With the 2009/2010 NHL season now officially complete, KingsCast continues it’s offseason programming with a brand new episode of collected material from the past year. Unreleased interviews with players, media, fans and colleagues, cut segments, behind the scenes looks and stuff too risque for prime time. Enjoy!

Jon Moncrief of the Los Angeles Kings Examiner stops by to talk Kings hockey. Tune in as he gives us an exclusive inside perspective on Frolov, Kopitar, Smyth, possible trades, team needs and much more. Great interview from a passionate and knowledgeable hockey journalist.

Read Jon Moncrief here.

The Los Angeles Kings, enter the new decade with a 2 game winning streak and an Olympic sized boost of confidence. KingsCast, attends the game, has a run-in with Alexander Ovechkin and wreaks havoc at the Celebrities vs Alumni Game. So far 2010, so good! Question of the Day: Who is your favorite hockey player?

Guest blogger Alex Kinkopf joins us again to break down the upcoming month of Kings Hockey.

January presents the Los Angeles Kings with 14 games; and, with a look at the schedule, the results will play a large factor in the outcome of the season as 9 games feature Western Conference opponents. Staples Center will play host to eight of the fourteen contests, a great opportunity for the Kings to take advantage of home ice. The Kings currently stand at 3rd in the Pacific and 8th in the Western Conference with 49 points.

Ovie and the Washington Capitals welcome 2010:
Los Angeles will kick off the new year as host to a team that sits in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. A tough opponent indeed, but all of the pieces are in place for a victory to inject a boost of momentum into this young, injury bugged club. Washington, led by Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are coming off of losses to Carolina and San Jose. Expect the guys to come out hard in front of a home crowd in an effort to shut down the poster-boy of the NHL and start 2010, and more importantly, this month right.

Seven Game Home-stand:
Starting on the 7th against Detroit and ending on the 21st against Buffalo, the Kings have their longest home-stand of the season. A wonderful opportunity for the team to get back on their feet in the comfort of their home building. However, the opponents don’t provide Kings fans much comfort. We see the Western Conference leading Sharks twice, a Red Wings team that is close in the rear-view mirror standings-wise, and a team in Buffalo who is holding their own with a 3rd spot in the Eastern.

Five Game Road Trip:
This month ends with five consecutive matchups on the road. Tough opponents yet again including Detroit, Boston, and the Eastern leading New Jersey Devils with a couple of no-excuses stops in Toronto and Columbus against a couple of struggling teams.

Saturated with San Jose (left):
Arguably the most important three games the month of January has to offer for Los Angeles. Twice at home, once at the Pavilion, the Kings will be meeting a surging division-foe that is suddenly 10 points ahead of the Kings in the standings as well as current leaders of the Pacific Division and Western Conference. If Los Angeles wants to pose any threat as Pacific Division champs, two of these games must be regulation victories.

Erik Ersberg:
I’d like to see Erik Ersberg get a couple of starts in January, and expect him to get the call. As I mentioned in my last post, I think a key part to building his comfort and confidence is to put him in goal in front of the home crowd. Terry Murray was quoted as saying “Quick gives us the best chance to win at home” earlier in the year. That may be true, but I’m not completely on board with his statement. I could harp on this forever but here’s how I see it: Quick is a 2nd year goalie tied for the league lead in starts. Fatigue is bound to set in at some point, he’s tabbed to play in the Olympics (as a backup), and it’s vital to keep your starting goalie fresh. This may not be an issue to some, but developing your backup goaltender, and keeping your 1st stringer fresh throughout the season can eventually.. well, save your season.

Final Thoughts:
Jarret Stoll’s return from a groin injury is much anticipated, especially in the face-off circle. Will this be the month we find a winger who can mesh nicely with Kopitar and Smyth? I expect the Brown experiment to last a few more games to see how things work out. Purcell as their line-mate looks all but finished. I don’t expect Lombardi to make a trade in the near future to replace Williams’ absence, rather as a trade-deadline deal if the transaction is plausible. There’s no question we’re struggling to find a working option, but more time is needed to find the guy who can step up, and Dustin Brown may be that guy.

