’t been through enough turmoil over the past few decades, there is talk once again of them moving to the other side of town – where they’re hoping to build a new arena in Tempe. This would be a much better location, indeed.

My brain was thinking about Westgate, though. It’s the Coyotes’ version of L.A. Live and how will it survive if 41 dates are moved a half hour around the 101 loop? Sure, the NFL’s Cardinals play home games right next door. Even with the larger crowds, they still don’t provide enough dates on the calendar.

The Gila River Arena hopes to fill their building with other events, like concerts, etc. It seems like a stretch. We heard similar things about the building in Ontario several years ago when the Reign opted to move their training activity to El Segundo. However, we don’t recall a massive influx of sold out concerts coming to the area. Could it all happen and work out just fine in both arenas? Sure.

To be transparent, we’re really just worried about the Dutch Bros. located at the Westgate Plaza entrance. That’s one of our go-tos when we’re in the area.

6. Professionals Are Consistent

Wait… you’re not just interested in a stream of consciousness or about my coffee woes from this past weekend?

What you really want crave is more hockey talk?

OK, noted.

Reign coach John Wroblewski pointed out after the Kings second win — which he also described as an ‘ugly win’ — that the team had shown a little of their ‘rookie’ that night; taking a word from the tournament’s promotional title, the Rookie Faceoff.

For me, this was a comment that also tied back to some of Wrobo’s comments a few days prior, where he talked about looking for individual successes as a benchmark of progress before they can look for team success.

One of his regular themes is the need for professional athletes to be consistent at whatever they’re expected to do. In Arizona, the Kings found tremendous team success in Game 1 against a very good Colorado Avalanche team. Two days later, they looked like a different group vs. a Coyotes group that wasn’t as deep. In fairness, the Kings were without Kupari and Fagemo that night and it was noticeable. LA’s top-6 forwards were about as good as anybody could have asked them to be on Friday. When two of them are then taken out of the mix, it changes the complexity of more than just those two lines. Overall, the Kings had less experience in the lineup for Game 2 and it showed.

On a similar note, AHL rosters are constantly in flux for various reasons, and this tournament had a similar feel. When I asked Wrobo about the lineup changes he indicated management came into the weekend with a plan, and based upon the performances in Game 2 (both good and bad), some individuals were going to force their hand on how they planned to use them, or sit them, for Game 3.

In the end, it was Alex Turcotte and Helge Grans who were the biggest names not used for Game 3, and neither had done anything wrong. Turcotte was the Kings best forward over the first two games by a wide margin, and arguably the most consistent forward in the tournament according to a few scouts we spoke with.

Overall, there was nothing consistent about the three LA games. Friday’s speed gave way to Sunday’s abundance of missed opportunities, before Monday’s heated intensity.

Vegas played a heavy, heavy game. And their defenseman are mobile. LA’s forwards are little more polished.

It’s really too bad the Kings and Ducks didn’t get a chance to play each other at this tournament. Anaheim finished the weekend 2-0-1 for the second straight year. And they’re now a ridiculous 7-0-2 over the three Rookie Faceoffs that have taken place.

7. Forward Thinking

Building upon the previous praise for Turcotte, a bunch more should be piled up at the doorstep of Samuel Fagemo. For those who didn’t follow the Reign closely last year, the 21-year-old Swede acclimated quite nicely during his first season in North America. He was often a key contributor to Ontario’s offensive attack, finishing with 18 points in 32 games. He formed a nice duo with Rasmus Kupari in early 2021 and they seemed to pick up in Arizona right where they left off in May.

Fagemo made a difference in both games he played in, even beyond what showed up in the box score. We liked his compete level. He battled a heavy Vegas team from puck drop to the final whistle. He was a man on a mission. And, perhaps even more impressive, he showed great heart and resiliency. Visibly frustrated with the Golden Knights defensive coverage / approach during the first half of the game, Fagemo took several penalties. It only increased his desire to perform. Like a man possessed, he scored and crushed nine shots on goal. If he brings that same determination to Kings Training Camp later this week, he’s going to saddle GM Rob Blake with some tough decisions – because there likely isn’t a job for him in LA at the moment.

8. When Being Defensive is a Good Thing

Defense was my concern with the Kings heading into the tournament. They lacked experience and they lacked lefties, which was likely going to force somebody important over to their off-side. We originally pegged Brandt Clarke to take on that responsibility when mocking up our pre-tourney lineup. Then, just before Game 1, we learned LA’s most recent first round pick had Mono and would likely be unavailable all weekend (further updated here).

