Morris interview: Part I
Mark Morris was nice enough to spend nearly 40 minutes on the phone with me. So I'm going to break this up into segments. The process could be slowed by my cable being out. I'm currently on dial-up, and it is painful. In the first installment, Morris talks about leadership, players who might surprise and the struggles of Trevor Lewis. Stay tuned for Part II.
What young prospects show good leadership potential?
``Drew Bagnall is a natural leader. He's kind of a rah-rah guy. He's rough and tumble as a defenseman. He plays with a lot of heart, a lot of passion. He looks to be a guy who shows some promise. He's learning the pro grame and working on puck-movement skills and decision making.
Joe Piskula is another one. Kings fans got a chance to see him a little bit toward the end of last year. I think his game improved a lot from the pairing with Jon Klemm. Klemm taught him to be more natural in the zone and make better decisions.
Patrik Hersley is a guy who shows some promise. He moves the puck well and has a good shot. He's coming off an injury. He returned to the lineup last night and had a strong game. He makes strong decisions with the puck on his stick and has a prototypical NHL build. A little more grit in his game and some more seasoning and strength and he might be a guy who will get a little consideration.''
You mentioned Jon Klemm. I know he signed on hoping to play with the NHL club more than he has, but has it helped to have his veteran presence in Manchester?
``Klemm has been our only veteran player. You're allowed five veterans and he’s our one. When Giuliano was called up, we lost our second vet. They don’t count goalies as veterans. It makes it tough. Klemm is not a real outspoken guy. He leads by example but he's not a very vocal guy. That's something that we really are missing on this team compared to last year. This is an extremely young team. A lot of first-year players, second-year players, Klemm has been a steading influence.''
Is there a player outside of the more high-profile guys who has the best shot of making the NHL, someone who would surprise Kings fans?
``I may not have said this a month ago but Laurie has turned it up the last 2-3 weeks. He's competing a lot harder for loose pucks. He's more involved in the offense and more defensively responsible. He’s shown a spark that I didn’t know he had. Kevin Westgarth as an enforcer is someone to look forward to down the road. He can really rip. He’s got a lot of feistiness to his game and he’s also a guy who has tremendous personality. He's highly intelligent. It's going to take a lot of seasoning for him to bring his game up to the level of Ivanans, but he’s fought all the heavyweights in the AHL and done quite well.''
What happened to the scoring of Cliche and Lewis this year?
``Cliche is out with a broken bone in his foot. I think Lewis is still learning the game. At times, he's a step behind play. I think he's still learning to win more puck battles and be more responsible in all areas around the rink. He's shown flashes of stellar play but we're still waiting to see the best out of him. By nature, he’s not a tenacious, in your face player. But he has ability to skate and make clever passes and think the game. I'm trying instill a little more grit and tenacity in his game so he a chance to be considered.''
Thanks Matt. Great job!
Awesome job Matt. It's pretty cool to get an insight into what's going on over there. Thank you.
Thanks Matt! Keep up the good work!
Thanks Matt!
LOL, when you're talking about bringing someone's game UP to the level of Raitis Ivanans... heaven help us all.
Great stuff Matt
Drew Bagnall sounds like someone the Kings need on D.
I'm a believer in Patrick Hersley. His game is very sound and complete. I think he has potential to be a legit NHL d-man.
If Tukonen continues to show what he's capable of he'll be a solid NHLer.