Kopitar interview

Here’s a brief interview I did with Anze Kopitar, who yesterday was named one of the Kings’ two alternate captains. This has the potential to be a huge season for Kopitar, who is very comfortable with linemates Dustin Brown and (eventually) Patrick O’Sullivan and who, at age 21, has the potential to improve upon his strong numbers in the last two seasons. Here’s what Kopitar had to say…

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Question: What does it mean to you to have a leadership role on this team?

KOPITAR: “It is an honor, for sure. It feels really exciting right now, and I take it as a compliment for sure. Being 21 and being one of the leaders on the team, it’s something special, and I can’t wait to get started right now. I’m sure everybody feels that way. It was a long summer for us. We didn’t play a lot of hockey, but here we go. We’re going to try to do better this year.”

Question: With you and Brown getting leadership roles, the message seems clear that the young guys are taking over. Is that how it feels to you?

KOPITAR: “Yeah, I think it is a new era. I think the young guys are trying to take over here. That’s what we’re building on. Me and Brownie and a couple of the other young guys, we’ve got to make this team ours. We’ve got to lead the team, of course, by doing the right things and leading by example and once in a while speaking up too. That’s how it is, and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Question: As far as this year, let’s face it, not a lot of people are predicting big things for this team. Do you guys accept that as a challenge?

KOPITAR: “I don’t know. People can think what they want. We know we have a pretty good team in here. If we perform consistently every night, I think we can catch some teams by surprise, for sure, and win some important games too. First of all, the start is going to be big. Playing a lot of games at home at the beginning of the season, that’s going to be key for us. Hopefully we can get off to a good start.”

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