Player evaluation: Moller

I like him.
He has a lot of pure skill.
A great find by DL in the 2nd round.
I did, however, feel he was mishandled by our genius coach.
Scratching a talented 20 year old from the line-up is an unprofessional thing to do.
If he's not playing up to par, then you send him somewhere where he can play reguarly and improve.
The Manchester Monarchs missed the playoffs by 2 points. Who knows, maybe if Moller was sent there, he would helped the team make the playoffs. That way, he and other players would still be playing and getting valuable experience.

Terry Murray is unprofessional. He handled the Moller situation as worse as it could have been handled.

Now we're at the letter "M". There's no "N" in our lineup. Too bad there's no "O" either. I would have loved to have read what Rich had to say about Sully. What a terrible trade that was. Somebody is gonna be real sorry soon.

all oscar needs to do is the following for next season:

- get up at 7am and have a good healthy, bulky breakfast....

- go to the gym....

- have a healthy, bulky snack at 10am...

- go back to the gym...

- have a healthy, bulky lunch at 1pm...

- go to the rink and skate for a couple of hours...

- have a healthy, bulky snack at 3pm...

- go back to the gym...

- have a healthy, bulky dinner at 6pm...

- go back to the gym and run this time...

- have a healthy, bulky snack at 8pm...

- get to bed before 11pm...

repeat this formula at least 5 days a week for the whole summer...

have another outstanding training camp...and...voila...yr the league's next breakout star...

you can do it, oscar...!

plus, my dog is named oscar...don't disappoint yr namesake...!

anthony(y)...

(O)'donnell...?????

Maybe you need to stop posting until you actually know what your talking about double-Y'd.

Moller could not go to Manchester, he was too young at the time.

Furthermore, ask around the league, and read what people say about Murray, and he is one of the most respected hockey minds around today. You don't stick around the NHL for as long as he has and not know what your doing.

Viariable,
I stand corrected.
Must be drinking too much kool-aid (with a shot of rum) of late.

I don't think I've seen a player that appears to have as much fun on the ice as Moller since we had Lappy. Don't underestimate how important that is to team chemistry.

mrbrett,
In January, Moller turned 20. He's then eligible to go to Manchester.
If not, he still could have been sent to the WHL.

incomplete. but I give him a positive 79/100 (C+/B-)for his time he was here. can't wait to see him next season.

anthonyy...sorry about the POS trade? come on...he's been a flop in Edmonton too. You'll be eating your words with a healthy Williams in October.

Sorry to pick on you some more, but TM did the right thing with Moller. The kid was never fully recovered from the WJC. And he had a chance to watch the game from the press box which is invaluable in learning the team's system and the NHL game. Ask Stamkos how he did after some time to watch from the rafters...he said it himself that it was huge in understanding how to succeed offensively.

If he can bulk up, he's going to lead our bottom 6 group of forwards in scoring, and hopefully progress the year after into a top 6 role. More importantly, I see an A on his shoulder in the future. I'm really hoping to see us draft MPS so he can pair up with Moller. I say the more swedes we can get the better (seems to be working for the red wings...).

I was one of the opposers in the Sully trade, and I'm already eating my words. Williams will be good.

With the addition of Williams, if we get MPS, plus get a sniper, where does that leave Moller?

I like him a lot, but I can see him being dealt.

well I hate to be the nega-baby here, but I think Moller is not long for the league, or at least the Kings. He has not lived up to the training camp high, and as the season wore on so did his game. He showed no real scoring touch, is not big enough or tough enough for 3rd or 4th line duty, so I see him gone. Just because he is a King doesn't mean he is great.....sometimes they pan out and sometimes they do not. I for one was quite happy he was not dressed late in the year....I don't think he makes it next year.....and by the way he wasa very unimpressive playing for sweden, in the Juniors...he should have dominated , but he was basically invisible , when he wasn't just incompetent. ....seems like a nice guy though...hope he does well elsewhere.

Ersberg...Moller is not in danger of being moved. His age, salary, and his upside leave him in perfect position to be the successor to Handzus.

