The Best Real Reality Show: Training Camp

[Carla Muller]

We all have guilty pleasures. One of mine is television – especially anything Dick Wolf and reality television shows like Survivor. The funny thing is it recently occurred to me that the original reality show is actually training camp. Sure, the players do not get followed by cameras everywhere – outside of Canada - but the stakes are high and for some life changing. The universe expected Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin and this year Stamkos and Doughty to make the leap to the NHL.

Karl Alzner was supposed to be NHL ready and wasn’t. The Oilers slated Sam Gagner for juniors but he had a different plan in mind. And then executed it. For many others, this is an iced version of Survivor where food is available, the accommodations are far better but instead of making fire they shoot for the red light and its accompanying siren to keep them on the NHL Island. Or not.

Just since the lock-out, I can name two players easily who became Kings who were not slotted to do so. Everyone remembers fondly Kopitar and that sweet hello he gave to Pronger his rookie year. The Kings expected to welcome him to Manchester. All he did was show up, play hard and force the organization to change their plans. For all the talk of how the losing environment would spoil the kids and their development, not a peep of that was said about this Slovenian. Not a word.

The second King who earned a job in training camp was Kevin Dallman. It is easy to forget about him since he spent more time in the press box than the ice. To stay in game shape last season, I watched a practice where every other King hit the locker room while Dallman stayed behind for a game of shinny with the coaches. To his credit, he and the coaches played full throttle. Wherever the Kings wanted him, he went with his lips sealed. I would bet money that he was not one of the bridge and filler players who squelched the young core last season.

Last training camp, few jobs were up for grabs. Lombardi spent the first week in July signing diamonds that were really coal in disguise. Simultaneously, Lombardi said that the Ducks championship had no effect on his choices, signings or plans for this organization. Hindsight is of course always 20/20 and provides clarity most of us would kill for if only that clarity came to us at a time when it could make a difference.

The one thing I held onto from the Breakfast with the GM and waited to discuss is the slice of humble pie Lombardi ate in front of the 750+ people who were in attendance. With some reflection and distance, Lombardi shared his own critique of his job performance then. Here is his self assessment:

• He’d make moves a lot slower;
• If he wasn’t going to do it right, why did he do it at all?
• He forgot there was no foundation before his arrival;
• He’d go slower in the hiring process without skipping steps (hello Crawford);
• There was no way he could satisfy Kings’ fans after the Ducks’ Cup because Los Angeles was nowhere near the place Anaheim was (then or now);
• “We got too caught up in catching Anaheim”;
• (He got) “a little too aggressive with bridge players”;

As the saying goes, that was then. This is now. I will say this for Lombardi. He is damned if he does and now damned when he doesn’t. Last summer, the hand wringing was everywhere about the lackluster signings. Lombardi’s obvious weakness is those very same dreadful unrestricted signings. This summer he opted out of that over-priced shopping spree. Most media reports now say that earned the Kings a spot in the Tavares sweepstakes before the team has even hit the ice much less played a game…egad!

I am most excited about this year’s Kings precisely because there is a palpable sense that every player attending camp knows jobs are available. Boyle, Moulson and Purcell are slated for the big club. That is not the hockey equivalent of making this team – or guaranteeing their spots. I would be surprised if Boyle became a Monarch in October. Honestly, if Moulson or Purcell went down – I could see that happening.

Last year, Moulson came up when the Kings needed a defensive forward. Well, he went down when that was not his game then. I remember reading in either the Times or the Daily News how the organization suggested he fill the spot the team needed in his next trip up. Truth be told, while Purcell was one of the first guys I researched last season, other than a great nickname, he has yet to be ‘Teddy Ball Game’ at the NHL level. That tells me that anything is possible. Giuliano proved that last season. Many hated him since he never scored a goal. Well he prevented more than a few and stayed at the NHL level because of it. Who could be this camp’s surprise?

My gut says anyone – absolutely anyone – could earn a spot. Here are some of my speculations for the Kings:

• This team may not make the play-offs but we will no longer need to hire the CSI crew to find the players’ hearts or search for living donors;
• Wayne Simmonds will surprise – he played full throttle last weekend. I don’t know that he is NHL ready; but he is far readier than some projections I have read;
• Oscar Moller will make the team – just not the 2008-2009 version. He needs to get physically bigger and play stronger on the puck while under pressure;
• Gauthier will be a better veteran presence than people think. I listened to an interview on XM this off-season with AHL Phantom's Head Coach, Craig Berube. He could not say enough positive things about how Gauthier handled the demotion. There was no attitude, chipped shoulder or anything – just a professional through and through. Period. And here is another thing, he wants to be a King . This will be one motivated training camp participant.

Speculate away on who will be a King, won’t be a King yet and where Los Angeles will end up on the NHL food chain.

Carla Muller

Carla.hockeygal@att.net

[vindogla]

My glass is half full too. To me it's a uniquely different and exciting time to be a Kings fan. The mindset of the entire organization, at the very least, is much different from what we've seen before, and possibly could lead to incredible changes for the Kings in the near future. Go. Kids. Go.

