Friday night in San Diego, Arthur Kaliyev completed his five-game conditioning assignment with AHL Ontario. Offensively speaking, it was his most productive game. The 23-year-old forward scored a power play goal and produced three shots on goal. Postgame, we caught up with him and coach Marco Sturm (see comments below). Then, as expected, Kaliyev was recalled to the NHL on Saturday morning after Trevor Moore was placed on injured reserve.
“Hopefully it helped him get up to speed a little bit,” Sturm said, offering an evaluation of Kaliyev’s brief time with the Reign. “Obviously, it’s going to be a little bit different with the Kings, but it’s been a long. Long time for him. You forget that he missed training camp and all video [instruction] too — all the system stuff — so, I think it was good for him. I think there’s another level in him. He just has to make sure he’s ready to go starting tomorrow on the system’s front.”
Knowing it’s a delicate balance between letting a player return from injury at his own pace and bringing him up speed on everything he’s missed, Sturm admitted to walking a delicate line over the past few weeks.
“You have to be careful; you can overwhelm him with so many things,” the former NHL player turned head coach explained. “But the good thing is, a lot of [the Kings system] stayed the same [with Jim Hiller taking over]. As soon as you step on the ice, things happen really fast; and all of a sudden, you kind of play the old way, not the new way. That’s where he got caught a few times.”
For his part, Kaliyev was mildly pleased with his play, when looking at the big picture.
“[I felt] better towards the third and fourth game,” he shared. “This one was a little bit rusty, but not bad. The [holiday] break didn’t help me because I was just getting back into it and then we had that five-day break again. But I thought it was better than I thought I’d feel, just a little bit rusty with the skill set.”
Did he feel he accomplished as much as he possibly could have in those five games, including playing in back-to-back games, scoring a goal, etc.?
“I think so,” he remarked. “A little bit tough after not playing for a long time, obviously. Could have done better, probably scoring — after missing so many chances. But I think I’m starting to feel like myself a little bit more. I’m not saying I’m quite there, at my top level yet, but I think it’s getting there slowly by playing these games.”
Back to those Xs and Os that Sturm was talking about, Kaliyev acknowledged he was trying to soak as much of that stuff in as he could.
“I was trying to think the game out there again, learn the system,” shared the young forward. “It all comes together by playing those games — the systems and how you feel, everything.”
In his first game of the conditioning assignment, Kaliyev scored in a shootout. Friday night saw him score a goal during regulation. Naturally, that was one of his highlights and helped punctuate his time in Ontario.
“That part was great,” he said with a rare smile. “I’m just trying to get my whole entire [game back] — the battles, making great passes, all those types of things — because you’ll need that up there if you want to play. Overall, I’m happy to get the first one. Maybe it will be a little confidence boost.”
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Follow @mayorNHL
Continue reading...
