Be it from San Jose, LA, Toronto, Chicago, New York, or anywhere in between I just want to say Merry Christmas to all of my readers.
It has been a fun few months here writing for HB for the first time and without the continued support and interest from you, the reader, I wouldn't get as much out of this personally as I do. Thanks for staying engaged and interactive! Your comments are always appreciated. Have a happy holidays everyone!
On the hockey side of things we are currently in a roster freeze until the 27th, and the Kings do not take the ice for a game until Saturday the 28th against Nashville on the road. Kings will start off a Central division swing that starts in Nashville before hitting Chicago, Dallas, and St. Louis. It will be the first road trip the Kings have had since December 10th-15th when they headed out to Eastern Canada. Being a roadtrip immediately after the holidays against several very solid teams, this could be a challenging trip for the Kings who are coming off one of their more lackluster defeats of the season against Dallas.
With Jonathan Quick slated to come back any day now, there is some anticipation in regards to the roster move which will answer the current "Goaltending controversy" questions in LA. However, my answer remains the same.
Making the rounds lately in the King Universe is the remarks by Shark's GM Doug Wilson about the Kings' response to the Tomas Hertl injury. The article in which this came out was via Comcast Sports Bay Area reporter Kevin Kurz. Here is the full article Apparently Wilson didn't appreciate the un-apologetic response from Brown. It is a physical game and an unfortunate injury that's going to put a great young talent out for a while sadly. That being said these things happen, Brown was not intending to hurt Hertl, and it is an unfortunate circumstance. As far as Doug Wilson goes, he is frustrated, that's understandable. I doubt he means too much by it, after all this is the same man who defended Raffi Torres for his illegal hits to the head. You stand by your players. But hey, Brown is a knee hunting/head hunting player AND the dirtiest player in the league amirite?
Finally, the World Junior Championships kicks off tomorrow on Boxing day and the Kings will have two prospects in the tournament: Forward for team USA Hudson Fasching, and Russian forward Valentin Zykov.
Fasching, a 2013 draftee, has been having a fantastic start to his NCAA career with the University of Minnesota. He's a rumbling power forward with a touch of skill. I considered him to be one of the steals of the draft when the Kings were able to nab him in the 4th round. Check out his stats.
Zykov, also a 2013 draft selection, has been equally as impressive with Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the QMJHL and looks to be one of the headlining scorers for team Russia. Zykov was also considered a steal, as he fell to the second round in a very deep draft in 2013. The Kings seized the opportunity and traded up to select Zykov in the early 2nd.
A big congrats goes out to both players, who could have very big tournaments for their respective squads.
Fasching and the U.S. Kick off the tournament against the Czech Republic Thursday morning, December 26th at 11:30 EST, 8:30 Pacific.
Zykov and team Russia fires up on against Norway at 10pm EST, 7am PST.
That about does it. Happy holidays to everyone, be safe and have fun with all your friends, families, and gifts!
Here is my gift to all of you in case you haven't already seen it. Enjoy.
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