Blake interview

Q: There are a lot of new faces. Does that make it more difficult at the start of camp?

A: I think it's very similar to last year with the adjustment, player wise. ... There was a big turnover and a lot of new faces, but that's what training camp is for.

Q: Is it tough to start with the trip to Europe?

A: We've got a pretty hectic camp, if you look at the schedule, with the games coming up quick and then heading over to Austria and starting with two games in London, but again we've got a pretty global, unique talent pool in our game, and when we go international we can expose our game. It's going to be better for our game in the long run.

Q: Does it mean anything more to start the season against the Ducks?

A: Automatically, you're going to be tested against the top team. If you look at the Ducks, last year they won the Cup and they really don't change much. They're going to be without a couple guys here early, and you never know what the situation with them will be later, but that team is built for another run to the Stanley Cup, and that's what we want to measure against.

Q: Does the Ducks' success put more pressure on the Kings to win?

A: I think so. I think internally we have to put that pressure on ourselves. I think it's great for California that the Ducks went out and won a Stanley Cup, but I think it's time that the Kings realize we have to get that goal too. The first step is getting to the playoffs. If you look at the Ducks, and the way they're built with their young players, we're in that same mold, maybe a couple years behind that. We want to get to that level too.

Q: How did the hip do today?

A: It's fine. This wasn't much of a test. I've been skating a lot here over the last three or four weeks. The test is going to be the back-to-back games throughout the training camp. It's a seven-month process and I'm about four months in. It's going to be there for the next few months before it's 100 percent but it's fine.

Q: How hard were you going out there?

A: As hard as you can. You try to do as much as you can on it. It's going to be stiff and things, but as far as structurally, you're not going to do any more damage after the three-month mark. So as far as the stiffness, that's going to be there for a couple months but that's nothing we can't overcome.

Q: Are you worried that it might impact your play?

A: I hope not, but that's what I want to get over in the next couple weeks, to a month. I'll play quite a few exhibition games just to get to that fact and make sure it's to a point where I know it's not going to hinder me on the ice.