Results matching “Erik Ersberg” from Inside the Kings

Based on the stats, and seemingly on the opinions of many observers, Jonathan Bernier had a better camp/exhibition season than Erik Ersberg. Should that be enough for Bernier to earn a spot on the NHL roster ahead of Ersberg, or would Bernier still be better off as the clear No. 1 goalie in Manchester?

Frankly, I'm not sure it matters a whole lot right now. Bernier can go to Manchester and come back up if the Kings decide Ersberg isn't cutting it (see: LaBarbara, Jason, circa 2008), or even if Quick isn't cutting it. It might give Bernier a mental boost to make the team, but what would be best for his development? Hard to say. Here's what Terry Murray said about the goalie choice:

MURRAY: ``Yeah, it will be a tough decision. No. 1 in clear in my mind. Quick is clearly, to me, the No. 1 goaltender. He played well throughout the camp. He earned the right to come into camp as the No. 1 guy, and now the decision is to be made on the No. 2.''

I asked Murray if, regardless of all the discussion about what Bernier can and can't do, Ersberg had done enough on his own to be the No. 2 goalie.

MURRAY: ``He has showed enough, yeah. That's the decision that we have to make, obviously. Bernier and he have played well in the training camp and their exhibition games. We just have a hard decision to make.''

So what do you think?

-- Ryan Smyth had a four-point night, with two goals and two assists. He was the third star of the game, behind No. 1 Bobby Ryan and No. 2 Ryan Getzlaf.

-- Anze Kopitar had two goals and one assist and finished with a game-high eight shots on goal. No other Kings player had more than four shots.

-- Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier got an almost-entirely-equal split. Ersberg played the first 29:49 and allowed two goals on 14 shots. Bernier played the rest of the way and allowed three goals on 15 shots.

-- The Kings went 3 for 7 on the power play and 3 for 4 on the penalty kill.

-- Jack Johnson led the Kings in ice time, at 24:53. Anze Kopitar led forwards at 22:47.

-- The Kings lost 59 percent of faceoffs. Brad Richardson went 2 for 8.

At the midpoint of the second period -- well, 10:11 to be exact -- the Kings swapped Jonathan Bernier for Erik Ersberg in goal. Ersberg stopped 12 of 14 shots.

Corey Perry scored a 4-on-4 goal 2:03 into the first period. Perry shot from a sharp angle to the right of the net. Erik Ersberg looked to be square to the puck and got a good piece of it, but it trickled past him and into the net. Moments earlier, the Kings had a goal waved off because Ryan Smyth was called for goaltender interference.

Colorado pushed its lead to 3-1 on a T.J. Hensick goal 5:28 into the period (assists to former King Kyle Quincey and Chris Stewart. Trevor Lewis scored his first goal of the preseason, shorthanded (assist to Brad Richardson) to pull the Kings with 3-2 with 2:12 to play, but goalie Craig Anderson and the Avalanche held on.

Some notes...

-- Erik Ersberg played the entire game and stopped 22 shots. Anderson stopped 31.

-- The Kings had only one power play and failed on it (the also failed on the aforementioned penalty shot by Marc-Andre Cliche). The Kings' penalty kill went 3 for 3.

-- Rich Clune got in two first-period fights and Matt Greene got in a third-period fight.

-- Jack Johnson led all Kings in ice time at 23:38, 14 seconds more than Drew Doughty. Justin Williams led all Kings forwards at 21:09.

-- Williams had a game-high six shots on goal. Rob Scuderi blocked three shots.

-- Trevor Lewis was the star in the faceoff circle, winning 7 of 11. Cliche lost 8 of 10.

Peter Harrold scored an even-strength goal, 11:17 into the first period, to give the Kings a 1-0 lead over the Avalanche, and that's where it stands in the first intermission. Raitis Ivanans and Jack Johnson picked up the assists. Erik Ersberg stopped all seven shots he faced and Rich Clune managed to get in two fights in the game's first 10 minutes...

First... Wow...the response today has been completely overwhelming. Thank you so much. I should have noted that things will remain normal around here for the next week. I'll let everyone know exactly when the move is being made, and to where. Back to hockey!

Terry Murray has not officially said that Jonathan Quick will start the season opener next Saturday. Unofficially? Well...

``I think, on the issue of our No. 1 goalie, there's no question that Quick is our No. 1 guy at the start of the season,'' Murray said. ``He earned that with the way he played last year.''

So while Murray has not officially announced Quick as the opening night starter, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which that wouldn't happen. A better, more relevant question is, who will be the backup? Erik Ersberg or Jonathan Bernier? Murray isn't ready to reveal that answer yet either, but gave his strongest hint to date when I talked to him this morning.

``It's a very close call, because both have played well and both of them have looked good in training camp,'' Murray said. ``If you look at the way Bernier has developed, I have been very pleased, but for him to be able to continue to play, and play a lot -- meaning in Manchester -- that would be a good thing in my mind.''

