Gann Matsuda continues his conversation with LA Kings head coach Terry Murray. This time it’s about scoring and how the Kings will address the five-on-five needs. Check it out!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — Entering his third season as head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, Terry Murray has watched his team improve each year.

In his first season, 2008-09, the Kings finished 14th in the Western Conference and 26th in the overall National Hockey League standings, well out of the playoff picture.

But the silver lining from that year was a dramatic drop in goals against and shots allowed, as the team learned to protect the “home plate” area in the slot, right in front of the net.

After one year under Murray’s tutelage, the 2009-10 Kings broke through with a 101-point finish to their regular season, launching them into sixth place in the Western Conference and into the playoffs for the first time since 2002.

The Kings went into the playoffs as the underdogs against the Henrik Sedin-led Vancouver Canucks, and, despite showing flashes of brilliance, the Canucks finally capitalized on the Kings’ weaknesses and eliminated them in six games.

“Normally, at the end of the day, you see the best teams winning the Stanley Cup,” said Murray. “When you’re getting into those critical games, when things have to happen—protecting that one-goal lead—all we had to do in a couple of those games was score on the two-on-ones and breakaways we had. In game 6, we could’ve won that game and put it away with that one-goal lead going into the third period.”

“It ends up sorting itself out at the end of the day, and it shows you what we, as a team and as an organization, need to focus on or what we need to get better at.”

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Gann Matsuda is keeping busy with Part 2 of his interview with LA Kings head coach Terry Murray. Here he talks about the defense and goaltending. Check it out!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — As the saying goes in hockey, defense and goaltending is what wins championships and for the Los Angeles Kings, while their goaltending looks to be on the rise, there may be a question or two on defense, despite the presence of James Norris Trophy finalist Drew Doughty and the increasingly confident Jack Johnson.

Veteran defenseman Sean O’Donnell is now with the Philadelphia Flyers and Randy Jones has signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning over the summer.

In the case of Jones, conventional wisdom dictates that his departure actually improved the Kings defense—call it addition by subtraction. In the case of the 38-year-old O’Donnell (he will be 39 in early October), time has taken its toll, which became quite evident during the playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks.

Nevertheless, add in the loss of veteran blue liner Matt Greene to a shoulder injury for at least the first month of the season suddenly, the Kings defenseman corps looks rather thin, even with the signing of unrestricted free agent defenseman Willie Mitchell, 32, to a two-year contract on August 26.

But head coach Terry Murray does not seem worried, at least, not yet, pointing out that one option to fill a spot on the blue line will be defenseman Davis Drewiske, who suffered what was believed to be a dislocated shoulder on January 4, 2010, and was never able to work his way back into the lineup.

“Drewiske is going to be ready to go,” said Murray. “He had a very unfortunate injury last year and I think it really had a big effect on him emotionally because of other injuries he’s been through.”

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Gann Matsuda had a lengthy interview with Terry Murray last week in preparation for the start of training camp. Here’s part one talking about his reflections on last season. Check it out!

EL SEGUNDO, CA — With his team’s 2010 training camp coming up in less than two weeks, Los Angeles Kings head coach Terry Murray has returned to Southern California to prepare, knowing that his team must improve upon what they accomplished last year.

That said, the Kings’ 2009-10 season was one where the team took a big step forward.

“[Our team showed] good improvement, improvement that, I think, all of us were looking forward to as we started last year,” said Murray. “We had a start that was very important. It was a good start, the team played well. We were looking at the [line of Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams] as, probably, the best line in hockey at the start of the year, the first twenty games. They really gave us the energy and the momentum that we hoped would come out of the previous season.”

“I felt, over the course of the year, the players did a great job in maintaining the focus and the momentum that was built,” added Murray. “There were very few stretches where we took any kind of a big step backwards for an extended period of time, and we were able to live up to our own expectations as we got to the [midpoint] of the year.”

The hot start and continued success through the first few months of the season not only made those expectations attainable, but they also added to them—the Kings not only had to make the playoffs, but they could not be satisfied with that. Indeed, they now had to put in a respectable showing and not be a first-round pushover.

“I thought our expectations got to be pretty high,” Murray noted. “Our goals got to be higher, and I was really pleased with how things unfolded as the season came to an end.”