How do you Kings fans feel about the possibility of a trade to fill Williams’ hole? Sooner or later? Any possible transactions floating through your heads? Let’s hear it!

The Holidays come to a close, the Kings are back in action and the injuries never stop mounting. That’s right, it’s the Los Angeles Kings. Here’s hoping the team can dig deep and figure out a way to win. Question of the Day: To help cope with the Williams injury, who would you trade and for what?

The Los Angeles Kings are on an 8-day break so we take the time to spread some holiday cheer. In this episode we show you some Christmas cards we received from players on the Kings, talk about the team’s performance and announce our give away on December 28th. Question of the Day: What gift do you give the Kings fan in your life?

Knocking off the defending Stanley Cup champions is such a good feeling! Losing to the lowly Nashville Predators is not. We take you through these games, interview PsychoHockeyLady and anoint one rabid ‘Fan of the Game.’ If you’re Coach Murray, what do you do what that 4th line?

In the 3rd and final chapter of the KingsCast ‘Vegas Trilogy,’ it all comes together as Keith and Chris explore Sin City, interview more rabid Kings fans and expose the uniqueness of Frozen Fury. Viva Las Vegas!

In the last week before Pre-Season, Keith and Chris talk about what’s going on in the NHL, including Dan Cloutier, the Phoenix Coyotes, Paul Kelly, Derek Armstrong, Kings Rookie Camp and the KingsCast Frozen Fury event.

I’m sure LA Kings fans everywhere are looking forward to seeing ‘Scuds’ in black & purple making plays like this!

When you think of a city that would possibly host  a Hockey Fest, Los Angeles isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind. But with a rabid core of passionate and championship starved fans, and in a season that appears to finally be heading in the right direction, the Los Angeles Kings organization decided to stage the first annual Hockey Fest 2009 in celebration of this loyalty and in hopes of marketing the youthful core and hopeful future success to the city. Taking place in the heart of the Nokia Theater, also home of the Grammys, Hockey Fest converged for opening ceremonies in front of several hundred anxious and spirited fans in what hopes to be the start of a season of full of shiny trophies and merriment of their own.

On a hot and steamy day in the Los Angeles area, Kings fans and Angelenos marched down the streets of downtown with hockey on their minds. People of all ages, many adorning Kings jerseys and t-shirts, filled the grand arena of the Nokia in what kicks off the beginning of the Hockey season.

With interactive trivia games on the jumbo-tron, a video montage of classic Kings hockey moments and the presentation of players past, present and future, this epic all weekend event commenced. ESPN Hockey writer and analyst, John Buccigross, acted as MC, mixing humor and energy into the crowd of vivacious fans. In one of the most powerful moments of the evening, captain Dustin Brown provided his insight into what feels like the most tight knit and team oriented squad he’s ever seen assembled in several years of being a member of the organization.

With high hopes of making the playoffs and bringing a well deserved Stanley Cup to Kings fans, the organization brings to Los Angeles the first annual Hockey Fest which aspires to be only the beginning of long awaited success. KingsCast will be covering the much anticipated event this year with full media access, so keep an eye out for episodes of Overtime, Podcasts, blogs, photos and interviews with players and staff. Stay tuned…

As a fan of the Los Angeles Kings, we are conditioned to slow starts, rapid fall-offs and just not making the playoffs. It happens. With only one Stanely Cup Finals appearance in 43 years, it’s understandable for an LA Kings fan to expect very little. Since the lockout we’ve seen the likes of Jeremy Roenick, Brian Willsie and Yutaka Fukufuji come through the ranks. We also saw a significant regime change that resulted in three consecutive top 5 picks. To date there’s nothing to hang our hat on. Fans laugh at us, mock us and expect us fizzle out in the bottom of the Pacific Division yet again. Well, I’m here today to tell you that this is not the case anymore. Be on notice, NHL fans, the Los Angeles Kings are coming for you. With a fresh dose of confidence, here’s why:

