Of course.

I blame Willsie for allowing Tampa to throw their last games in order to get #1 while we won ours.

So, would we rather have Bogosian or Doughty?

STAMWHO?!

Thanks Anze for the 2 goals against San Jose in the second to last game. Because ending the season with a couple wins will really keep the momentum going 6 MONTHS LATER WHEN THE NEXT SEASON STARTS.

So much for the next Yzerman, bye bye Stamkos, we sucked all year just to get you but decided no not suck as much when it was really important to keep sucking. This sucks! Kings suck!

I vote Doughty.

Doughty isn't that big and is more of an offensive-defenseman. Bogosian is more of a stay-at-home isn't he? Either one for me. They're both good

it looks like doughty should get his wish to play in LA. i know lombardi's notable for drafting outside the box, but this pick seems like it's right up our alley.

what are the odds of us trading up for a second high pick?

good...now kings fan won't bitch and cry when picking a defenseman first. i really think lombardi would've passed on stamkos and picked a defensemen.

I want Drew Doughty. He loves the Kings...

And the season is over and we still losing lol. But ya i think are D is what is needing improvment so maybe this is a blessing

Picking second ought to take some of the perceived pressure off Dean to take Stamkos, since TB is likely to grab him. So we'll take a defenceman--maybe Doughty. Now the interesting thing will be to see if Dean wants to package some of the picks he's built up in order to make a trade for a current or NHL ready blueliner. FWIW I think not getting Stamkos also may raise the odds that Cammalleri stays (sorry Anthony).

its all b.s., who wudda thought a team 3rd place last year would be 30th the next year. Who would have though the same team won a coup 3-4 years ago. Its b.s., when is Sunny Southern California going to get the 1st pick, at least we got the 2nd pick. Bogosian addresses our needs more than Drew, take Zach DL.

That is so incredibly lame. The Kings were at the bottom from December on and Tampa basically tanked in the last couple months, trading Richards to Dallas and losing Lecavalier for the last few games to injury, not to mention the fact that they refuse to play an NHL-caliber goalie. Maybe it's just me, but it seems wrong that that they should get the top pick, essentially getting to replace Richards for free in addition to the guys they got in the trade. The Lightning are an embarrassment to the NHL, going from Cup champs in '04 to lottery winners in '08. There should be some rule about not being able to win the lottery within 5 years of a championship!

All the Kings had to do was not beat the damn Sharks on Thursday and this would have been theirs! Why did they have to go out and beat the #2 team in the league when they couldn't win a game if their lives had depended on it all season?

I guess now the only thing Lombardi has to decide about is which of those hulking defensemen he wants to pick at #2.

What an unlucky week for Luck Robitaille. First Ovechkin broke his record for goals in a season by a left wing. Then he lost to Kopitar in that stupid Kings Madness tournament (seriously, how did that happen?), and now this.

I am really angry over this! I am sure that Doughty or Bogosian will be great defensemen one day, but they are not going to come in from day 1 and make an impact on the team like Stamkos would have. Defensemen never do...

Looking on the bright side, we get to select the best defenseman in a very good draft for defensemen. Which is exactly what we need. I know we all were drooling over the thought of Stamkos, but a possible franchise d-man ain't bad!

CURRENT ISS TOP TEN
Steven Stamkos, C
Nikita Filatov, LW
Drew Doughty, D
Cody Hodgson, C
Alex Pietrangelo, D
Kyle Beach, C
Zach Bogosian, D
Luke Schenn, D
Colin Wilson, C
Mikkel Boedker, LW

Don't Doughty have an LA Kings phone in his room?

You know, I know it sounds like whining and all...but how bad do the Kings need to be to get a break?? I mean look at Tampa Bay...this is the first year they've missed the playoffs since 2002. THE KINGS HAVEN'T MADE THE PLAYOFFS SINCE 2002! Why the hell is Tampa so bad this season when they won the STANLEY CUP three seasons ago? I really F-ING hate being a Kings fan....

Damn, I really wanted Stamkos... Andreychuk all but said they would take him and I wish Tavares was available. I hope that DL doesnt make a stupid trade to acquire a solid dman. Don't trade Cammi, dont trade Fro... Sign an impact player, get a solid stay at home guy, a cruncher at the blue line to protect Ersberg or whoever will be there. I really wanted Stamkos but I'm hoping it all works out. This off season is make or break...