[24diving]

I take umbrage with his comment, now, that there was no foundation when he took over. At that time, he even said otherwise and in truth there was a descent foundation, but he went about destroying that foundation with his stupid moves. Sure, one of those moves, Jack Johnson, may pan out big, but for the last two years it put the team behind the point where it was when he took over. He has now wiped most of the talent that was in place with the exception of Frolov, Brown and Kopitar. Gone are Demitra, Gleason, Belanger, Norstrom, Miller, Cammalleri and Visnovsky, to name the ones that spring to mind. I'll give him that the defensive prospects didn't pan out as hoped leaving that area thin, but the immediate need for replacements was not there when he took over because of the guys that were already signed with the Kings. So once again Lombardi is re-writing history to make those who don't bother to really give any thought to the truth to make it sound like he wasn't the cause of the demolition of the foundation he inherited.

[MaxwellSmart]

Originally Posted by Carla Muller

... but he is far readier than some projections I have read;

Good read, but is "readier" really a word?

Not very Chicago Manual of Style.

[Carla Muller]

Originally Posted by MaxwellSmart

Good read, but is \\"readier\\" really a word?

Drat!!! Nabbed by the grammar police again. I plead guilty and ask for mercy.

[Crockett77]

Originally Posted by 24diving

I take umbrage with his comment, now, that there was no foundation when he took over. At that time, he even said otherwise and in truth there was a descent foundation, but he went about destroying that foundation with his stupid moves. Sure, one of those moves, Jack Johnson, may pan out big, but for the last two years it put the team behind the point where it was when he took over. He has now wiped most of the talent that was in place with the exception of Frolov, Brown and Kopitar. Gone are Demitra, Gleason, Belanger, Norstrom, Miller, Cammalleri and Visnovsky, to name the ones that spring to mind. I'll give him that the defensive prospects didn't pan out as hoped leaving that area thin, but the immediate need for replacements was not there when he took over because of the guys that were already signed with the Kings. So once again Lombardi is re-writing history to make those who don't bother to really give any thought to the truth to make it sound like he wasn't the cause of the demolition of the foundation he inherited.

You mean this

Lombardi, 45, has eighteen years of National Hockey League front office experience, including seven years as the Sharks’ general manager from 1996 - 2003.

“I’m excited about the opportunity I have been given here with the Kings,” said Lombardi. “I chose the Kings for a number of reasons. First off, I’m a builder, and I see a foundation put in place by Dave Taylor from which to build from and take to the next level.”

“I see a commitment to win here, I see a Staples Center that is second to none in the National Hockey League, I see one of the top practice facilities in the league, and I know that the Los Angeles Kings have a reputation for doing things first class in everything they do for their players,” added Lombardi.

Entire Article A New Era For The Kings: Dean Lombardi Named President/General Manager

[24diving]

Yup, that's the one. Funny how the story changed, isn't it? There is also a later quote from the following November where he states that it wouldn't be a complete rebuild, but I'm too lazy to look for it now.

[Carla Muller]

Originally Posted by 24diving

I take umbrage with his comment, now, that there was no foundation when he took over.

I should have included more context in addressing what Lombardi meant when he said that there was NO foundation. My apologies for that.

Lombardi was referring not to the players that were here; but rather, the fact that the entire non-player portion of the organization was nearly all fired. He had to go out and hire an entire scouting staff, management staff, head bottle washer, cook and the like. He had no Hextall, Jeff Solomon, any coaches... in other words it was Lombardi, Lombardi and Lombardi. When he was in San Jose, the organization had an established infrastructure. When he got to Los Angeles, the infra-structure off the ice had all been let go.

[Crockett77]

Originally Posted by Carla Muller

I should have included more context in addressing what Lombardi meant when he said that there was NO foundation. My apologies for that.

Lombardi was referring not to the players that were here; but rather, the fact that the entire non-player portion of the organization was nearly all fired. He had to go out and hire an entire scouting staff, management staff, head bottle washer, cook and the like. He had no Hextall, Jeff Solomon, any coaches... in other words it was Lombardi, Lombardi and Lombardi. When he was in San Jose, the organization had an established infrastructure. When he got to Los Angeles, the infra-structure off the ice had all been let go.

That's also BS.


When he took over for Chuck Grillo in 95, there was a purge of coaching, management and players no different then than here.


A freaking week before Lombardi was hired, the Kings relieved Taylor of his GM duties. The coaching was let go. That's it.

There is no doubt that Lombardi wanted them gone. probably a prerequisite to his hiring.

In his initial interviews and at his 1st draft he clearly stated that there wouldn't be any issue with staff, getting up to speed and the like.

The scouting staff was intact. The previous GM Dave Taylor was still around, who else could any GM want as reference for past decisions.

“I don’t think it’s imperative [to hire a head coach immediately],” said Lombardi.

He very quickly brought in his "Team". Some of which he worked with in the past and was working with right after his hire.

As far as management, there was no big turnover. Most of the non-hockey management was AEG.

Well Lombardio cannot have it both ways.

Read, look familiar
Doug's Dungeon: Dump Dean Lombardi