Prospect updates
The Record, a newspaper in Kitchener, Ontario, has a story today about Kings draft pick Justin Azevedo and his strong desire to sign an entry-level contract with the Kings. Azevedo developed a bit of a buzz because of his big scoring numbers with Kitchener in the OHL last season, which led to the Kings selecting him in the sixth round in June. Azevedo indicated to the paper that he hasn't had significant contract talks with the Kings.
``Same old, same old,'' Azevedo said. ``Nothing yet. Exactly the same as it was two months ago.''
It's an interesting story, worth a read...
Azevedo checks in to Rangers camp
Also, the Erie Times-News reported (somewhat randomly) the following today:
``Veteran defenseman Josh Kidd began camp with the (OHL Erie) Otters on Tuesday. But Kidd believes he's a step closer to signing his first professional contract with the Los Angeles Kings.''
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About the bloggers
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
After being passed over twice in the draft, just be happy that a team showed enough interest to draft you period.
There must have been a reason why no team showed any interest in you two years in a row.
Just be happy that you were drafted and don't push your luck.
Beggers can't be choosers you know.
anthony,
Where did you get the idea that he's begging?
From everything I hear this kid seems like a class act.
Top honors in the Q and because of his size, he can't get a sniff? We've wasted a LOT more money on less productive scrubs (Too many to mention, but Peter Kanko and Pavel Rosa come to mind as good examples). Why couldn't we give a 1 year 'minimum wage' contract to a CHL points leader????
How many prospects have we signed in recent years led the CHL in points? We're staring directly in the face of a prospect who has physically produced and has a winning attitude and we can't give the guy a minimal chance to prove himself in Manchester at the very least??? WTF!! This reeks of hypocrisy. I thought we were going after character. This seems like a slam dunk to me. Who cares about size. If he can play and has proven it, take the risk. It's much less of a risk than many we've taken before him.
Get off the dime Dean. You don't ignore league scoring leaders, you give them opportunities to continue LEADING!
Is size the reason he's being snubbed? All DL has to do is look around and see guys like Gionta, St.Louis,Cammalleri and I'm sure there are others who are small in stature but have produced in the NHL. Go back a few years and couple of hall of famers named Dionne and Fleury weren't very big. And what about one the greatest Kings of all time, Butch Goring who was only 5'8 or 5'9" If they're dismissing him because of his size, that's a mistake. I wonder if his performance at the prospects camp had anything to do with the apparent disinterest.
Yeah! What an outrage that the Kings aren't rushing to sign their 6th round pick before getting a better look at him in training camp. What are they thinking?!
I think he did fine at the prospect camp. I went to one of the practice days and saw him there, where he showed some good speed and a maturity on the ice that a lot of the younger guys have not yet developed. I remember him encouraging the guys around him and commending them when they did something well which is always a good quality to have on a "team".
And at the Scrimmage, he definitely held his own, choosing to park himself in front of the net, which is a place that many guys much bigger then he are hesitant to go. Also, for some reason, he was the go to guy when it came to face-offs which leads me to believe he does well there too.
He's proven that he can produce in a league not known for having a bunch of small guys. If he's able to produce even a third of the points that he did in the NHL, he would be a good addition to the roster.
He's being "snubbed," because he isn't that great at hockey. Has nothing to do with size. He scored a lot as an overager on a team that had a ton of offense (including Boedeker) and made matchups difficult.
Paincorp, entry level deals are THREE YEARS.
He's a whiny malcontent that was passed up in EVERY DRAFT and in his LAST eligible year, he was taken in the sixth round. He is LUCKY he was drafted at all.
Seriously, why does such pedestrian information (especially the bit about entry deals) have to be explained over, and over, and over...
How many 6th round picks sign the same season that they were drafted? If anything, have Manchester or even Ontario sign him before commiting to the kid on an NHL contract.
