Hextall on King, Pelech

I was able to get some comments from Ron Hextall, the Kings’ assistant general manager, about Dwight King and Michael Pelech after today’s notebook went to press.

So here they are:

On Michael Pelech:

He’s a good character guy. He’s doing all the little things that help you win. He’s not going to show up on the scoreboard a lot, but he’s going to win battles and block shots. He’s what we would consider a role player. 

He said he was surprised to be drafted at age 19; how uncommon is that? 

It’s getting more and more common. Our co-director of amateur scouting, Mike Futa, the more he watched (Pelech), the more he liked him. His intangibles are off the charts. 

On King:

He’s a toolbox – he’s got size, he can skate, has good hands. He projects as a power forward. He’s just got all kinds of physical attributes. He needs to upgrade his consistency. We want him to use his hands, power his way through guys, take straight lines — figure out what’s going to make him succeed. 

How long does it usually take a player like King and Pelech to reach the NHL?

With both, it’s going to take some time. The odd guy steps in — Anze Kopitar stepped in right away — but they’re few and far between. Wayne Simmonds stepped in right away. Because they’re in the ECHL, they’ve got two steps to take, but we do view them as prospects. They’re probably looking at the two-to-three year range.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.