Uhh..Tompa...when have you ever heard of a franchise d-man? I'm frickin' disappointed - as usual. This team sucks all year and then decides to NOT throw the last games of the season to get a killer prospect?! They all suck!

I'm so excited to spend my hard earned money on season tickets to watch Steven Stamkos!!! He's going to be a media darling and our franchise player for years and years..... what...... we DIDN'T get the first pick?????

Then what's the point of going to Staples? To watch a rookie defenseman?????

8 thousand bucks to watch a defenseman???

Mmmmmm.

No thanks.

I'll wait for Tavares.

Stop bitching about not losing games on purpose.

I agree that Bogosian is the better pick. Brings everything we need, not just offense.

DREW DOUGHTY will be the guy. I'm hoping DL can pull off a blockbuster and take BOGOSIAN as well.

Take Bogosian! He's the all around best defenseman. We don't need another offensive defensive who can't take the body. Zach is our man.

You think we'll take the best defenseman available??? Isn't this the same GM who took Hickey a round to soon. It even shocked Hickey. I would not assume anything with Dumbardo, except another bad free agent signing or two.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. The kings suck so bad they can't even loose right. I've been watching and rooting for 21 seasons, with nothing to show for it. I'm going to loose my mind.

Doughty

I can't wait to here more about "we have a plan"..."its a process" when we make no substantial trade and overpay to resign Blake.
AND...its the RIGHT of every long time KINGS fan to whine and complain!!!!!!!!!!

I think we take Doughty, pending his performance the rest of the playoffs. There is still the playoffs and then we'll see what happens at the Draft Combine when they put everybody through all the physical tests. Assuming he can bench press 150 lbs for more than 1 rep and isn't 25% body fat we take Doughty.

Way too much skeptisism here. We lost the lottery, get over it. At least we didnt drop to 3rd.
I vote for doughty with #2. IF we can sign and trade cammy to atlanta(out of our conference and i believe hell be a great player in this league) for 3rd and get cosogian or another big Dman. makes sense to me

There is no reason to bitch. There are several amazing talents from which to select. The low-brow fans here are just a laugh-riot, almost as laughable as Leaf fans. Cheap entertainment, that's for sure.

I know Dave Andreychuk basically said Tampa is gonna take Stamkos #1, but I think it is important to consider that he is not the GM down there, and in fact his only job with the Bolts is "community representative." Tampa has the same problems on defense that the Kings do and it is actually possible that they will pick a defenseman first overall (ala the Panthers in '93 foregoing choosing agreed-upon #1 Radek Bonk in favor if Ed Jovanovski), leaving Stamkos for the Kings in second.

I think I'm gonna have to go check some Tampa boards (if they even exist) to see what people over there are saying.

I still say it's ridiculous that the champs of 4 years ago get the #1 pick this year, but as a Kings fan I suppose I should be used to getting the short end of the stick.

I want the kings win the cup soon not because it'll mean they are champs but because for 1 summer I won't have to listen to people whine and complain.

Missing out on the #1 pick (Stamkos)is huge. 20 of the 29 teams would have given us anyone we wanted plus a couple other players/picks, or we keep him and he is amazing. Our #2 may be a decent pick, maybe even great but what we do know is that Stamkos is the golden ticket right now.

I'm glad we got the 2nd pick. That way all of you cant complain when we draft a D-man which is what we need anyways. So what happens if Tampa decides to take a D-man? Ever think of that one?

I think that if we did get the 1st round pick and chose Stamkos, DL would have used him in a trade to get a quality D-Man, (if that happened I would not have been dissapointed) This team does not have a shortage of offense anyways. We do need a couple of good quality veteran defensemen. From what DL was saying during the last game, I would not expect anyone we pick up in the draft to be on the team for at least 2 years anyway. Just my thoughts.

Why not package Cammy and the No. 2 to the Bolts for their No. 1??? Now let the debate begin! Probably won't happen as I agree with most of you, even tho I believe DL would have had to take Stamkos, our defense is at best porous. Wild guess but I think it will be Doughty....

PS-True statements all.... Even when we lose all season, we can't even lose well enough, does that even make sense?? Very frustrating.....

Bogosian all the way.

losing Stamkos is a huge blow, the kings really needed the spotlight next year from the free press it would have given us.
That said, Defense is our number one priority next season, and more important A NUMBER ONE GOALTENDER!!
this will be the make it or break year for DL and Crow. If we end next season like this one Craford is certanly gone and or Lombardi.

