Los Angeles Kings (NHL10 BAGM)

[kingalexander]

2009 NHL Entry Draft

Los Angeles Kings






(Montreal) --The Los Angeles Kings had one objective in mind going into the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and that was to acquire and make any possible changes to the squad so they can finally have a taste of post-season action after six long years without a playoff appearance.

General Manager Dean Lombardi once again had the opportunity to select a high ranking player, with the Kings holding the fifth overall choice in the draft tonight in Montreal.

With that pick, Lombardi and the Kings went with forward Trevor Pollock as the fifth overall choice in the draft. “Trevor’s playing style is pretty close to Anze Kopitar’s way” said Lombardi. “He’s a big center but still has agility and scoring ability, so I think Trevor will work out pretty well with the team and the playing style we try to produce out of the team.”

The 17 year old from Thunder Bay, Ontario will more than likely spend his first professional season with the Manchester Monarchs, unless he can break into the Kings 20 man roster during training camp.

Both Lombardi and head coach Terry Murray have stated that no player has been guaranteed a position with the Kings, everyone having an equal chance to make the team this summer.

With the Kings holding another high draft choice, the second round decision came down to defenseman Bryan Byrne, another Canadian born player from Ottawa.

Los Angeles drafted goaltender Wes Grabovski in the third round from the London Knights of the OHL. The six-foot goaltender will have some tough competition between the pipes, with Jonathan Quick, Jonathan Bernier, Erik Ersberg, and Jeff Zatkoff going after the two open spots with the Kings.


The fourth round choice for Los Angeles came from the United States, with Nebraska native Shannon Slater was selected by the Kings after spending some time with the Saginaw Spirits of the OHL.

The final pick of the day was Russian defenseman Maxim Bure, a 19 year old player from the DEL of Germany.

The Los Angeles Kings will hope to take the choices made today and produce superstars out of them for the upcoming seasons.

[kingalexander]

Breaking News:

Blockbuster Trade Confirmed


Martin Biron will play his hockey for the Los Angeles Kings this season.

6/29/09

(Los Angeles, CA) - The draft day trade between the New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings has been confirmed and cleared by the NHL early Monday morning.

The trade shipped defensemen Matt Greene and prospect Joe Piskula from the Kings over to the Islanders in return for winger Jeff Tambellini and goaltender Martin Biron.

This trade shocked many around the league after it was announced on the floor prior to the fourth round selection by the Kings on Friday night.

Quote:

"This was a very tough decision to make for the team" said General Manager Dean Lombardi during a press conference announcing the green light from the league. "We were put in a position to make a choice and my choice was, I feel the correct one in making this team a contender for not only a playoff spot this season but the Stanley Cup(...) I hate to see Matt go, he was a leader on this team and a very good player for us, and we wish him nothing but the best with New York, and we are very happy and excited to see Martin hopefully wearing a Kings uniform this year."

Greene was acquired by the Kings in 2008 after the Edmonton Oilers traded him along with center Jarret Stoll to the Kings in return for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.

Since then, Greene has been a vocal leader on the team, which earned him an alternate captain position during the 08-09 season.

Martin Biron, 31, will have some tough competition to make the Kings roster, with Jonathan Quick having the advantage as the Los Angeles' number one goaltender.

It seems there will be a battle between Jonathan Bernier, Erik Ersberg, and now Biron for the backup spot to Quick this year.


But this wasn't the only surprising trade of the draft. Below is a full list of trades occurring during the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Montreal acquired 1st round pick(2009), 2nd round pick(2009), from Chicago for (D) Ryan O'Byrne

Dallas acquired (LW) Steve Kelly from Columbus for (D) Trevor Ludwig

Boston acquired (C) Ryan Johnson and (D) Nathan McIver from Vancouver for (RW) Mark Recchi and (C) Trent Whitfield

Tampa Bay acquired (RW) Mikael Samuelsson from Vancouver for (LW) Alex Tanguay

Chicago acquired (D) Shawn Belle from Montreal for (LW) Bryan Bickell

Montreal acquired (LW) Andrew Ladd, (D) J. Sawyer and 3rd round(2009) from Chicago for (RW) Mike Glumac, (D) Hal Gill, and (D) A. Henry