Murray noted, however, that the decision is not entirely his. Meaning, of course, that Dean Lombardi's input will also factor heavily into the discussion. In the end, it probably makes sense to have Bernier in Manchester as the No. 1, at least at the start of the season. The Kings would need to watch him carefully, though, to make sure he stays mentally sharp and doesn't get ``down'' about the assignment, the way he did at the start of last season.

After a round of cuts, it never hurts to keep tabs of where the roster stands. With just under two weeks before the start of the season, the Kings have 35 players on the training-camp roster...

GOALIES
Jonathan Bernier
Erik Ersberg
Jonathan Quick

DEFENSEMEN
Drew Bagnall
Andrew Campbell
Drew Doughty
Davis Drewiske
Matt Greene
Thomas Hickey
Jack Johnson
Alec Martinez
Sean O'Donnell
Joe Piskula
Rob Scuderi

FORWARDS
Dustin Brown
Marc-Andre Cliche
Kyle Clifford
Richard Clune
Alexander Frolov
Gabe Gauthier
Michal Handzus
Peter Harrold
Raitis Ivanans
Anze Kopitar
Trevor Lewis
Teddy Purcell
Brad Richardson
Brayden Schenn
Brandon Segal
Wayne Simmonds
Ryan Smyth
Jarret Stoll
Kevin Westgarth
Justin Williams
John Zeiler

Jonathan Bernier is expected to play the full game tonight when the Kings host the Ducks. That would be Bernier's second full game. So far, Bernier and Jonathan Quick have each played a full game, while Erik Ersberg and Jeff Zatkoff split the game in Phoenix (with Ersberg getting two periods).

It will be interesting to see what the Kings do after tonight. Four goalies is a lot to have in camp when there's only one practice group (which there will be, starting Sunday), but certainly not impossible. Three goalies can be an awkward number to practice with, but the Kings did so deep into training camp last year. What does it all mean? Mostly the obvious, that Bernier needs to play well tonight, because decision time is nearing fast.

Here's what Terry Murray had to say regarding the practice of playing a goalie for an entire preseason game, rather than splitting the periods:

MURRAY: ``Years ago, you used to always split the game, and go two periods, one period, because you were a little nervous about the conditioning side of things. I think the guys came into camp in pretty good shape. I see it now, where we had two days of practice and then a game, that they're very attuned to their conditioning. They work hard all summer long, and it's not a concern. I feel that they're just so ready to go, that they really do want to play all three periods.''

All six goalies in Kings camp -- Jonathan Bernier, Jean-Francois Berube, Erik Ersberg, Martin Jones, Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff -- are well regarded by coaches and management, so there's no shortage of competition among the players. It is presumed that Quick has the inside edge on the No. 1 job, based on his play last season, but Bernier will get a long look.

``I don't think anybody really knows what's coming up,'' Bernier said. ``We're in a big battle right now, and the best one is going to get the net.''

Bernier reiterated what he told me during the summer, which was that last season, while personally difficult, was a good learning experience for him.

``Last year was probably the hardest year of my career,'' Bernier said, ``but I learned a lot. I had a lot of ups and downs but I think it was really helpful.

``I think it was more (tough) mentally. I don't think it was physically. I got hurt early in camp (last year) and I was pretty upset. I thought I would get in a (preseason) game or two, and then I was disappointed when I got sent down. When Quick got called up, I was disappointed, but I just had to battle through it.''

I have a bunch of stuff to post from training camp today, but since someone asked earlier (and before I forget), here's the roster for Tuesday's exhibition road game against the Coyotes. The rest of the roster will stay in L.A., and is eligible to play in Tuesday's game at Staples Center, but I have yet to see an official roster for the home game. The home game will be broadcast on 1150-AM and the affiliates with Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans. Here's the road game roster:

Goalies
Erik Ersberg
Jeff Zatkoff

Defensemen
Drew Bagnall
Andrew Campbell
Drew Doughty
Davis Drewiske
Matt Greene
Viatcheslav Voynov

Forwards
Justin Azevedo
Corey Elkins
Alexander Frolov
Gabe Gauthier
Michal Handzus
Raitis Ivanans
Dwight King
Trevor Lewis
David Meckler
Brad Richardson
Wayne Simmonds
John Zeiler

Coaches
Mark Hardy, Jamie Kompon and Bill Ranford

If you're headed to El Segundo to check out the first couple days of training camp, note that the Kings will be skating in ``groups for the first couple days. Here's the breakdown of who is skating in which group:

GROUP A

Goalies
32-Jonathan Quick
75-Jean-Francois Berube

Defensemen
3-Jack Johnson
7-Rob Scuderi
37-Thomas Hickey
78-Drew Bagnall
79-Colten Teubert

Centers
5-Peter Harrold
11-Anze Kopitar
47-Corey Elkins
55-Brayden Schenn

Wingers
14-Justin Williams
33-Kevin Westgarth
49-Brandon Segal
51-Brandon Kozun
56-Richard Clune
57-Linden Vey
60-Tyler Maxwell
64-Kyle Clifford
94-Ryan Smyth