Wait, I think Tampa Bay need D too. maybe they will pass on Stakmos...

I feel relieved. Trust me people, even if the Kings would've ended up 30th in the league, they still would've had the 2nd overall pick. That's just how everyhting works out for the Kings.

Just be happy they are going to get a solid D-man - which I think the Kings need - in Doughty or Bogosian.

One other thing. Please D-Lo, trade Camalleri. All he does is think about himself and the not the Kings. Package that sorry arse to the Maple Leafs for Kubina.

Geez, LA fans! Why are your comments less reasonable than Stamkos', an 18-year old? He flat out said, "Nothing is set in stone," when asked what it will be like to get picked by TB. It's a long 2 1/2 months until June 20. And even longer until June 21.

I could have imagined what would have happened if tampa would have lost the lottery... They probably would have demanded a recount...

"Geez, LA fans! Why are your comments less reasonable than Stamkos', an 18-year old?"

Because Stamkos knows more about hockey than 99.9% of the posters on here combined.

It's cool that a bunch of people are excited about some of these D prospects but you need to keep things in perspective. If any of you think that any of the fab four D (doughty, pietrangelo, bogosian, schenn) are going to have a positive impact, let alone even make the team, next year, you are going to be quite disappointed come fall. Go back and look at some of the other top D drafted in recent years- Bouwmeester, Phaneuf, J. Johnson, E. Johnson, Alzner, Hickey, Suter, Coburn, Seabrook, etc, etc. You would be hard pressed to find EVEN ONE that joined their NHL team the year they were drafted.

I doubt that most of you who are saying let's pick doughty or bogosian because of this or that had even heard of them until just recently or have seen them play. If you had, you would know that none of them are far and away superior to the defense listed above such that they would buck the trend. Simply put, D take a longer time to develop so don't look to these kids to help the Kings D woes anytime soon.

"Simply put, D take a longer time to develop so don't look to these kids to help the Kings D woes anytime soon."

Better than a kick in the teeth. O'Sullivan wasn't a big impact out of the box, nor was Brown. But I'm damn glad we have them now. I hope to feel the same way about Bogosian or Doughty in 2-3 years, granting Lombardi doesn't pull some magic fingers and snatch tampa's pick or trades ours away (which I doubt).

Don't hate on optimism. Sure, what you say is realistic, but I don't know many Kings fans who bother to post on a blog unless they truly care about and follow the Kings.

Sadly, dealing with crap is part of what being a Kings fan is all about. That's why we can still sell out a stadium while others have crickets in the seats.

As far as next year is concerned, I look forward to JJ another year older and no longer a rookie. I'm just excited to see Boyle and Purcell for hopefully a full season. I also want to see Cliche gets a short trial run, as well as a few other guys.

I actually enjoy watching (or more accurately following) our prospects develop. I'll be happy to follow a Bogosian or a Doughty in Manchested or Reading, and meanwhile watch O'Sullivan bloom for another year.

I like the direction we're going (except for Crawford), and losing a weighted lottery doesn't derail that for me.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Some of you guys are a true embarrassment to the franchise. People make fun of Kings fans because they're perceived as illiterate hockey fans. I'm reading some of these posts and I think these people may have a point.
Kyle B you are one of those people. Are you kidding...You have never heard of a franchise D????? What sport do you watch? Look across the Pond at Niedermeyer and Pronger. look at the Rangers when they won the cup..ever hear of a guy named Brian Leetch? The Islanders were a dynasty...I recall some guy named Denis Potvin...ALL FRANCHISE D'men.
You can't win in this league without D and goaltending. We have offense and while it would be nice to get a guy like Stamkos, we need D a hell of a lot more. Not many teams win 7-6 in this league and make the playoffs, let alone battle for a cup.
I'm not sure who the best Defenseman is. I've heard more about Doughty than the other guys, but I'm sure DL knows which one is better and which one fits the Kings needs.
Again someone wrote about Hickey in a negative way. I think someone said he shouldn't have been a 1st rd pick. The guy made the Canadian WJC team as an 18 yr old defensemen. Not too many do that. he's also the captain of his junior team and one of the youngest guys on the team...again, not many do that.
I'm also reading that the guy we pick on D won't be ready next year and if he is, won't have an impact.
As long as he's an impact player down the road and the Kings become a dynasty, which we all hope they do...I'm ok with that.
It takes time to build a winner. But if DL's way is right, we'll be contenders for many years to come. I think we'll all be happy with that.