How I'd stack up the forwards not counting our draft pick (since he may not make the team in year 1):

(LW) - Kopitar - Williams
Frolov - Boyle - Brown
Simmonds - Handzus - Moller
Ivanans - Stoll - Purcell

TB-

And if Lewis makes it out of camp? There may also be some surprises next season, just like Simmonds and Moller were.

P.S..

That's also assuming Dean doesn't re-sign Calder. What if he does?

please sweet Lord, we Kings fans have endured many hardships and have been wandering in the playoff wastelands for about as long as Moses...can you please give us MSP?
Amen

4 Ersberg-
Heatley/Kopitar/Williams
Frolov/Stoll/Brown
MSP/Zeus/Simmonds(from LW)
Purcell/Boyle/Harrold
....I'm really alright with this...
but i will miss Moller more than Bernier, and Teubert was awful when I saw him in Ontario-great skater though...I would like to see a tough guy, who could skate, on the 4th line though. Maybe a Begin or Neil...Who else is out there for that role?

I'd love to have Heatley. Can't Terry call on a favor from his brother Bryan?

Sorry Anthony, he was not.

He was eligible to go back to Juniors, he was not eligible to go to Manchester.

I think #81 for Detroit will look good in a Kings uni next year.

Rich or Anybody,
Was Moller eligible to play in Manchester once he turned 20 in January.
Just Curious.

Anthony, I'm telling you the same thing I told Cristobal about Lombardi. Start varying it up a little, fast. You turn every post into a reason to criticize Terry Murray. Your opinion, whether it's positive or negative, is valid in my eyes, but you're clearly doing this to be provocative. These are discussions about players, not coaches. Move on. There's plenty else to discuss. Thanks.

Anthonyy- no, he wasn't eligible. Based on the CHL-NHL transfer agreement, he'd have to have turned 20 before Jan 1 or have completed 4 years of juniors to be able to be sent to the AHL. Yes, he did get sent to manchester after he turned 20, but that was on a conditioning assignment following his injury so it was allowed.

Rich, are you serious?!
...is that really "Rich Hammond"
This site isn't anything if everyone agrees, and as King's fans, one of the only things we have is venting our frustrations on these posts, provocative or not. I understand keeping things "clean",and I'm all for it, but look at how many posts you have as a reaction to what anthonyy posted, on any of the evaluations. Some of us are biting at the bit just to simply refute what anthonyy, cristobal, lombardi...and in some cases, AK47, have to say. -Whats CBS without Limbaugh and O'Reilly, or Don cherry without European hockey players?!

Because a) it's clearly gratuitous and b) I'm tired of spending time moderating comments from people who don't see things the way you do and aren't as mature about it.

"The question in training camp might be, is Moller ready for a top-six forward role?"

No. I don't know who everyone was watching this season, Oscar Moller is not a threat 5on5. He put up some points on the powerplay, GREAT, but we need MORE. Bulking up in the offseason and a ticket to Manchester will be the best move for the organization. Over there he can develop his overall game.

Its cool.
There's no ego to bruise here, nor is there any feelings to hurt.
If things need to be changed to make people happy, then so be it.
I'm a sport.

Thanks Rich,
thats understandable...I guess I'm tired of people not seeing things the way I do too!
-did you get that MS paint Drew Doughty I sent you 8 )

Anthony,

I'm glad to hear you will try to change some. I have never gotten super angry or upset about your comments but I generally just blow them off. I support Murray and Lombardi although I dont think they are perfect but your arguments I feel would be a lot better if you explained why you are against things rather than a conspiracy ex-philly connection or just random name-calling. Also I think its kinda ridiculous to say either our GM or coach play favorites or do stuff just to mess with people. They get payed to win and want to win not screw with the heads of their players and fans by intentionally setting people up to fail. Some players may be put in the wrong spot at times and I'm okay with you pointing that out and that you think differently but saying they want players to fail doesn't really make sense.

Respectfully,
GoKings09

change is relative. just look at our president! LOL

I'm glad we got rid of Cammi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g_r0xcKVIY
...and Havlat got his in OT. Maybe I spoke a little too see about our possible play for him in the offseason...