GROUP B

Goalies
36-Jeff Zatkoff
45-Jonathan Bernier

Defensemen
3-Matt Greene
43-Joe Piskula
44-Davis Drewiske
76-Viatcheslav Voynov
81-Andrew Campbell
83-Milan Doczy

Centers
9-Oscar Moller
28-Jarret Stoll
62-Justin Azevedo
70-Michael Pelech

Wingers
13-John Zeiler
23-Dustin Brown
41-Raitis Ivanans
50-Bud Holloway
54-Teddy Purcell
74-Dwight King
82-Geordie Wudrick
85-Geoff Walker

GROUP C

Goalies
31-Erik Ersberg
65-Martin Jones

Defensemen
6-Sean O'Donnell
8-Drew Doughty
53-Alec Martinez
59-Patrick Mullen
73-Radko Gudas
80-Nicolas Deslauriers

Centers
26-Michal Handzus
48-Andrei Loktionov
52-Gabe Gauthier
67-Marc-Andre Cliche

Wingers
15-Brad Richardson
17-Wayne Simmonds
24-Alexander Frolov
58-David Meckler
61-Trevor Lewis
63-Scott Parse
71-Jordan Nolan
77-Dennis McCauley
84-Juraj Mikus

The training-camp schedule can be found here:

Kings 2009 training camp schedule

Today is reporting day for Kings players, and they'll be on the ice tomorrow morning in El Segundo. I'm excited for the start of camp, and I intend to be out there all day tomorrow to get a bunch of stuff for the blog.

Below, I'll post the training-camp preview that I wrote for today's paper. How would you answer the questions? What are you most excited, eager and/or anxious to see/hear about in training camp?

Finally, here's the roster by position...

Here's the numerical roster...

I'll post the training-camp roster in a few different forms, for those who might like to print it out and take it to El Segundo. Here's the alphabetical roster first...

Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is spending this week in Illinois at an Olympic orientation camp for Team USA. Quick is one of three goalie at the camp (along with Ryan Miller and Tim Thomas), and as the following story from the Canadian Press points out, Quick would seem to be in a good spot, given that three goalies will make team USA.

Only three goaltenders taking part in American Olympic orientation workouts

Dustin Brown, also at the orientation camp, had this to say about Quick: ``He came in last year and stood on his head for us. I think this is a huge confidence booster for him to be invited here. He came in last year in L.A. and nobody knew who he was. He's a pretty good goalie and I think he's going to surprise some people.''

The question for Quick might become: will getting a spot on Team USA be easier than holding off Jonathan Bernier and/or Erik Ersberg?

Another set of questions and answers. Still quite a few to go. Looks like we might be headed for a record!

JONATHAN QUICK
This season: 44 games, 21-18-2 record, 2.48 goals-against average, .914 save percentage.
The good: What's not to like? Quick, with only three previous games of NHL experience, came up from Manchester after the Kings traded Jason LaBarbera and, as Terry Murray put it, gave the Kings a chance to win every night. Well, almost every night, but it's hard to argue with what Quick gave the Kings. He had four shutouts, ended the season by allowing a total of six goals in his last four games and generally gave hope that he could be the goalie the Kings have been looking for.
The bad: Forty-four games is a good sample size, but there's still a bit of a ``prove it'' aspect to Quick. Yes, he thrived during a midseason call-up when expectations weren't high. What happens if he earns the No. 1 job out of training camp and feels the pressure of being the top dog? Can he handle it? There's a bit of a consistency issue with Quick, but that can be said about any young goalie.
Going forward: By all indications, Quick will enter training camp as the de facto No. 1 goalie. The Kings will make him earn it, and Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Bernier will be given a chance to knock him off, but Ersberg seems better suited to backup duty and the Kings would ideally like to have Bernier spend another season in the AHL. No player on the Kings is more competitive than Quick, so he should be up to the challenge in training camp.

ERIK ERSBERG
This season: 28 games, (25 starts), 8-11-5, 2.64 goals-against average, .900 save percentage, 0 shutouts.
The good: During a stretch of 16 starts in November and December, Ersberg went 8-4-2 and allowed two or fewer goals in 10 of those starts. Ersberg's rebound control remains his primary strength and his play in stretches this season, coupled with a strong finish to the 2007-08 season, was enough to earn him a midseason two-year contract extension.
The bad: Ersberg followed up that strong 16-game stretch with a groin injury, then returned and hurt his knee. Ersberg won only one game after Dec. 13 and, allowed four goals in four of his last six starts of the season. Injuries continue to be a problem for Ersberg, which is likely a product of his size. Is Ersberg, who is listed way-too-generously at 182 pounds, durable enough to hold up over long stretches?
Going forward: Ersberg is in a pretty good spot going into next season. He might not be able to beat out Jonathan Quick for the No. 1 spot, but the other goalies in camp, namely Jonathan Bernier and Jeff Zatkoff, have something going against them. Dean Lombardi prefers his goalies to spend two years in the minors before they get a crack at the NHL, although he violated his own rule with Quick this season. Ersberg, by virtue of his experience, is a very strong bet to at least be the Kings' backup goalie next season.