Kings 'Drafting Record' of Defensemen Past 18 Years

[Stemmer]

The reason the Kings have done so poorly at developing D-men can be attributed to one thing...patience. The Kings have squandered,dealt and given up on so many D-men in their history that it has become pathetic. We either rush D-men too soon(Aki Berg),try to have them be something they are not (Larry Murphy) was not a physical Dman but was one helluva a point player and play maker. Alexei Zhitnik was dealt because old swindler Bruce needed the money and Wayne wanted his buddy Grant in LA...Blake,arguably the best D-man this franchise has ever drafted was traded because...he wanted a big fat raise...Grebeshkov(rushed too soon) is starting to come into his own in Edmonton,ALilja is a good Dman for Detroit was never given much of a opportunity in LA. KTimonen was drafted and played 6 pro seasons in Finland before coming to the NHL with Nashville never saw LA except as a visitor. Too bad! DHoganson was drafted(1969) and saw the NHL after a year in the minors[Sprinfield(that was because the Kings had few resources back then)]. DHutchison was a f...ing goon,GSargent was a great puck rushing D-man who left when he could...In 1979-80 LA drafted what should have been the core of their defense for 10 years JWells,MHardy and LMurphy. Only Wells was not dealt. In 1981 LA drafted Dean Kennedy from Brandon(WHL) just ahead of CChelios[(from Moose Jaw)(SJHL)]...MHeidt had promise but didn't have NHL courage and found a home in Germany. GGalley was a good late round pick in '83 but he too was traded away and found most of his success elsewhere. In '84 we traded with Chicago to get their top minor league 'tender Bob Janecyk and their First rounder(6th) for our first(3rd). They took Ed Olcyzk,LA took CRedmond instead of DBodger. With the 4th pick in 1987 we took under sized,slow footed WMcBean. He was terrible but at least we dealt him and got something valuable in return. Too bad the scouts couldn't see their way to drafting Joe Sakic in '87. After '87 we hit some good luck with Blake,Sydor and Zhitnik. Even JCorvo was a good find...but MBiron was awful and AShefer was a wasted pick since we never signed him. Ditto for Tmantyla who may have been a poor man's Timonen... But like the rest before most/all were dealt for one reason or another.The story goes on and on the Kings have either rushed Dmen too soon or have given up on their young Dmen too easily. Defense is the toughest position to play and master...For all the mistakes this franchise has made I hope like hell they don't rush THickey and let him finish up the 2008-09 in Seattle where he can play 35-40 minutes per game...Especially since PHarrold and JPiskula will given shots after some of the D has been dismantled at the 2008 deadline(surely Blake,Modry,Priessing will be dealt)with Blake returning in the summer.
PS Besides Hickey we have a host of good young D-men JFransson(if we can sign him)TJFast,JMeyers,NAndersen,JRyan,RPetiot and PBaier. And they will be ready to turn pro next season 2008-09.

DPS We could definitely use a superstar young stud in the system be it either DDoughty,APietrangelo or whoever. But the Kings need to have patience and restrain from rushing the D-men...It takes young D-men 3-5 years to show their wares... If a team hits a homerun with a top pick it is one less gapping problem to worry about...especially on DEFENSE...

[Stemmer]

The reason the Kings have done so poorly at developing D-men can be attributed to one thing...patience. The Kings have squandered,dealt and given up on so many D-men in their history that it has become pathetic. We either rush D-men too soon(Aki Berg),try to have them be something they are not (Larry Murphy) was not a physical Dman but was one helluva a point player and play maker. Alexei Zhitnik was dealt because old swindler Bruce needed the money and Wayne wanted his buddy Grant in LA...Blake,arguably the best D-man this franchise has ever drafted was traded because...he wanted a big fat raise...Grebeshkov(rushed too soon) is starting to come into his own in Edmonton,ALilja is a good Dman for Detroit was never given much of a opportunity in LA. KTimonen was drafted and played 6 pro seasons in Finland before coming to the NHL with Nashville never saw LA except as a visitor. Too bad! DHoganson was drafted(1969) and saw the NHL after a year in the minors[Sprinfield(that was because the Kings had few resources back then)]. DHutchison was a f...ing goon,GSargent was a great puck rushing D-man who left when he could...In 1979-80 LA drafted what should have been the core of their defense for 10 years JWells,MHardy and LMurphy. Only Wells was not dealt. In 1981 LA drafted Dean Kennedy from Brandon(WHL) just ahead of CChelios[(from Moose Jaw)(SJHL)]...MHeidt had promise but didn't have NHL courage and found a home in Germany. GGalley was a good late round pick in '83 but he too was traded away and found most of his success elsewhere. In '84 we traded with Chicago to get their top minor league 'tender Bob Janecyk and their First rounder(6th) for our first(3rd). They took Ed Olcyzk,LA took CRedmond instead of DBodger. With the 4th pick in 1987 we took under sized,slow footed WMcBean. He was terrible but at least we dealt him and got something valuable in return. Too bad the scouts couldn't see their way to drafting Joe Sakic in '87. After '87 we hit some good luck with Blake,Sydor and Zhitnik. Even JCorvo was a good find...but MBiron was awful and AShefer was a wasted pick since we never signed him. Ditto for Tmantyla who may have been a poor man's Timonen... But like the rest before most/all were dealt for one reason or another.The story goes on and on the Kings have either rushed Dmen too soon or have given up on their young Dmen too easily. Defense is the toughest position to play and master...For all the mistakes this franchise has made I hope like hell they don't rush THickey and let him finish up the 2008-09 in Seattle where he can play 35-40 minutes per game...Especially since PHarrold and JPiskula will given shots after some of the D has been dismantled at the 2008 deadline(surely Blake,Modry,Priessing will be dealt)with Blake returning in the summer.
PS Besides Hickey we have a host of good young D-men JFransson(if we can sign him)TJFast,JMeyers,NAndersen,JRyan,RPetiot and PBaier. And they will be ready to turn pro next season 2008-09.

DPS We could definitely use a superstar young stud in the system be it either DDoughty,APietrangelo or whoever. But the Kings need to have patience and restrain from rushing the D-men...It takes young D-men 3-5 years to show their wares... If a team hits a homerun with a top pick it is one less gapping problem to worry about...especially on DEFENSE...

[kingznut99]

Am I seeing double??

[KingBiscuit]

everyone hates this thread, so I'll let it go.

but facts are facts; these are the only defensemen playing in the NHL that were drafted by the Kings in the last 10 years: Visnovsky, Lilja, Kaberle, and Grebeshkov. 1 excellent defenseman and 3 marginal ones.

/