Who's coming up?
In the previous post, Dean Lombardi referenced minor-league players who could fill Moller's roster spot when Moller plays in the World Juniors. I asked Lombardi which players he had in mind, and he said Brian Boyle and Trevor Lewis, both of whom are now in Manchester. Boyle has two goals, three assists and a minus-1 rating in six games since being sent down, and Lewis is tied for the team lead with 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) and has a minus-3 rating.
LOMBARDI: ``With Brian being down here now, you hope it's a similar situation to the way O'Sullivan improved after he went down. That step backward can be a critical part of the learning process. Trevor Lewis has been one of the most dependable players down here. He has really grasped a lot of the little things he will need to do in order to succeed. He's been one of the key guys down there in terms of doing things right. He's close to deserving a shot. He's young and he's got a lot to learn, but he's like a sponge. Anything he's told, he tries to improve on.''
To follow up, just to clarify, I asked Lombardi if he was intending for Moller to return to the Kings after the World Juniors.
LOMBARDI: ``That's the game plan. He still could go back to junior, but that's not something that's a plan. He's being evaluated day to day, regardless of where he is.''
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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.
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It may not be a bad idea to do both. Perhaps play Boyle while Moller is at the WJ's, then play Lewis when he gets back. Moller could do a short stint in juniors while Lewis gets his NHL feet wet. Or can Moller come back once he sent to juniors..
Merry X-mas Quisp: Lewis and Boyle.
Moller cannot be sent down to jrs and then brought back to the Kings while his jrs team is still in season (except for emergency recall).
Are we expecting these moves before the roster freeze on Friday? We have one empty slot, plus one to fill for Moller right, Rich?
If either Lewis and or Boyle go up I guess Manchester will have to sign more players to PTO's - not enough healthy Monarchs players to dress the maximum numbers for a game.
There you go Quisp!
I've been really excited to see Lewis since all of last year as well. The thing I like about bringing him up is that we ultimately only really expect Lewis to be a great two-way 3rd line center, so he's perfect to start filing in on the 4th line, as opposed to Boyle, who we all hope to see be a 2nd line center one day. Although, it would be great to see if Boyle can come back like O'Sullivan and play with an edge. I'm so torn!
TSN.CA has the kings ranked 18 this week. down one from 17. i thought some of you would enjoy this quote from it.
"Brought Teddy Purcell back from the AHL, just in time for the lines to get turned upside-down. While it's hard to figure the motivation behind some of the combinations, the Kings do at least have the forward depth to put together three solid units.
Key Injuries: D Jack Johnson (shoulder), G Erik Ersberg (lower body)."
personally, i have no issues with the job terty f'ing murray is doing. non the less, this is what a 'hockey savvy' web site has to say on their limited space in the power ranking column...
That statement "it's hard to figure the motivation behind some of the combinations" would have made more sense BEFORE Purcell was recalled. We finally find chemistry in lines, see the same guys together for 3 straight games for maybe the first time all season consistently, and NOW they choose to point out Murray's f-ing with the lines and call it into question?
Little lame on TSN's part. Sounds more like information gained of the comments on this blog rather than from watching the games and keeping up with the team's progress.
Anon, re "Manchester will have to sign more players to PTO's - not enough healthy Monarchs players to dress the maximum numbers for a game"
I guess that explains Manchester signing Jonathan Boutin, Dusty Collins and Ryan Murphy to PTO agreements yesterday and today.
Thanks for the info, Dino. http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8446063
What is the status of Moulson, and can we expect him to go back to the Kings any time soon?