The Kings will have have a new injection of Eastern European blood when they take the ice on Wednesday night against the visiting Anaheim Ducks.
Two of LA’s top prospects were recalled today – forward Andrei Loktionov and defenseman Slava Voynov. Both were born in Russia and drafted by the Kings in the 2008 NHL […]
The Russians are invading LA – are you prepared?
November 14, 2011 By
OHL vs. Russia – a Super Series report from Tyler Toffoli
November 12, 2011 By
On Thursday night, game three of the six-game Super Series took place in Ottawa. It’s an annual junior hockey showcase, featuring an All Star team from the three CHL junior leagues (WHL, OHL and QMJHL), each playing a pair of games against a Russian squad of similar aged players.
You can also think of it […]
Weal and Toffoli will be the only Kings representatives
October 27, 2011 By
Over the last few seasons, the LA Kings have been rated as having one of the top prospect pools among NHL teams. However, many of those players with high-end potential are starting to age out of junior hockey.
When it comes to Team Canada at the World Junior Championships (WJC), the Kings have also been […]
Kitsyn and the Majors are on the board
May 23, 2011 By
After dropping their opening game on Friday night to the Saint John Sea Dogs 4-3, Maxim Kitsyn and the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors picked up their first win of the Memorial Cup tournament yesterday.
Sunday’s game pitted them against the Kootenay Ice, champions of the WHL. Cody Eakin (Capitals draft pick) put the Ice up […]
Jack and USA done, Bernier ready for Ovechkin tomorrow
May 11, 2011 By
Johnson and Jagr at IIHF quarterfinalsPhoto by Matthew Manor / HHOF-IIHF
Out of the sixteen countries to play in the main pool at last year’s IIHF World Championships the United States finished 13th – ahead of only France, Italy and Kazakhstan.
They’ll finish five slots higher this year, but there isn’t much to celebrate. After advancing to the elite-8, they […]
Forget Quick… It’s the return of Bernier vs Ersberg!
May 8, 2011 By
You read that right.
It’s just not for a spot on the Kings. Instead, they’ll square off at the IIHF World Championships in Slovakia.
With Canada looking to lock down the top spot in their pool on Monday, coach Ken Hitchcock has announced he’ll start Jonathan Bernier in goal for their final game of the qualification round.
Bernier […]
Prospect Report: Tyler Toffoli Terrorizing OHL
January 12, 2011 By
Prior the 2010 NHL Draft in Los Angeles the Kings knew all about Tyler Toffoli.
The same guy who turned them on to Wayne Simmonds was Toffoli’s junior hockey coach with the Ottawa 67’s.
Thought to be a possible late first round pick, when he was still on the board midway through the second round they gladly […]
WJC Recap and Look Ahead to 2012
January 6, 2011 By
Below are some post game notes on last night’s gold medal contest, as well as updates on two of the key stories coming out of this year’s World Junior Championship…
* Don’t make plans for New Year’s Eve this year. Now that Russia has jammed Canada for the gold medal this year, the pairings for the […]
Another Deadline for Brayden Schenn
January 5, 2011 By
Brayden Schenn will be leaving the World Junior Championship later today with another medal to add to his collection.
It could be gold.
However, if the Russian team can somehow wrestle that away from Canada, it will be silver for the second year in a row.
Schenn’s only other remaining item of business at the WJC is to […]
Slava Voynov… The LA Kings Savior?
Slava Voynov in LA (photo: C. Ikiri)
With Slava Voynov and Andrei Loktionov back in town this week, it was time to brush up on my Russian translation skills.
I called up old friend Alexander Frolov first, but his number had been changed. When I dialed up Vitali Yachmenev next, he just wanted to talk about playing […]