Frozen Royalty: Dustin Penner Obliterates All Doubts About His Physical Conditioning

Hockey Fest 2011 is in the can and the Kings are set to open training camp. Gann Matsuda of Frozen Royalty has a nice little write-up on Dustin Penner and his physical conditioning coming into the 2011-2012 season.

LOS ANGELES — Back in July, during the Los Angeles Kings’ 2011 Development Camp for their young prospects, veteran and much-maligned left wing Dustin Penner emerged from the team’s dressing/weight room area to take a break during a workout.

Penner made his appearance on a day when the local media covering the team, including those representing two major newspapers in the area, the team’s official web site, a web site operated by NBC Sports, and several other web sites known for having solid reputations and writers with real sources, were all gathered at the Kings’ practice facility to cover the Development Camp.

As the target of frequent, heavy criticism for his poor play after he was traded to the Kings, Penner immediately became the big story, not the young prospects.

Following the Kings’ first round exit from the playoffs in April, Penner was openly criticized by Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi and Kings head coach Terry Murray for his poor conditioning. But he did not take the criticism negatively. Instead, he used it as motivation, spending at least three days each week during the off-season working out.

Indeed, when he came out of the dressing room area and spoke to the the throng of reporters that fateful day in July, Penner stood there in sweaty, workout clothing, looking trim, fit—considerably leaner and meaner than he did at any time after he joined the Kings last season.

At the time, Penner said that he had already lost about ten pounds.

Read the rest on Frozen Royalty.