Thanks Rich, It does get really old, I for one do get frustrated with it. Anthony, you are funny at times, but really redundant sorry man

I know that this has nothing to do with the evaluation of Moller and his play this season, so please forgive me if I digress from the current topic. I am sitting here watching the Canucks and Blues and they have just showed LaBarbera sitting on the bench. Does anyone see the irony in this situation or is it just me? If the Kings had not of started him in net at the beginning of the season they may of had a chance to pick up a few more points and maybe be in the playoffs. Instead they trade him about the middle of the season and he winds up backing up Luongo and is in the playoffs. Weird, isn't it?

Thanks for all of your hard work Rich. I can't go a day without checking in.

Let's not forget that Moller is 20 years old! I think he showed some scoring touch in his limited time with the Kings. This is one player that I will be excited to watch next season. I like the potential here.

gsanderson,

blame our coa...never mind.

It was fun to see the end of the game turn heated. I wonder what Dean's opinion is of St.Louis. Weren't they the ones DL was comparing us to, infact went on record to say we were ahead of them in the rebuilding process, or something like that.

There comments are addressed to Rich. Rich I wanted to thank you for your comments regarding the use of this site. I'm not doing this to harp on any one person, but I work freelance and I'm often involved in my work while on the computer. I love the Kings and same for this site. It really does get quite tiresome when some of the comments become slinging matches between people. There are certain topics that solicit a lot of comments which I like to get the essence of. But I feel as though I'm abusing my own time when I have to do my own editing going thru them. Honestly there are moments when it starts to feel like a frivolous waste of time rather than the joy that it can be checking in with this site. At those moments it starts to feel like a chore.

That upsets me because comments can be made as you've said, in a mature manner instead of just being a platform for personal vendettas.
So I for one thank you for this.

Dear Rich,
I'm just gonna be watching the Sharks/Ducks series in the hopes that Anaheim loses. Does that make me a bad person?
- Shakes

ps: by the way, how fantastic is Boston/Montreal in terms of pure violence

Rich, you've done and are doing a great job and please use your judgment on posters as you believe fit. Thank you.

Being a huge OM fan this may come off as biased - I think the kid is going to be good for 20-25 goals a yr - there is quite a difference between size and strength - as for being to small the league is filled with guys who are small and just dynamite - The devils have a whole roster of small guys - I think OM in 3yrs is going to be Zach Parise I see the same skill set - his on ice performance is just a glimpse of what the future holds for him -

I know this is a bit off topic from Moller but I was thinking about the draft and possibly moving up to one of the top 2 picks. I think Tampa Bay would be the team more likely to make a trade especially if they are worried the Islanders could take Hedman because they don't really need another forward.

So I was curious what some of you thought it might take to pry the second overall pick from them with two scenarios. The first scenario being if we give up our 5th overall pick and what else to get the second pick. Or even just what it would take to get the 2nd overall pick without giving our 5th overall pick.

I'm thinking we could start with a package of Teubert(a good yound D prospect TB could use), Zatkoff(a young goalie prospect that they are lacking as well) next years first rounder or this years 5th overall pick. What else would we need to add? How much would it cost to get this pick? Let me know what you guys think please.

-GoKings09

Big O is going to be fine....the only thing is that he needs to be, well big, certainly bigger. The kid has good speed, instincts, reads the ice well, good passer, excellent shooter, I could go on and on. Agreed with Dirtmover, I see Oscar being a 20-25 goal scorer easily. Oscar's biggest problems were when he couldn't skate out of trouble (for the most part he was able to) and would get bumped off the puck by bigger players. Again, size.

Oscar has great leadership skills, is a team player, well liked in the lockeroom and a great part of the Kings future. Just put on a few lbs and add some more muscle Oscar, next we'll be seeing you in an all-star game with the rest of what is going to be a very good, young Kings team.

trade moller to a team who needs a sneaky player who can dodge a check.
Phoenix needs a player like him. I think the kings need a tough guy not someone like moller.( no offense oscar).

go kings go -

What I think you -- oh, never mind.

darko25o said:
I'm glad we got rid of Cammi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g_r0xcKVIY
...and Havlat got his in OT. Maybe I spoke a little too see about our possible play for him in the offseason...

darko-

I was reading what you said about my posts and I'm ecstatic that you hate on me, thanks for the support man...

