For Oscar Fantenberg, his first NHL (exhibition) game did not start ideally, as Nikolay Goldobin of all people pickpocketed him:
But the 25-year-old Swedish import quickly found his footing, moving the puck crisply and efficiently throughout his Kings debut. Another adjective to describe his play? Decisive, like this gorgeous one-timed pass to Dustin Brown:
On the defensive end, there were times when Fantenberg looked a little sluggish getting back to the puck. But overall, his skating looked up to par, like when he angled off a hard-charging Jake Virtanen, also managing to separate him from the puck:
This, along with his whopping five shots on goal (second only to Jake Muzzin in the game) made for a promising first look. John Stevens was equally impressed:
I hadn’t seen the Fantenberg kid play before, and I thought he had a good account of himself, and for not knowing him, we put him on the right side and he hasn’t played a ton of right side. I thought he came in and gave us a pretty good performance. (LA Kings Insider)
***
On the other hand, Fantenberg's partner, Kurtis MacDermid had more difficulty moving the puck, especially in the first period.
He also played just 6:58. But it was a loud seven minutes, as he took on Andrey Pedan in the first fight of the season, was called for high sticking, and destroyed Ryan White at center ice:
This is a critical preseason for the punishing 23-year-old blueliner, who is not waiver exempt anymore.
***
Just 21, Adrian Kempe still has a lot more time to grow in the Los Angeles system. But for a player who has been frequently criticized for his lack of attention to detail, four minors in two periods -- a couple slashing, a hooking, and a high sticking -- was a poor way to re-introduce himself this season.
But boy, does he have speed to burn:
***
The Kings released the list of skaters who will be going to China for the exhibition games against the Vancouver Canucks. Not surprisingly, they'll be taking their stars for this NHL showcase event:
GOALTENDERS: Darcy Kuemper, Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff.
DEFENSEMEN: Drew Doughty, Oscar Fantenberg, Christian Folin, Derek Forbort, Paul LaDue, Alec Martinez, Kurtis McDermid and Jake Muzzin.
FORWARDS: Andy Andreoff, Jonny Brodzinski, Dustin Brown, Michael Cammalleri, Jeff Carter, Kyle Clifford, Nic Dowd, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Trevor Lewis, Michael Mersch, Jordan Nolan, Tanner Pearson, Nick Shore and Tyler Toffoli.
This list is also a clear indication of the players who the organization expects to challenge for an NHL spot. Only Alex Iafallo, Kevin Gravel, Jack Campbell, and veteran PTOs Brandon Prust, Andrei Loktionov, Brooks Laich, Chris Lee, and Shane Harper will be left behind in Los Angeles.
I'll be in China for these exhibitions, so look for my reports.
***
++++I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR ADVERTISERS! If you, or anyone you know would be interested in placing an ad here at HockeyBuzz, then send me a PM!++++
Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»