Simmonds on Avery, his season

Here's a few questions and answers with Wayne Simmonds, the Kings' second round pick from the 2007 draft. He considers himself an agitator, so I asked him a few questions about Sean Avery.

Q: I know you weren't here when Avery was, but what are your thoughts on him?
A: He's outspoken. He speaks his mind. He makes a big impact on the game the way he plays. He agitates a lot of people. That's his game. He's a good player at the same time. But him doing that can hurt his team sometimes.

Q: Do you take anything you see from him and apply to your game?
A: I think I agitate kind of the way he does but not to that extent. He's a skillful player. He's a really good player.

Q: Is Avery good for hockey?
A: I think in some ways he is. If some people don't know hockey, they look at him and think he's a bad influence on the sport. There's people that like what he's doing and become interested in the sport because of him. I guess it goes both ways.

Q: What's the season been like, and what's your comfort level with the Kings?
A: It's been unbelievable for me. I'm not letting my guard down at all. I'm trying to play to my utmost potential and make them keep me around the whole year. I could be playing in Manchester tomorrow if I have a bad game tonight. So far, they're happy with me. I have to pretty much keep doing what I'm doing, I guess.