Alumni report
Former Kings winger Brian Willsie today got assigned to the Lake Erie Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. Willsie signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with Colorado over the summer.
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.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.
Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
@dailynews.com.
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Awesome, now we don't have to see him at all!
By the by Rich, loved the Murray quotes from last night. Any idea if Lombardi is going to give you that one-on-one any time soon?
11 goals, 10 assists and a minus 20: $800k.
4 goals, 8 assists and a minus 8: $900k.
Seeing "Worthless" Willsie demoted to minors: priceless.
One of DL's greatest acquisition.
Another Kings legend!
this guy never could make a good NHL team for a full season. With the Kings, he was a "veteran." LOL.
I guess that's why he had plenty of playing time in Colorado the last time he was there.
I hated the guy also, but at least get your facts straight.
Another Kings alumnus, Lauri Tukonen was sent back to Finland by the Dallas Stars. Not even getting sent to the AHL I think signals his hopes for the NHL.
Another Kings alumnus, Lauri Tukonen was sent back to Finland by the Dallas Stars. Not even getting sent to the AHL I think signals his hopes for the NHL.
Cristobal..what say you?
Apparently, we weren't the only organization to think he's not very good.
Adios to Willsie. I agree, one of the worst DL signings...not sure if worse than Bure or Cloutier though....probably all even. It's all ok...none of them are here anymore.
nykingfan said: "Cristobal..what say you?"
Why? (rhetorical)
Also, don't forget about Alyn McCauley's 3 year deal!
I thought McCauley was really Bure....The amount of games we got to see them play, I couldn't tell the difference. LOL
NYKingsfan and NMKingsfan - Willsie and Tukonen have been on different trajectories, so I don't see how they are akin, but I'll address it.
Willsie had a great (O'Sullivan) type year in Washington that likely garnered him some attention over-and-above what he really deserved. I don't see much difference between a Willsie and a Calder. Role types at best. Willsie has more talent than some NHLers, but not many. I could never say I saw him take a shift off or loaf it on the Kings, but they just don't need the "Calder" types any more. The NHL doesn't need them.
Tukonen was never given a real chance by the Kings and the hiring of Crawford was never going to get him one. I'm sure he wouldn't be a fan favorite, much the way a role player or defensive forward is not loved by a largely hockey-ignorant fan base, but whether it is the player or the situation he entered coming here to North America I'll never know. I'm sure a guy like him could get frustrated toiling in the minors when he feels he's capable of playing his style in the "real" league. There are often talented players that never get a chance to mesh with a good program. Dallas is fairly set in terms of its top team, but it is disappointing to have a promising 1st round draft choice so utterly fail. I don't know if Taylor sought to bring Tukonen to Dallas, or whether Lombardi wanted Clune so bad he offered them a former 1st rounder to get him, or whether both sides sought to strengthen their farm teams. It looks as though Tukonen had had enough of North American bush leagues, however. Personally, I wish he'd take me back to finland with him, as this country is so full of shit and the government is continuing to pile it higher as we type.
Overall, I still wish that Lombardi had given Tukonen a chance with Terry Murray and that we'd have given Tukonen a chance to play the defensive forward role (along the lines of Maltby, Pahlsson, or Peca) in place of the overpaid likes of Calder or Handzus. Perhaps he was incapable, however, and the spine just wasn't there. He's still younger than Boyle, Purcell, Moulson, Brady Murray, and a lot of other Prospects, so good luck to him. Good luck to Willsie as well. Despite what many of the asses on here say about these guys, they are blessed with the ability to make a decent living playing the game of Hockey. They are the lucky ones no matter how we look at it.
cheers
BW for me was one of the most frustrating Kings to watch ever, he had a decent shot but it just never went in!! He worked hard, got his chances just rarely finished...
I will remember Wilsie fondly for 1 reason:
Wilsie was The Guy Who Got Us DOUGHTY.
Woo Hoo!
Hey Mr. Brett... my facts are straight. The ONLY season Willsie didn't split time between Colorado and the A, he was a healthy scratch for 25 games. The FOLLOWING season he spent WAY more time in the American League than in the NHL for them. The guy NEVER played a FULL season for Colorado. That was my statement, and I'll stick to it. (75-82 games = FULL season.)
And yes, he did get us Doughty... which means... he screwed us out of seeing Stamkos, and in the bigger picture, that's still one of the most glaring nightmares in this Kings decade.