Moller to WJC?

i think its a good idea. the kings should bring up another forward from the monarchs - say lewis or moulsen.

I just noticed that Jill Painter is moonlighting as a contributor to the UCLA blog as well. Jill, do you actually have a life? I mean, we're not complaining. You're a true professional but I hope you get to work in a meal or a movie from time to time! Seriously, thank you for all of your work and dedication to sports in L.A. - especially for those of us living in other cities like myself who has to suffer in Houston where most believe nothing important in sports occurs outside of the state. (then again, most residents have never traveled outside of the state!). Please someone save me!

Moulson is hurt and will be out several weeks.

thank god... the poor guy has to play with Ivanans and Zeiler... there could be two swedish meatballs out there in the WJC and it would still be a better experience for the kid.

bring back Pat Conacher.

Moller would help them a ton if they're serious about gold. Sweden came very close to a gold medal last last WJC.

Up here in Canada, the WJC is a holiday tradition. No Christmas/New Years is the same without it.

I think this would be a very good idea for Moller. To be honest, I thought both he and Simmonds have been a bit overwhelmed the last month or so, although they have played better for the last week or so. I think letting Moller skate with kids his own age, where he should probably dominate, would be good for his development. It would also make Sweden a very tough team to beat, and if they could earn a medal I think it would really be great for Moller's confidence. I'm really looking forward to the WJC and I'm glad the games will be on NHL Network.

Besides, it's time for the Kings to take a look at Trevor Lewis. ;)

So, apparently Team Sweden needs a center for their 4th line? ;-)

Shakes - Do you think Calder looks a bit like Conacher out there? If he's any good at taking face-offs, I'd say grow a beard and we've got a carbon copy.

Conacher was a midget... but a helluva player. I remember a goal he had against the Canucks where he out-raced Pavel Bure of all people.

Might as well let him go to the WJC and then back to juniors if hes gonna be stuck on the 4th line what a waste of a contract year if this continues.

On Yahoo/nhl:

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl

there's a video clip with Jim Fox discussing fighting in the NHL. Always good to see Fox get a chance to talk in the wider arena about the game and a good topic for debate.
For me, fighting is an alluring part of the game, but a part that maybe we'd be better without.
I'll probably get skewered for it, but perhaps hockey would be bigger world-wide if not for the perceptions from those outside the game that it's a thug league.

Then again, what would hockey history be without McSorley and Probert, not to mention the Gordie Howe Hat-trick?

quisp thanks. did not know about moulson. give lewis a shot then.

eat, i'm not going to skewer you. it is a very good debate about fighting/no fighting. my fear is there would be more stick penalties and more serious boarding hits. that is unless they made all stick calls (high-sticking, slashing, etc.) and boarding calls major penalties. that might take some of the lure away from those types of penalties. i do not like the gratuitous fighting that plagued the 80's, but i think fights at certain times of the game, especially if your team is down and playing poorly or after a particularly tough hit to a star player, is appropriate. fighting still police's the ice, i feel, for the most part.

you have to allow fighting, strangely enough, for the safety of the players. jediknight hit the nail on the head. you can't worry about the perception of the league before the safety of the players, and i think outlawing fighting is going in the wrong direction. what needs to be done is a severe reworking of the instigator rule. players shouldn't be thrown out of games for responding to a hit (ie: morrow going after brown after his hit on ribeiro). there are times when an instigator is justified, but it's very rare. i think a spontaneous thing after a hit needs to be allowed though. players have to be able to stick up for themselves and their teammates without fear of hurting their team. this just leaves players to go to stickwork and other, more dirty alternatives than fighting.

I don't know how anyone can argue to take fighting out of hockey when "sports" like MMA are so popular. That's nothing more then human chicken fighting, and nobody is saying that should be banned.

The NHL's poor popularity isn't because of the fighting. It's because people find it hard to follow on TV. This sport just doesn't translate well to the tube. Plus the lockout didn't help either.

If you get rid of fighting you'll see what happens in baseball--guy's not respecting each other. Do you think a pitcher would throw a pitch at the other teams star player's head or arm, if they new that Ivanans was up to bat next and it would be one on one instead of mob rule?
Unlike other sports it's one on one. How can you not respect that. That's why hockey's a man's game.

I'd like to get more into this conversation, but have to go out. Hopefully it can be continued later, but I'll say a few things about it.