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Los Angeles Kings Rookie Camp will kick off this year as part of Hockey Fest 2010 in El Segundo, California at the Toyota Sports Center. The camp, as usual, will last three days (September 11-13). The Rookie prospects will play in two exhibition games against the Rookies in the Phoenix Coyotes organization on September 14th and 15th in Glendale, Arizona. The prospects, and Rookie Camp in general, may be getting a little more attention this season than in previous years. “Rebuilding” has been a staple in the front office since 2006, and next weekend provides a first-hand look at players that have developed under the label as a future Los Angeles King. But what makes next weekend’s rookie camp even more appealing? Some of these players have the talent in which expectations for production in the NHL this season isn’t far-fetched. That’s right, this year. With a few holes in the offense, and maybe a spot or two open defensively, this is game seven for the prospects. There’s no question this is where NHL-caliber talent is tested, with few names breaking through the wall that denies so many players from the most talented hockey league in the world. There’s a lot of speculation in Los Angeles about the Kings roster regressing this off-season, and a few of these prospects may help shoulder the confidence and high expectations that were built throughout the 2009-2010 season. Below, I’ll break down a few of the prospects that I believe have the ability to crack into the NHL at Rookie Camp Weekend.

Thomas Hickey
Defense
It’s no secret the Kings’ selection of Hickey as fourth overall in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft was filled with feelings of skepticism. An under-sized defenseman at just 5’10″ with lack of a scoring touch, the selection was puzzling to some. Hickey enters Rookie Camp on the bubble for not only making the Kings roster, but securing his overall status as a future asset to the Kings blue line. Hickey was slated to spend a full season with the Manchester Monarchs last year, but shoulder surgery kept him out for all but 23 games. Hickey becomes more attractive because of Matt Greene‘s injury. Greene will be out for 2-3 months with a shoulder injury, and a stay-at-home defenseman is needed to fill that void. This gives Hickey the opportunity to slip into the lineup, along with ample time to test his NHL ability. Hickey’s physical play surprises most because of his size. His solid skating ability, and great foot movement fits two perks that are on the Kings radar for a defensive replacement for Greene. The clock is ticking for Thomas Hickey.

Brayden Schenn
Forward
Schenn is still fresh in the organization as the 5th overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Schenn is coming off of another season with the Brandon Wheat Kings out of the Western Hockey League, tallying his highest point totals in a season that saw him play in only 59 games. Schenn has the opportunity to jump straight to the NHL from the WHL, which is very rare. Schenn may even be tested at the Left Wing position, leaving the face-off circle which he has been accustomed to in Brandon. At this point, Schenn looks to have the potential to have top-six forward talent. Alexei Ponikarovsky will be taking Left Wing duties on the third line, so look for Schenn to slip into the second line Left Wing position. Taking a look at all of the prospects in this year’s rookie camp, Schenn is the clear front-runner for NHL success this season. In recent years, especially since the lockout, we’ve seen players fresh out of the draft make immediate impacts on teams. Schenn will be given the opportunity, the only question is what he will provide once given the chance.

Jake Muzzin
Defense
Muzzin, who was signed by the Los Angeles Kings in January, is coming off of a very impressive year in the OHL for the Salt Ste. Marie Geryhounds. Muzzin tallied 67 points in 64 games and was named the OHL‘s 2009-2010 defenseman of the year. Built with size at 6’4″, Muzzin’s strengths on the blue-line strongly overshadow his weaknesses, which scouts say are hard to find. Touted for his quick release and crisp passing, Muzzin’s abilities make him a threat in the defensive zone along with the capabilities of having an impact offensively when he needs to. Muzzin’s demeanor on the ice can be intimidating for opposing forwards. His physical presence in front of the net is key, and has proven to be able to drop the gloves in the OHL. Muzzin’s transition game is quite impressive as well. Can’t go wrong with a big defenseman with strong defensive and offensive attributes, and a player who can find open lanes to feed offensive rushes.

Johan Fransson
Defense
Fransson was considered the top Swedish defenseman in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, but injuries swayed his decision to stay in his home country. Coming off of a 30 point season in the Swedish Elite League, the Kings signed Fransson to an entry-level contract this summer. Fransson’s strong suits are his skating and offensive abilities. Thomas Hickey may have a slight edge when it comes to making the roster because of his stay-at-home style of play, which is needed with the loss of Matt Greene. However, whether or not Fransson starts the year in Manchester or Los Angeles, expect to see him in a Kings uniform this season. Still young at 25 years of age, Fransson’s future is bright as a pairing with Willie Mitchell, Rob Scuderi, or Matt Greene when he returns. Thomas Hickey may be the safe bet to start the season in Los Angeles, but look for Fransson to pull ahead a few months down the road when Matt Greene recovers from injury.

The 2010 Rookie Camp Roster is listed as the following, according to Rich Hammond of the LA Kings Insider:
Forwards: Riley Brace, Kyle Clifford, Robert Czarnik, Corey Elkins, Zach Harnden, Ray Kaunisto, John Kemp, Dwight King, Brandon Kozun, Andrei Loktionov, Jordan Nolan, Michael Pelech, Brayden Schenn, Tyler Toffoli, Linden Vey, Jordan Weal.