KINGS NOTES...
By Gann Matsuda
5-17-01 On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that defenseman Jaroslav Modry underwent successful surgery to repair a small abdominal muscle tear. The surgical procedure was performed on Thursday at the Centinela Hospital Medical Center by Dr. Craig Smith. A full recovery is expected. The Kings also announced that Bruce Boudreau, currently the head coach of the Lowell Lock Monsters of the AHL (Kings' AHL affiliate), has been named as the head coach of the Manchester Monarchs, who will join the AHL next season. The Monarchs will be the Kings' top minor league affiliate starting next season. Boudreau, 43, spent the last two seasons as the Head Coach of the Lowell Lock Monsters, also of the AHL, taking the team to the playoffs both years. Prior to joining Lowell, Boudreau spent three seasons as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the East Coast Hockey League and led the Sea Wolves to the 1998-99 Kelly Cup (ECHL Championship). "This is a new era in Kings' hockey," Boudreau said. "The players and myself cannot wait to get to Manchester. We've all been anxiously awaiting this day." "We are very fortunate to be able to have a coach of Bruce's credentials on board," said Monarchs President, Jeff Eisenberg. "He has been a winner at every level, and that kind of track record can only filter down to your players and enhance their development. "Our fans and media will thoroughly enjoy Bruce's amiable personality," Eisenberg added. "Los Angeles continues to make excellent moves to develop their organization into a perennial Calder Cup and Stanley Cup contender." "The Kings are very pleased to announce that Bruce Boudreau has accepted the head coaching position in Manchester," said Manchester General Manager Kevin Gilmore. "Bruce has played a key role in the development of our prospects over the past two years and he brings strong credentials as both a head coach and player." "This position is very important to the overall success of the Los Angeles Kings and we like the way he teaches and works with young players," added Gilmore. "This hire is another critical step forward in our plan to build a top-notch development system."5-11-01 On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that they have assigned right wing Scott Thomas to the Manitoba Moose of the IHL. Thomas, 31, played in twenty-four regular season games for the Kings this season, scoring three goals and tallying an assist for four points. In the playoffs, Thomas scored the power play goal in Game three in the first round against Detroit, starting the Kings' phenomenal come back from a 3-0 deficit to a 4-3 overtime win. Thomas was assigned back to Manitoba so he can play in the IHL Western Conference finals against the Chicago Wolves. 
5-8-01 Good, long-term news for hockey in Los Angeles... Fox Sports Net announced that their telecast of Game six of the Western Conference Semi-Finals between the Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche on Sunday evening, a double-overtime, 1-0 win for the Kings, was the highest-rated Kings' playoff telecast since 1997. The telecast recorded a 3.5 household rating in the Los Angeles area, compared to an average of 1.6 during the Kings' previous playoff games this season. Sunday's rating peaked at 5.7 at 10:00 PM PDT, which amounts to over 300,000 households in the Los Angeles area. Each rating point in the Los Angeles metropolitan area equals 53,542 households. The ratings data was provided by Nielsen Media Research, and does not include viewer information outside of the Los Angeles area.