I've grown tired of some of the fighting. I don't know if it's the instigator penalty, but these "choreographed" fights off of faceoffs and the way players are engaging in fights to "spur" the team is lame.
I saw many a Kings game where McSorley could have been arrested after the game because he was genuinely nuts. He was angry. He wouldn't hold up if a guy was down, and you know what? That's a real fight.
I know there's the "protecting players" argument, but I think it's a little bit moot at this point. Deadmarsh's career started spiraling into nothingness when he got that horrible concussion from Jovo. I'd rather Deader were still playing.
Also, if fighting is ok in the NHL, why is Bertuzzi on trial? I've never understood that. In the NHL, it really should only be an instigator penalty. I think a big part of the problem here is that the NHL wants to have it's cake and eat it too. They'd like to have a clean reputation to market, but the dirty reputation is too ingrained and too popular with the core audience.
Throw in helmets and visors and it's a world of confusion. Years ago when fighting was pretty crazy (late 80's and from what I've heard the 70's and even 50's) there was much less equipment. Now players are cloaked in armor and there's a no-fear attitude when going into the boards, lifting skates of the ice, diving for a pokecheck, or raising elbows. Personally, I'd like to see plastic shoulder pads banned and more restrictions on bulky equipment because I feel it creates an, "I'm harmless attitude."
OOps, getting off topic.

Paul, you raise a good point that MMA and other such sports are growing wildly in popularity (is MMA bigger than hockey already?) but I think there are some issues with these things.
I respect the athletic ability of MMA guys even though I'm not too into it, but the sport itself is kind of ridiculouss....gotta go, to be continued.

later.

That's amazing how quickly a thread about Moller at the WJC turned into a fighting debate. I'll weigh in on that, but first, I think it's good for Moller to go the championship. I'm especially excited to see him, and everyone else for that matter, play in that tournament. I've never seen it before, so NHL network provided quite a great Christmas gift. I don't think this year is a waste of Moller's ELC at all, I think he is gaining valuable experience, and I think he will demonstrate that experience in his domination at the tournament.

On fighting,

I can see the rationale that fighting is bad for the NHL's image, however I don't totally buy in to that, the MMA and UFC being some evidence against that argument. Ultimately I agree mostly with Paul from Oxnard, the NHL's biggest and in a sense, only huge problem is that someone who doesn't understand the game, and even some who do, just don't like watching it on TV. You have to have a real passion for hockey or obsession with a team, like us, to really enjoy telecasts, and even then, we find pleanty to moan about. I think this problem can be fixed eventually, and the half horrible HD broadcasts are a somewhat misguided step in the right direction.

Anyone who actually goes to a hockey game really enjoys it. I've honestly never met a person who said a live hockey game wasn't thrilling. Fighting only gets the crowds going. Fighting is one of the many things that separates hockey from other sports. I don't mind the instigator penalty so much, they seem to work their way around it pretty well. I love fighting, but part of what makes it acceptable is the honor in it, and two players who, either with their words or non-verbally agree to go at it is a key component of that honor. Instigating should be a penalty. I like hitting, and think if you want to check the sh** out of a guy, legally, more power to you, but just punching someone in the face or the back of the head is a bitch move. It's the fighting equivalent of boarding.

On the other hand, I hate guys who decide to drop the gloves, but don't really fight. They circle and circle for a minute, then grab each other and fall to the ground, with nothing but a few jabs. It does have a motivational effect on the team, so whether we approve of that or not, a fight, even a kind of lame scrappy one, can get a team going. So I can see both sides, but I don't think the arguments against it hold enough water to banish it from the league.

JDM - Super happy that this tournament is going to be on and that there's a chance the world will be raving about Wee Oscar who plays in LA. I have to hand it to Quisp on this. He said that Moller and Simmonds would be special and I think they have the whole package. I'm hoping his positive reviews of some of the other players in the system are as accurate.

I'm going to keep it short. Possibly.
I think the NHL should review the status of the punishment for fighting and see if there couldn't be a better way. Even a ban on fighting doesn't have to mean there cannot be fights. The punishments would be much harsher, however, and like the playoffs, the player availability issue becomes more pronounced. I would think they would consider 'ejection from the game for fighting' a starting point in terms of naming a punishment. You fight, you shower. It would really be an effective way to keep Aggro in the game while eliminating the fights for "show" which really nobody really likes anyway. Who wants to see two guys "stretch sweaters" 3 times a game?

I think Foxy made a good point when he said we're not seeing 5 player brawls anymore - none of those 300 penalty minutes nights of old. So the fighting rules are effective in a sense. I think there are a few cases that point to the damage fighting does and the injuries it can cause.

