WAYNE SIMMONDS
This season: 82 games, 9 goals, 14 assists, 73 penalty minutes, 13:50 average ice time.
The good: Simmonds was all skin, bones and energy when he showed up in the summer of 2007 for his first prospects camp. A year later, his performance in training camp was so dynamic that the Kings, shockingly, chose to keep him around. After that, all Simmonds did was play 82 games, bring a ton of energy, play good defense, bring some toughness, skate hard on every shift and show some offensive potential. On a per-minute basis, no Kings player got more out of his playing time than Wayne Simmonds did this season.
The bad: Everyone knows what Simmonds’ weakness is at this point. He needs to find a way to pack on some bulk without losing any of his speed. That shouldn’t be hard to do. At a legit 6-foot-1, Simmonds certainly has room to pack on a few pounds, and he talked about his desire to get stronger this summer. Another 10 pounds or so, over the summer, could make a world of difference.
Going forward: Since Simmonds is still so much a work in progress, it’s hard to know what his ceiling is. At worst, he’s already a dynamic third-line winger. At best, he could develop a scoring touch and be a real two-way threat. Simmonds made tremendous strides in the last 12 months, and if he can take a similar step forward over the next year, the Kings will have a real gem.