Couldnt find the stats for the entire CHL but as far as the OHL goes the other previous scoring leaders by year were Pat Kane, Rob Schremp, Corey Perry, Corey Locke, Kyle Wellwood, Sheldon Keefe.....
Its really hit and miss and being a star in the CHL doesnt always translate into NHL success.
Can't help to kinda root for the guy, go seabiscuit!
Is his junior eligibility used up? As far as the Kings are concerned, they have two years to sign him before he goes back into the draft. As for junior scoring leaders in the past, whatever happened to Yanek Dube? Bet you'll have to look him up to find out about him because few of you would have heard of him. Dude never got a sniff of the NHL. There's more to a player than size... or lack of it. In any case, he's probably a little farther down on the priority list than O'Sullivan and Stoll.
Off topic Rich, but any chance you can conduct an alumni interview with Dave Taylor? If anybody ever bled purple, gold, silver, white & black for the Kings, it was DT.
I would love to be a fly on the wall to hear his off the record comments about working as GM under AEG & TL, with one hand continually tied behind his back.
Dave Taylor has way too much class to bad-mouth AEG, whether they deserve it or not. However he feels about them he's probably too busy to be bitter, like many people on this blog seem to be. Hockey's a pasttime for crying out loud! Lighten up! It's not life or death!
When you're as small as he is, you'd better have either world-class speed or a smokin' NHL-caliber shot. He has neither. Playmaking center? He'd be down the depth chart quite a ways (how does San Bernadino County sound).
Other than taking -- and winning -- faceoffs in the development camp scrimmage, he showed me very little. If he was truly a promising talent, he would have stood out in that less-than-stellar player pool.
A GM can take a chance on a guy like this when you get to the 6th round. But that doesn't mean you have to be in any hurry to sign him for 3 years. He needs to prove himself first.
Well no,
In actuality,
it was
triplcrown who said:
I have a feeling they want to see Azevedo in game conditions against other teams, which means if he has a couple of good games September 16, 17 in Phoenix, he could possibly sign right after.
I agree It's a waste for him to go back to Junior--He must prove himself at a higher level now.
I hope The Kings give him a shot, unless he just totally sucks in camp & in those 2 games (but I have
a feeling he'll do well).
And let's face it, it would really boost his credibility to have, say, an 85-point season in
the AHL this year.
True, he lacks the speed that successful small
players usually have.
But there are other intangibles.
An 85-pt season may not happen, but at this point, nobody can say its impossible or not--That is
up to Azevedo.
I don't understand you Anthony. Just a day or two ago you were slamming DL for signing our Russian prospects and now you are complaining that there is no Azevedo signing. You are a model of inconsistency.
Per TSN...Kings sign Teubert to entry level contract. Let the good times roll.
Anonymous - if that's your real name, that's the best idea yet. I would love to hear what taylor has to say about this organization. unfortunately, most players and staff have too much class to go muckraking. even if they despise the organization, they're not going to jeopardize their future by looking petulant.
cheers
http://worldhockeydaily.wordpress.com/
Please. Nobody is being "snubbed." There's nothing in that article that says the Kings aren't going to sign Justin Azevedo. It just hasn't happened yet and he's getting a little bit antsy. He just needs to be patient and not try to negotiate a deal through the media.
Cristobal,
I forgot to sign in yesterday before posting my comments about Dave Taylor. I agree with you that DT has way too much class to publicly say anything negative about the Kings organization.
It's too bad that DT has not been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame yet. He's certainly very deserving of this IMO.
Moller article today in Whackamole Times: http://www.canada.com/chilliwacktimes/news/sports/story.html?id=033dc321-ebc9-4d7d-a6f0-e691efc3ddcf
Doughty bit from today's Guelph Mercury: It is certainly a leaner Drew Doughty than we've seen in Guelph in a couple of years. He said he finished last season weighing 224 pounds. He lost 24 pounds prior to the NHL draft and weighed in at camp yesterday at 208 pounds. "I worked with a personal trainer back in London over the summer. I'm in the best shape of my life right now."