The Kings camp will reconvene over the weekend but it will be with 15 less players as the second round of cuts came in.
Already we're seeing some real standout performances from some players deeper down the Kings depth chart and at least one favorite in many pundits eyes has been returned to the AHL. Here is the list of those cut.
Mathias Niederberger – G *(Monarchs tryout)
Martin Jones – G
J.F. Berube – G
Colin Miller – D
Alex Roach – D
Nicolas Deslauriers – D
Vincent LoVerde – D * (Monarchs tryout)
Andy Andreoff – C
Jordan Weal – C
Robert Czarnik – C
Maxim Kitsyn – LW
Brian O’Neill – RW
Cameron Maclise RW * (Monarchs tryout)
Scott Sabourin – RW * (Monarchs tryout)
Valentin Zykov - RW *(Returned to juniors -- QMJHL Baie Comeau Drakkar)
in addition to the cuts there were two waiver moves executed by the Kings
Marc-Andre Cliche - C
Brandon Kozun - RW
Andrew Campbell - D
These players will have to clear waivers to be returned to the Monarchs. At this time though, Cliche it appears has been claimed while Campbell and Kozun have cleared.
This brings the total of 26 players cut combined with last round's junior send downs which you can find
right here.
So who are some of the surprise keepers and cuts? Let's break it down a little.
Surprise Cut
Andy Andreoff
I thought he would be in contention for the fourth line center spot for sure. However, he hasn't necessarily had the most stand out of performances in camp unlike some of his counterparts. Andreoff is still very young though at 22, and there is no need to rush him. A lot of people pumped Andreoff up prior to camp, myself included, so this comes as a surprise considering his desirable fourth line skill set and the hype surrounding him. If you think back though the Kings did perhaps rush other players of similar hype in the past like Schenn, Simmonds and Kyle Clifford. Right now there is just no reason to do so unless Andreoff really proves he can play at the NHL level. Why take the risk? Back to Manchester he goes for now but I wouldn't be surprised to see him mid season, particularly if King/Nolan/Fraser struggle.
Surprise Keeper
Nick Shore
The center who has maybe outplayed and outshone Andreoff is University of Denver product Nick Shore. The 20-year-old has had a tremendous rookie camp and has caught the eyes of quite a few people. His game against Colorado the other night where he had a goal and an assist was a tremendous performance, and at times his line was the best on the ice. Shore has also been decent in the faceoff circle, something the Kings have no doubt been looking very hard at since being dominated in the playoffs with the absence of Jarret Stoll. Shore, while going 43-percent that night which isn't exactly strong, took the most draws of any King player (21) and was matched up against Matt Duchene for nine of them. That's a very tough ask for a young player considering Duchene was one of the best faceoff centers in the league last year. Still some things he needs to improve on but he's shown to be a very smart two-way center with potential to be a good faceoff man. A natural replacement for Jarret Stoll perhaps? I'm fairly certain he'll be sent down at some point for some AHL experience but the fact that Shore has stuck around this long is very impressive. If you haven't check out Shore's NCAA numbers have a look:
Surprise Cut
Martin Jones
This might be a surprise just to me. I thought Jones would be around a little longer than Garon. However that doesn't seem to be the case, and after a pretty lackluster third period in Colorado it's really not that big of a surprise. Jones still has a long way to go to get over the up and down nature of his game.
Surprise Cut
Brandon Kozun
I figured Kozun would be one of the last players cut given the circumstance that the Kings could lose him to a waiver claim when cut. In what could have been his last camp as a King if he is claimed I was expecting an extended look at the smallish but gritty forward. That wasn't the case however and he and other non-waiver exempt player Marc-Andre Cliche were sent down. It's a numbers game with Kozun and he's just not going to beat out the competition at wing right now that fits into the King style a little better like Nolan, Clifford, King or Toffoli.
Surprise Keeper
Andrew Bodnarchuk
Do we really need to be keeping more defensemen?? It's a great problem to have though. Bodnarchuk was a free agent signing by the Kings from Boston in July of last year and was maybe the most impressive Monarchs defenseman of the season. A solid two-way dman, Bodnarchuk, like Campbell, was called up but not used by the Kings in 2012-13. It gave a nod to the player at how close he was to NHL ready. It's not a surprise when you look at it that way, but it is when you realize the Kings already have 8 NHL defenseman fighting for spots not counting guys like Forbort, Campbell, and Bodnarchuk. He's got his work cut out for him but he's still in the mix.
Other noteworthies still at camp include: Derek Forbort, Linden Vey, Mathieu Garon, Tanner Pearson.
The Kings have a few non pre-season game practice days here before playing Tuesday at Staples against the Ducks. Then it's on to Frozen Fury for the last two pre-season games against Colorado and the Rangers before the season commences on October 2nd.
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