His absence was going to leave a monumental hole in already thin blueline.

Nonetheless, Wrobo rallied the troops and used some tape and chewing gum to patch it all together. In the end, Clarke being gone may have helped the Kings in a way, as it allowed other guys to rise up and show what they could bring… and boy did they.

A pair of true rookies, Jordan Spence and Helge Grans may be the highlights of the weekend. If for no other reason, that what they just might bring to an Ontario Reign D that desperately needs an injection of additional talent this season. Anybody who follows the MayorsManor Prospect Rankings knows far too well what we’ve said about Spence in recent years. You can’t sleep on this kid. A fourth round pick in 2019, coming off being named the QMJHL Rookie of the Year, Spence was then crowned the QMJHL Defenseman of the Year just one season later.

In talking with the majority of LA’s large management contingent at the Rookie Faceoff, there was equal praise being thrown around for both Spence and Grans.

Remember, losing Durzi in the 2021 single-elimination playoff game severely crippled Ontario. Adding two studs to the Reign blueline would be a more than welcome sight for Wrobo, Craig Johnson, and Chris Hajt.

9. Tending The Net

Look, many readers claim to be clamoring for more opinions on MayorsManor, so we’re about to give some.

I wouldn’t have started Matt Villalta in Game 1. I’ve seen enough of the 22-year-old netminder to have a good read on who he is and what he brings to the table. Goaltending let the Reign down last season (now, maybe part of that was a function of the overall team defense… fine).

Goaltending was also the most disappointing aspect of the Kings performances at the 2018 and 2019 Rookie Faceoffs. That’s not a Villalta thing. That’s just a comment about the poor goaltending presented over the previous six games.

I’m also well aware of where Villalta fits into the Kings Goaltending Depth Chart.

Taking all of that into consideration, I would have played Lukas Parik and Jacob Ingham, exclusively.

Most likely, I would have started Ingham in Game 1 and Parik in Game 2. The hotter hand would have gone again in Game 3. The real problem with my strategy is that there wasn’t a lot of rest time between the second and third games. It was more taxing than a usual back-to-back. So maybe I would have split Game 2, with each getting 30 minutes. I’m usually not a huge fan of that idea, as it’s a disadvantage to the guy coming in cold mid-game.

I digress, though.

When I’m wrong, I’m wrong.

With the benefit of hindsight, starting Villalta may have been a stroke of genius (if not along with a little bit of luck, given he was such a late addition to the roster).

What we saw from Villalta in Game 1 was a confident and poised goaltender. He made the timely saves needed, including a point-blank chance from Newhook. Combined with an early Kings goal, that may have been just the confidence Wrobo’s squad needed to believe they could hang with the big, bad Avalanche.

This also gave the team a better rotation over the four days, with Ingham assigned Sunday and Parik Monday. Both deserve stick taps for their play, even with a bit of a scrambled defense in front of them at times.

Goaltending didn’t let them down at the 2021 Rookie Faceoff. LA’s netminders were near outstanding.

10. Building Momentum

If you want the positives, things are trending in the right direction.

RELATED CONTENT:

LA Kings 2021 Prospect Rankings – Honorable Mentions: Forwards

Instagram

Lead photo of Helge Grans via ALo Images for MayorsManor

Note to webmasters/reporters: When recapping news or interviews from this site please remember to include a link to www.MayorsManor.com


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Great article Mayor! Do you have any insight into why the Kings traded Cole Hults to AZ? If you mentioned this in previous articles could you post the link, I might have missed it. He’s a LD which they need, and I thought he was a top prospect. That trade didn’t make sense to me.

    • In a nut shell, he wasn’t going to leapfrog Bjornfot or Anderson. Combine that with the fact they planned on adding an experienced D at the NHL level, and there just wasn’t much room for Hults at the NHL level. Then, you look at the situation in Ontario, they now have too many defenseman to groom (with the addition of Spence, Grans, etc. this season and Faber next season, plus Clarke on the way)… Hults was basically boxed out. They needed room for a more experienced defenseman in Ontario (Wolanin) too.

      Finally, moving him out of the organization allowed management to add some additional help at forward for the Reign (somebody to surround the kids with). They basically were trading a contract for a contract from that perspective.