The first of four scrimmages took place on Thursday between coach Jim Hiller’s new look LA Kings. Team Black came out on top 5-3 in a game that was fairly close throughout, until Trevor Moore potted an empty net goal late in regulation.
Side note — all practices and scrimmages are free and open to the public at Toyota Sports Performance Center in El Segundo (see schedule below).
LA prospect Aatu Jamsen, who is schedule to be with AHL Ontario this season, opened the scoring with a Michigan-style goal. As noted by Reign coach Marco Sturm several times throughout the Rookie Faceoff this past weekend, the 22-year-old Finn has skill in spades.
One funny tidbit about the goal was an interaction that took place over the weekend. Kings scout Christian Ruuttu — who likely knows Jamsen better than anybody else in the organization — was talking with Sturm and encouraged him to use his young forward on the penalty kill. Ruuttu believed that Jamsen was capable of creating offense shorthanded and does a good job positionally when in the defensive zone. Sure enough, Sturm gave him a chance and about 15 seconds in the short-handed situation, Jamsen was in on a breakaway. Sturm could be seen visibly smiling and chuckling on the bench, marveling at the moves of his newest offensive weapon.
Back to the NHL club…
Players were made available to the media on Thursday, with each guy weighing in on various topics. Although there was a central theme, see if you can pick up on it:
Day 1: Kopitar on Roster Changes, Byfield to Center, and Dubois#GoKingsGo#HockeyTwitterDay 1: Kopitar on Roster Changes, Byfield to Center, and Dubois pic.twitter.com/dDSKSVDjPJ
— MayorsManor.com Staff (@MayorsManor) September 20, 2024
Other quotes can be found here:
Day 1: Doughty on a Physical Scrimmage, Roster Changes, Mentoring Clarke
Day 1: Danault on Playing Mean, Hiller’s Plans, and Adding Jeannot
Day 1: Fiala on His New Linemates, Leaving the 1-3-1 Behind, and Camp Priorities
As noted yesterday, from a big picture perspective, the 23-man roster is starting to take shape:
Kings opening camp with…
Laferriere – Kopitar- Kempe
Jeannot – Danault – Moore
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Kaliyev – Thomas – Lewis
Turcotte – Fagemo
It's Day One. No reason to overreact ,Twitter. #GoKingsGo
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) September 19, 2024
Welcome back, DK35
@aloimages pic.twitter.com/mzPNMDLFyH
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) September 19, 2024
For Friday’s scrimmage, here’s how the players have been grouped:
Team A
Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Malott – Turcotte – Fagemo
Greentree – Gawdin – Chromiak
Gavrikov – Spence
Englund – Burroughs
Dvorak – Vaughan
Woolley – Booth
Kuemper
George
Team B
Jeannot – Danault – Moore
Kaliyev – Thomas – Lewis
Lee – Helenius – Ward
Jamsen – Lawerence – Ziemmer
Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Hicketts
Jones – Mania
Rittich
Copley
NOTE: All other players are in Group C. The complete roster of all 68 players in camp can be found here.
Some Thursday Photos
All pictures by ALoImages
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Training Camp Schedule
Friday, September 20
Group B Practice: 10:00 a.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group A vs. B Scrimmage: 10:50 a.m.
Group A Practice: 12:15 p.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group C Practice: 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 21
Group A Practice: 10:00 a.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group A vs. B Scrimmage: 10:50 a.m.
Group B Practice: 12:15 p.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group C Practice: 1:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 22
Group B Practice: 10:00 a.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group A vs. B Scrimmage: 10:50 a.m.
Group A Practice: 12:15 p.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group C Practice: 1:00 p.m.
Monday, September 23
Game Group Morning Skate: 10:00 a.m. (in Utah)
Group B Practice: 10:45 a.m. (NHL Rink 2)
Group C Practice: 11:45 a.m.
Game at Utah: 7:00 p.m. MT (6:00 p.m. PT)
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