I was saying since the start that DL would sign either Hossa, Havlat or Gaborik and no one ever said anything. All of a sudden, people are noticing the way Havlat's playing in the playoffs and everyone's starting to say we should acquire him..

If he doesn't sign one of those guys, I can see a trade going down. Heatley or Kovalchuk would look pretty nice in a Kings jersey...

OH and a couple days before the trade deadline, I don't know if anyone remembers, but I mentioned the possibility of DL signing Ryan Callahan to an offer sheet. IMO, he's been the number 1 star of that series so far, what a talented kid.

Has anyone had a chance to watch the Bruins/Habs series...I gotta say as long as Tim Thomas plays just average this team is gonna make the finals (Thomas has been playing awesome for the record). Not only is this team clutch but they will beat you up to. What I like though is that by in large they disciplined in not taking dumb penalties.

I think one of the things the Kings lose track of a bit is there are times when they try to go on a hit parade and they are a bit over aggressive, to the point where they're out of position and end up chasing the puck....at least I felt that way the season before this one.

All-in-all i think that if Justin Williams has a good off season we have the makings of team that can punch you in the mouth the way the Bruins can, whether it's a d-man or a winger.

I think our team doesn't need a 50 goal scorer as much as we just need some consistency....something which we saw a lot more of this year generally speaking.

GKG.

ps: as for the Anthony thing, I gotta say I'm all for people being critical, it's what makes for good dialogue, but after a while you can't claim that the coaches / management/ ownership have made the wrong decision every day on every single issue. It just gets old.

AK

Dont get reiled up, there is alot of that going around. Its funn playing DL and seeing what others think. But some have the need to play lumber jack and cut people down for there opinions. Quisp, Variable and some others at least come back with well thought replics and opinions whether they are in agreement or not.

With regards to signing an UFA.........after watching almost every game now in the first 2 rounds, I have to admit that we need someone that is willing to go to the net. Kobasew!!!Hartnell!!! More Simmer cloans.

Yeh, agree........we dont have a high end, put it in the upper corner snipper. Fro has the puck control skills, but needs to take more one timers and just shoot more. But signing an RFA will probably not happen with DL at the helm. Seems to be a no no after the Lowe/Burke situation.

Is the Moller going to be our second line center? Prabably, but not next year, but in 2010-11. Thats when Hanzues is gone and Stoll moves to nr. 3 line. I see us getting an UFA or trading for a hartnell type. Lots of teams with cap issues. Phi needs to dump Briere, but they will be stuck with him and NYR will be stuck with Drury, Gomez and Redden etc. Dangerous with these long term big contracts.

I dont expect more than this next year. The cap crunch will come in 2010-11. DL is going to wait.

Fro-Kopi-Williams
UFA (Hartnell type)-Stoll-Brown
Lewis/Purcell/moller-Zues-Simmer
Knuckle dragger-Boyle-Moller/Lewis/Purcell

If we get Kane in the draft, he gets the 4th line center jobb-potentially pushing out Boyle.

If we get MPS, then he plays with Stoll and Brownie.

IMHO.

1) This thread started about Moller and its interesting that the threads never seem to stay on topic;

2) I mention this because I wanted to post a comment about Frolov.

3) I think Moller had a good goal scoring run at the beginning and plays with a lot of optimism, which helps him out a lot. An LGK fan mentioned joking with
Moller at one of the King's signing sessions that Moller should shoot more (apparently Ivanans got the joke and was laughing but Moller didn't and was thankful); Frolov mentioned in an interview that every coach since his youth teams wanted him to shoot more.

There is a fine line there and IMO to 2nd guess the players for on ice decisions is usually a bit harsh.

4) Teams need a lot of different parts and players. I think usually the more skilled teams win--but in hockey like in soccer there is a lot of luck. Moller fits a hole the Kings opened when they traded away Cammy and O Sullivan: smallish skilled forwards.

5) Last season, Moller did pretty well for a 19-20 year old rook. Next season: In the 2nd half of the season, the other teams started paying Moller more attention and his production fell off. Was it residual from the injury? Can Moller adjust? (90% sure he can; the coaches obviously think so or they wld have sent Moller down to the juniors; takes time playing to adjust)

Can Moller play left wing at the NHL level? Can Boyle? If they can switch to LW and produce some offense, it wld help the Kings as currently constituted quite a bit.