1. Ryan Smyth – While this 33-year old former Oiler-for-life may have had his injuries and could be “past his prime”, his 26 goals and 33 assists for 59 points last season will drastically help this offensively anemic team. Why? Matt Moulson started on the top line last season and in 7 games he had 1 goal and 0 assists. So Kyle Calder took over. He scored a slightly more but still dreadful 8 goals and 19 assists for 27 points in 79 games. That’s a 31 point differential. Not to mention Ryan Smyth is loaded with character while Matt Moulson looks like Snoopy and Kyle Calder was on the Price is Right.

2. Consistent goaltending – Sure, the young and relatively unproven tandem of Jonathan Quick and Erik Ersberg could be a flash in the pan but I prefer them to the following netminders who have passed through the organization: Mathieu Garon, Jason LaBarbera, Dan Cloutier, Barry Brust, Yutaka Fukufuji, Sean Burke (the guy practically qualified for AARP when with the team) and Dan Taylor. If Quick or Ersberg should stumble or succumb to injury, Jonathan Bernier (who seems like he now has his head on straight) will be ready for the challenge.

3. Dean Lombardi – Regardless of the fact that he has given us three seasons of consistent losing, he is re-building the right way. Long gone are the days when you trade Jeff Tambellini and Denis Grebeshkov for Mark Parrish and Brent Sopel just to make the playoffs with no shot at winning a Stanley Cup. Dean Lombardi has ripped apart and re-built our scouting system, development programs, video development and team. After a bit of losing, I’m happy we have Drew Doughty, Thomas Hickey, Wayne Simmonds, Oscar Moller and many others. We have a strong stable of rookies who are already making an impact and many more coming up.

4. Defense – Remember Nathan Dempsey, Jeff Cowan, Mike Weaver and Olev Tverdovsky? They have now been replaced by Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi, Matt Greene and Sean O’Donnell. This team was seventh in the league on the Penalty Kill last season without Rob Scuderi and, for much of the season, Jack Johnson. Think you’ll miss Kyle Quincey? Not if Jack Johnson’s strong performance at the IIHF World Championships this year holds up (7 points in 9 games). Drew Doughty lead all rookies in Average Time on Ice by a large margin (a full 2:17 over second place Luke Schenn). Will he suffer that sophomore slump? I don’t think so.

5. Kings Vision – The fine folks behind the scenes of the on-line world at the Los Angeles Kings had a bit of a makeover as well when Dean Lombardi took the helm. Gone is that wretched website that no one could use and would always crash on my Mac. Instead, they hired Heidi Androl and started covering the Kings with regular video shows on Kings Vision. Now, instead of a small blurb in the Los Angeles Times, we get ’round the clock video interviews and features that can satisfy the hunger of even the most rabid LA Kings fan (combined with episodes of Overtime by KingsCast). Kings Vision has personality and it’s engaging. The website is great and the Kings are even breaking news on Twitter. Giving this level of access to the fans is key.

6. Downtown LA – Remember when commuting to Staples Center meant gambling with your life as bullets whizzed by? Having a drink after a game meant getting a forty from the 7-11 and drinking it from a paper bag? No more as AEG has almost completed the spectacular LA Live which hosts a theatre, a plethora of good restaurants and, soon, a Ritz Carlton (with residences starting at a paltry $1.8 million). Downtown Los Angeles has been revitalized, despite the sluggish economy. Restaurants and bars have been opening to a great deal of fanfare. In fact, I hang out in downtown now as much as I do the rest of the city (even on non-game nights).

So, yeah, I’m (still) excited to be a Los Angeles Kings fan. I think this team is going to be a force this year. We’re not winning a Cup but we’re going to make some noise in the playoffs. And, hey, if not, there’s a lot of ways to drown my sorrows after the game.

So are you excited this year or are you going in expecting the worst? What are your 6 reasons to be a LA Kings fan this year? For that matter, what are your 6 reasons not to be?