Adam Deadmarsh and Todd Fedoryk suffered horrible injuries through fighting. Don't we have enough to deal with when throats are getting slit by skate blades? The less injuries the better and I think bigger ice surfaces would help. But that's another issue.

Players may be suffering less severe injuries from fighting lately, but the NHL has the resources on hand to deal with serious situations. In the youth leagues that are mimmicing the pro's and fighting is a part of the game, are there assurances that there are medics on hand to deal with a serious situation? And should kids be seeing sporting events that tolerate intentional physical violence?

I've become a big fan of european soccer and there's no fighting on the pitch. The sporting event is dramatic enough to send the fans into a violent frenzy. I think hockey is of the same stature in its drama. Unfortunately I think so much of that drama is lost in the way we structure our leagues that fighting becomes an attraction in itself, thereby perpetuating itself.

But I do recognize that this sport is different. There's something about the emotion when playing hockey that stirs anger. Maybe it's that we're carrying a weapon and we have an instinct to use it. I don't know, but the same passion european soccer fans exhibit in violence, the players in hockey are the one's who feel the most intense rush. Somehow fighting DOES seem to have it's place in the sport of hockey.

I guess, at the end of the day, that I want what's best for Hockey, not what's best for entertainment value through marketing violence. The best hockey game of all time, the Miracle on Ice, didn't have any fights, did it?

FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS BLOG UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

Both Kings prospects made Team Canada's final roster this morning. Defensemen Thomas Hickey and Colten Teubert made the 20 man roster that will represent Canada in the World Junior Championships to be held in Ottawa later this month. Hickey won gold with the squad last year and was named this years team captain. Teubert will don the red and white of Canada for the first time in the world juniors, he previously played for the championship Under 18 Canadian team last year

Props to Hickey for getting the captain nod on an elite team.

Has anyone notice that Moller has better stats than the #1 pick Stamos. He was also tied on the team for PP goals. Has a great one timer from the circle on PP. Remind me of Kurri's one timers on all those feeds from Gretz. Has been regulated to 4th line duties. Would love to see him get more ice time. Move him up to the 3rd line in place of Simmonds.

moller is going to be a stud during this tourney and huge props to hickey and teubert for making the 20-man squad of ol' canada. this tourney should get some good pub and with hickey and teubert on the canadian team which is always featured, the kings will come out of this looking pretty good. we'll get to hear how our future is bright with these kids in the system. i think this is a big opportunity for hickey. he needs to man up and showcase himself for dl and tm during this tourney. if he has a great run, it could set him up nicely for later this year and next season.

I believe this will be Hickey's 3rd time in the tourney? I may be wrong, but I know it's his second. He played SO well last year alongside Alzner (I believe it was him). Moller played quite well as well last year, as did Berglund (on the Blues right now). Really looking forward to this tourney, and I think it's a good thing to let him play, even though he's on my fantasy team, and I have 5 guys on IR right now, and could really use him.

As for fighting...it's a part of the game. In fact, if they don't get rid of the damn instigator penalty, things will get worse.

Simmonds is on the 3rd line for his size and defense...offense has NOTHING to do with it.

Moller does not want to play for Sweden in the WJC.No players want to play in it once they are in the NHL ask any of them. They the players consider it a step backwards,and I would have to agree .Moller does not lack confidence only compatable linemates.Now if it was for their National mens team that would be different.

I think it is good for Moller as a small break to give him some extra confidence at the tournament playing with kids his own age and he should continue to play well if not better when he returns.

In regards to fighting, I think it is a great part of the game especially the 5 man brawls and goalies coming across the ice to get into it because people really were pissed off and wanted to take it out on the other team. Fighting to get your team going can be effective if its actually a fight and not a lets just pretend to fight. The only way it should be punished if you are trying to hurt someone because you know your team has already lost and its late in the game and its calculated not heat of the moment in that case.

In response to Eat, I don't mean to criticize, but do you or others on this blog for that matter actually play hockey. I for one play and while I do lose my temper or get upset at times, for the most part I enjoy playing a clean game without fighting or dirty play. Fighting in hockey is optional as players could back down if they wanted. I don't think its fair to say all hockey players feel angry when playing:

"There's something about the emotion when playing hockey that stirs anger. Maybe it's that we're carrying a weapon and we have an instinct to use it"

Players get angry when they are hit with cheap shots and other such stuff not just because they have a stick.

PS- Soccer players don't fight like honorable people. I personally am also a soccer fan but will admit they all dive. And they take really cheap shots like kicking a guy when hes down when the ref isn't looking and such that is worse than fighting face to face one on one like hockey