Florida acquired (D) Doug Murray from San Jose for (RW) Radek Dvorak

Colorado acquired (C) Rod Brind'Amour from Carolina for (D) Ruslan Salei

Columbus acquired (C) Corey Locke from NYR for (D) David Liffiton and 4th pick(2009)

Montreal acquired (D) Mike Commodore from Columbus for (RW) Brian Gionta

Nashville acquired (D) Barret Jackman and (D) Tyson Strachan from St. Louis for (RW) J.P. Dumont, (D) A. Sulzer and 5th round pick(2009)

[bthomp05]

Some great chising there, great pick with Pollock. He developes very well in the future. So interesting movement in the draft.

Don't think Quick can do it or was it more of an insurance piece with Biron?

[kingalexander]

Quote: Originally Posted by bthomp05

Some great chising there, great pick with Pollock. He developes very well in the future. So interesting movement in the draft. Don't think Quick can do it or was it more of an insurance piece with Biron?

more of an insurance than anything. I've adjusted the sliders to make the game a little more difficult for me so just as a back up, i couldn't pass up the trade

[Moses Doughty]

Good luck from a fellow Kings fan. But trading Greene. BOOO! Lol.

Nice picks, but i advise dumping the goalie for Ric Sumal

[onlybygrace]

Here is some advice about Pollock if you'd haven't played with him before.

He had 13 goals for me in 50 games, but none in his first 17 games. So you can see how he really picked it up with 13 in his last 33 games. Thats like 32 or so goals over a full season. Excited to see what he does next year with a full season.

Anyways...he has a real strong move cutting across the next and his pretty agile. Good at scoring dirty goals. Good in the corners. Decent Hockey Sense.

Just saying. I like him...

Funny story about him, actually. Like I said in his first 17 games he had not scored a goal and maybe only a few assists. Horrible. I said to myself that if he did not score in the next game, he was going back to San Antonio.

So in the next game he scores 2 beautiful goals with just 10 or so minutes of ice time on the 4th line.

I decide to surprise the kid with a promotion to the Malkin line...

and he's been there ever since.

[kingalexander]

Free Agent Period

7/3/09

Los Angeles Makes Splash Early On


Rob Scuderi won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2008/09

(Los Angeles, CA) The Los Angeles Kings have already made a dent in the free agent market as they signed defenseman Rob Scuderi to a four year contract, giving the Kings blue line a much needed boost after parting ways with Matt Greene.

Los Angeles also announced a trade that sent defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing to the Colorado Avalanche for left winger Ryan Smyth.

Acquiring Smyth will give the Kings a veteran presence in the top six forward group and dangerous scoring ability, if Smyth lines up with Anze Kopitar and possibly Alexander Frolov this season.

But Los Angeles wasn't done yet, as they once again made an announcement as they agreed to a four year contract with forward Pavel Brendl, who returns to the NHL after a stint in the top European leagues for the past three seasons.

The last time Brendl made an NHL appearance was with the Phoenix Coyotes during the 06-06 season, only playing two games before being dropped to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL.

With Smyth and Brendl on the lineup for the Kings, they will hope the veteran leadership will rub off on the younger players on the squad and also help with some goal scoring as the Kings are focused to make a playoff appearance this year and a successful 09/10 campaign.

[kingalexander]

Free Agent Period

Kings Sign D-Man Babchuk

7/10/09



(Los Angeles, CA)The Los Angeles Kings have signed defenseman Anton Babchuk to a three year contract.

As per club policy, financial details were not addressed.

Babchuk comes to the Kings during an overhaul of their squad, which includes the addition of Rob Scuderi, Ryan Smyth, Martin Biron, Pavel Brendl, and Jeff Tambellini.

Drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2002, Babchuk made his debut that same year only playing five games towards the end of the season before spending the next few years with the Norfolk Admirals.

Babchuk was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes during the 05-06 season and once again split his time the next few years between the NHL and AHL.

Quote:

"We are very excited to have Anton sign with the Kings, we've seen his playing ability and his defensive skills and we feel right now this is a perfect match for what we need to do and what we want to accomplish and what he brings to the table"

said Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

Babchuk hopes to break the top 6 defensemen this year for Los Angeles and become a positive addition to the club.