SRC3-

You think Evander Kane and MSP are NHL ready? Getting a Hartnell-type player would be ideal because he can put up numbers but also trash talk and back up his teammates. Would make a nice fit on the Kings and replace Ivanans, hopefully.

I dont know if they are ready..........would imagine MSP is. The Swedes are very ready, look at moller etc etc etc. Great athletes and very good team players. I live in Norway. Originally from LA-moved here in 93. Played and coached football from 93 until 2 years ago. The Swedes are a special scandanavian race. The Norwegians are not team players and dont show up for practices and prioties are all messed up. They are not good team players in all sports. Very me me me myself and I. The Swedes are special and actually play very good american football. The are very sport oriented like americans. My point is they generally have very good character. No tudes.

hartnell is tearing it up out there. Hitting everything that moves and going to the net with athority. The flyers need D men and youg goalies and.......last but not least, need to dump some serious salary.

PHI, BOS and OTT have some serious issues next year. Look at Boston....I believe both Kessel and krecji are RFA and will command 5+ and 3.5+ per year. That puts them over with Sturm on the roster for 3.5. Everyone knows about PHI and Brieres terrable contract for 5 more years. We dont want sturm (another knee injury). Hartnells 4.2 is very doable, but for who?? for Bernier?, JJ? Purcell? I dont know maybe even a couple of picks would do it. Would imagine that Montreal makes a go at Lecav. for there first rounder and maybe price og halak etc etc(smith is not getting over the concussion issue). They are going to have lots of cap room and will be cleaning house after Boston sweeps their a**ses, if the refs dont do the home team advantage thing again.

One more note on PHI...........The kid Giroux will be ready for second line duty next year.

I just dont want anymore M.A.S.H. unit players Gaborik, Gagne, Sturm, Briere, etc etc.

If TB trades Lecav.(which I think they will), then they probably pick the most ready centerman and that leaves Hedman to Col. Then we are looking at Duchene, Kane and MSP. What if we trade JJ...Do we then trade up with TB and get Hedman??? Because TB will most likely go after a centerman if Lec. gets traded. He is definately ready and Drewiske does a fine job. It will be interesting!!!!!!!!

I say we go after Claude Giroux. He's an Ottawa kid and has lots of heart.. He's probably the only guy I'd trade Jack Johnson for, but that's imo.

AK,
Calm down man...you took that completely out of context, read it again. Your posts, and Ersberg's, are my favorite to respond to because I rarely agree with either of you, but your arguments are spot on, and you both know your stuff. I would hope your responses to my comments would be in the same spirit. Check the Lewis eval., and my posts to you, I'm not blowing smoke : )
...and its nice to see people coming around on my Christmas list of Hartnell, Callahan, Begin, and Giroux. Although after seeing Giroux in the playoffs, I think Moller has a bigger upside than Claude, he's younger, and hasn't had someone like Gagne to create room for him.

I was amazed that OM made the team. It is very difficult to go from 70 jr. games to 70 NHL games per year. This is even more difficult giving his size. He has a great heart, but he is going to be a target out there. I think he gave everything he physically could.
A-

Darko - speaking of targets, did you notice that the Thunder players were going after Tuebert? I saw him Thursday and he did miss some passes, fail to clear the zone, and fail to get his point shot through, and took a dumb penalty in the first couple of periods. He was also targeted. The Thunder ran him a couple of times, tried to trash talk with him and even flipped a puck in his face. He still came out and played a solid third. You may have also noticed that he looks like the smallest player on the team other than the one fast winger. His skating was good, his positioning was pretty good and his leverage was very good. He also read the attack well and verbally organized the back checkers. He just has a long way to go in the strength department.

