The Los Angeles Kings took the ice at the Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo Thursday afternoon to begin training camp before the 2022-23 season. Here’s today’s practice report from The Sporting Tribune’s Andrew Moe.
Storylines
One of the big storylines coming into camp dates all the way back to before last postseason is the health of left winger Viktor Arvidsson. A herniated disk sidelined him for the playoffs and he is recovering from offseason surgery to fix it. He was on the ice Thursday, skating by himself before practice but did not participate in any team drills. Another blip on the health radar for the Kings’ is defenseman Sean Durzi. He is listed as injured for the start of camp but he was skating in a red non-contact jersey at the end of practice. He is anticipated to play some preseason games and be ready for the start of the regular season.
Offense
Training camp this year is going to play a crucial role for numerous players as the Kings have a lot of talent but few open roster spots. Here is how the Kings lined up today for their first day of training camp.
1. Kevin Fiala-Anze Kopitar-Adrian Kempe
2. Trevor Moore-Phillip Danault-Samuel Fagemo
The bottom six is where the position battles will take place. The projected third and fourth lines are:
3. Alex Iafallo-Quinton Byfield-Arthur Kaliyev
4. Brendan Lemieux-Blake Lizotte-Carl Grundstrom
The Kings finished up their main portion of practice Thursday with a scrimmage. They split into two teams. The gray team defeated the black team 3-2 in a shootout with goals from Adrian Kempe, Lias Andersson, and Kempe again scoring the shootout winner. Philip Danault and Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored the goals for the black team. During the Kings’ inter squad scrimmage their third line was impressive. That line was all over the ice and was in the offensive zone every time they touched the puck and generated many scoring chances.
Defense
On defense the Kings get the return of top defenseman and team leader Drew Doughty, who missed the better half of last season after sustaining a wrist injury in March. The defensive room is also very crowded coming into camp with 2021 first-round pick Brandt Clarke forcing his way into the picture. Defenseman Sean Walker also returns after tearing his ACL and MCL early last season. With the unexpected injury to Sean Durzi here is how the defense looked to start day one:
1. Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty
2. Sean Walker-Matt Roy
3. Alex Edler-Brandt Clarke
4. Tobias Bjornfot-Jordan Spence
Sean Walker looked extremely comfortable and healthy as did Doughty. They both played well and fully participated. Brandt Clarke is coming into camp after a stellar weekend at the rookie faceoff in San Jose and he continued that performance into the scrimmage. He was all over the ice and made very few mistakes. Tobias Bjornfot and Jordan Spence also played very well as they are trying to force their way on to the roster.
Goaltending
The last position group is the one most under the radar – goaltending. The Kings are going on Year 14 of relying on Jonathan Quick to be their rock in net and he has delivered in virtually every one. The only big concern in the goaltending room is the play of backup goalie Cal Petersen. He was in position to take over the starting role last year but was underwhelming. Petersen and Quick both looked solid in today’s scrimmage as was expected of them but what stood out most was the steady play of young goaltenders Phoenix Copley and Matthew Villalta. Copley signed a one-year deal with the Kings in July and is trying to play his way into a role in the AHL. Meanwhile, Villalta has been the go-to guy for the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
