After reading scouting reports and talking to Lombardi about the draft picks, one word — or some variation of it — kept coming up: toughness. The Kings seemed to be making a point of drafting guys who had a distinct edge to their games. I asked Lombardi if that was a coincidence or whether it was a philosophy…
Lombardi said: “Well, I think that’s one of those things when you’re in personnel. When you look at the assets of a NHL player, we all have what we prefer. All things being equal, and I’ve told you before, my favorite players have been Mike Ricci and Brian Marchment. They stand for team and for competitiveness, by nature. That being said, you have to be careful, because other elements are still important. A guy has to be well rounded. But every general manager has a philosophy. You can talk about a Teubert or whatever, and go right on down the line. It’s probably safe to say we tend toward that direction.
“But you can’t overlook the other things and just start drafting tough guys who can’t play. So it’s a balancing act. That’s why when I talk about building a staff and getting on the same page, in terms of philosophy, that’s one of those things that I’m talking about. These are the kind of guys we like. All things being equal, we trend that way. That’s not to say it’s right or wrong, but yeah, I can’t deny it. When I say those guys (Ricci and Marchment) are my two favorite players, it’s pretty clear what they do.”