I greatly appreciate Rich stepping up and defining the ground rules. People bent on tearing down, or destroying something will often use the tactic of making a clear, mostly agreeable comment and then throw in the destructive comment in the middle or end of their statement. This is done in the hope that if you agree with the primary post, that you may give thought to the secondary post as well. Then repeat as many times as possible. The name calling (ex. Murphy) is another negative tactic. The insightful posts are great, but this blog is one hundred times better without the constant, unsubstantiated bashing. Thanks Rich

Jet,
I noticed that same thing against Phoenix, so I completely hear where you're coming from. He's so smooth, but his failure to clear the zone and make that first pass, I agree, very suspect. Its just frustrating to see such a highly prized prospect play so mediocre.
Was the power play awful when you went?
I have never seen a more confused, and clustered, PP in professional hockey. period

Darko - Actually, the PP was a bit of a challenge for both teams. Both defenses tried successfully to hold the blue line, so a lot of dump and chase. There was a couple of PP for each team. The ref was excellent and let them play. The overall skating was pretty good, the effort was good, but the ability to shoot was limited (expect Holloway). Zatkoff was exceptional.

I'm no Ducks fan by any means but Fox Sports West/Ticket can't even show a Ducks Stanley Cup playoff game in HD locally. How lame is that?

Home white jerseys forever!

Thanks again Rich for your Godliness on this site. Keep it up. Cheers.

hey Rich do you mind making a just a new general blog post that we can comment on for general playoff chat... either that or we can make the Oscar review the most popular topic of the year

By the way how pretty was Jeff Carter's goal today...

Speaking of Giroux
...we could have had him, he went two or three picks after Lewis

Speaking of Zatkoff and Tuebert...

How did they do in the 4-2 Ontario loss today? Ontario trails Stockton 3-2, going home for the last two games...

darko-

You're right, we most definitely could've had Claude Giroux, but I'd much rather have Trevor Lewis. The kid is only getting better and next year will be an LA King, now doubt in my mind..

We can have a 10 hour conversation on "could have had, should have had.."

For example, we could've had Mike Green instead of Lauri Tukonen, or Travis Zajac or Wojtek Wolski..

We could've drafted Daniel Paille instead of Denis Grebeshkov, or Duncan Keith..

The difference between DL's drafting abilities and DT's, are that DL won't only draft respectfully in his first rounds, but he'll keep drafting very well throughout the 7 rounds..

Oscar Moller, 2nd round
Wayne Simmonds, 2nd round
Jon Quick, 3rd round

Your right. I was just using the Giroux comparison since it seemed he was a reacurring topic. I love the fact that we seem to be talking so much more right now about the fourth line-projected. I'd like to think its because of the depth of our skilled players.

AK -

Quick was DT. However, you forgot to mention Loktionov, who could turn out to be the best late round pick from the Kings since Robert Lang. And there's also Wudrick, Cameron, Dwight King, and several others to hope for. Loktionov is third in OHL playoff scoring right now (Tavares is fourteenth; Cameron twenty-fifth).

http://kwisp.wordpress.com/2009/04/18/ohl-playoff-leaders-loktionov-3-duchene-9-tavares-14/

Quisp -

I would've kept going but I decided to just name the players that have already proven that the can play in the NHL. Oh and I just realized Quick was DT, oops..

How about Bud Holloway? Pretty solid player imo, no? Quisp, I haven't really heard much from you on the kid, what do you think?

He put up 43 goals and 40 assists in 70 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL (Thomas Hickey's team) in 2007-2008.. Not bad?

Rich I agree with your assessment. He brings competitiveness to every game. He gets absolutely smashed out there on the ice and just lets it roll off of him. And he doesn't let that prevent him from doing what needs to be done. He isn't afraid of getting into those dangerous scoring areas.

This kid brings something the Kings are in need of. Quickness and speed. Dude get move the legs. He's always in the corner first and with the Kings boring dump and chase style that's key.

I hope he develops some muscle over the summer but doesn't sacrifice quickness to get it. I'm hoping he gets a chance on the second or third line to get some scoring opportunities next season.

He's also one of those people who's just happy to be playing hockey and a little light-heartedness on this team isn't bad. The boys have to be gripping the stick a little tight not making the playoffs in so long.

actually Moller has always been my favorite hockey player ever since he was on the chilliwack bruins, he had 71 goals and 81 assists in two years with the bruins. I think the only reason he wasn't scoring enough goals is because he didn't get to play enough games, be cause he was a healthy scratch.