Results tagged “Wayne Simmonds” from Inside the Kings
There's no debate about which player was the surprise of training camp. Wayne Simmonds showed potential 12 months ago, but he seemed to be a raw talent in need of a lot of development. Simmonds came in this summer, starting at the development camp, and impressed team management with his improved strength and puck-handling skills. He earned a spot on the roster and will get third-line minutes when the season opens. Of course, with Patrick O'Sullivan returning, Simmonds will need to immediately show that he should stick in the NHL. Here's what Simmonds had to say about his memorable training camp...
Continue reading Simmonds interview.
Wayne Simmonds
Forward
DOB - 8-26-88
Stats:
Owen Sound (OHL)
- Regular season: 17 goals, 22 assists (39 points), 43 PIM
Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
- Reg season: 16 goals, 20 assists (36 points), 68 PIM
- Post season: 5 goals, 9 assists (14 points), 32 PIM
Reporter Ben Leeson from The Sault Star on Simmonds:
"Simmonds is a tough player to contain because of his speed, strength and reach. He seems to maximize all three when he gets a little fierce and battles hard to get into scoring position and pursue rebounds. His wrist shot is hard and accurate and he uses it well even when driving off the wing under pressure from defenders. He's strong on the puck and smart away from it. He excels when he has a centre who knows how to find him. His conditioning is superb. He never seems to tire much."
"Wayne has an NHL frame, but at 175 pounds he could stand to pack on weight if he wants to make the most of it. Sometimes he needs to just let a shot go instead of looking for the nice play. He should be ready for the pro game next year. If he develops at the same rate he has been, I could see him becoming a 20- or 25-goal man at the NHL level."
In his most challenging effort to date, Don Fulton finally tracked down Kings prospect Wayne Simmonds, and got a great interview for his effort. As I just finished telling Don, Simmonds is one of the players I'm most looking forward to seeing again, just to see how he has developed since last fall. Here's the interview...
Continue reading Simmonds interview.
About the bloggers
Rich Hammond has covered the Kings, on a full-time or part-time basis, since the 2000-01 season. He was the beat writer for the entire John Torchetti era and has witnessed Bob Miller singing country music in a Nashville honky-tonk bar. A native of Los Angeles, Rich has worked at the Daily News since 1999 and also serves as the paper's deputy sports editor. E-mail Rich at rich.hammond@dailynews.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews.com.
Recent Comments
tim chaney on Simmonds interview: I'm looking at bob probert, a little lighter with better offensive ski ...
Bob Dobalina Jr. on Simmonds interview: Does anyone else think this kid has "Future Captain" written all over ...
sense13 on Simmonds interview: Anonymous, Simmonds will skate circle around Kos and beat the crap ou ...
Eric K on Simmonds interview: don't worry, ryan and psycho, i don't mean that he's a "traditional" e ...
ryan oliver on Simmonds interview: Listen, just because you drop the gloves that doesn't make you an enfo ...
CiscoC on Simmonds interview: Brovechkin! Can't wait! ...
psycho on Simmonds interview: easy fellas! We're on the same page here! My crack about "L.A." hockey ...
Anonymous on Simmonds interview: sense13, I disagree with "We haven't had anyone with his caliber that ...
sense13 on Simmonds interview: Ryan & Psycho, Just because he's only 177lbs currently, doesn't mean ...