KINGS NOTES...
By Gann Matsuda
11-30-01 On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that prospects Jared Aulin, Mike Cammalleri, and Yanick Lehoux have been invited to Canada's World Junior Championship selection camp, held at the Beatrice Ice Gardens in North York, Ontario, Canada, December 10-17, 2001. Aulin, Cammalleri and Lehoux are competing to be on the 22-man team that will represent Canada in the tournament, to be held December 25, 2001 - January 4, 2002, in the Czech Republic. Aulin, 19, was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche by the Kings along with Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, Colorado's first-round choice in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (David Steckel) and Colorado's first-choice in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft for Rob Blake and Steve Reinprecht. Aulin currently co-leads the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League (WHL) with 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points. He is eighth in WHL scoring. Cammalleri, 19, was the Kings second-round choice (49th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He is one of nine players returning to the Canadian Junior Team after helping them capture a bronze at the 2001 World Junior Championship. Cammalleri was second in scoring on Team Canada at that tournament with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in seven games. He currently leads the University of Michigan with in goals (8) and points (15) in 13 games. Lehoux, 19, was the Kings third-round choice (86th overall) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. He currently ranks sixth in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) scoring with 29 goals and 27 assists for 56 points in 25 games with Baie-Comeau Drakkar. With 29 goals, Lehoux is tied for the league lead, and he leads the QMJHL with 11 shorthanded goals.
11-23-01 On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that defenseman Jason Holland has been assigned to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. Holland appeared in three games for the Kings since being recalled on October 15. This move is a likely indication that defenseman Andreas Lilja, who suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his knee, is ready to return to the Kings' lineup.
11-19-01 On Monday, the Los Angeles Kings recalled winger Brad Chartrand from the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. Chartrand, 26, was assigned by the Kings to Manchester on September 27. He has played in sixteen games for the Monarchs, and led the team with 16 points, on 6 goals and 10 assists. Chartrand also led the Monarchs in assists, and he led the AHL with three shorthanded goals. Chartrand has played in 54 games with the Kings, recording 7 goals and 6 assists for 13 points. He was signed by the Kings as a free agent on July 21, 1999, and will wear jersey number 29.
11-15-01 On Thursday, the Los Angeles Kings announced that defenseman Mathieu Schneider has been placed on injured reserve after undergoing successful surgery to repair a sports hernia and a torn abdominal muscle at Centinela Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Craig Smith performed the operation. Schneider, will begin rehabilitation immediately and will miss six weeks. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Late Thursday, it was learned that Los Angeles Kings' defenseman Mathieu Schneider will undergo surgery at Centinela Hospital Medical Center on Thursday to repair a sports hernia. Sources close to the Kings revealed that Schneider, who has a history of groin injuries, underwent an ultrasound examination on Wednesday, which revealed the extent of the injury. Schneider will be out of the lineup for six to eight weeks. Dr. Craig Smith, who performed the same surgery on former Kings' center Jozef Stumpel and most recently on Kings' center Steve Kelly, will perform the surgery on Schneider. Kings' defenseman Jason Holland is expected to see ice time with Schneideer out of the lineup. Defenseman Andreas Lilja, who has been on injured reserve with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, is expected to travel with the Kings on their upcoming road trip, and could begin practicing with the team.
11-12-01 On Monday, former Los Angeles Kings' forward Jari Kurri will officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the hall in Toronto, Canada. Kurri, who was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame on June 14, 2001, along with former NHL greats, Viacheslav Fetisov, Mike Gartner, and Dale Hawerchuk, is the first Finnish player to be elected. "It is a great honor since so few players are able to make it to this level," said Kurri. "To be the first Finnish player elected is especially gratifying." "Personally, it's the best thing that ever happened to me as a hockey player," Kurri added. "It's the greatest thing to happen personally. "I was lucky to have a good career, stay healthy and play with the great players." Kurri, who was traded by the Kings to the New York Rangers on March 14, 1996 (along with Marty McSorley and Shane Churla, in exchange for Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperriere, Nathan Lafayette, Mattias Norstrom, and a fourth-round pick in the 1997 draft [Sean Blanchard]), played for the Rangers, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Colorado Avalanche after wearing the Kings' jersey for almost five full seasons, from 1991-92 to 1995-96. He retired in 1998, as a member of the Avalanche. With the Kings, Kurri scored 108 goals and 185 assists for 293 points in 331 games. He is ranked 16th on the Kings' all-time scoring list. Kurri, who ranks sixth all-time in goal scoring by Kings' right wingers, is also 13th all-time in playoff scoring for the Kings, with 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 28 playoff games. Kurri was acquired by the Kings on May 30, 1991, along with Jeff Chychrun from the Philadelphia Flyers, as part of a big, three-way deal. In exchange, the Kings sent Steve Duchesne, Steve Kasper, and a fourth-round pick in the 1991 draft (Aris Brimanis) to the Flyers. Earlier that day, the Flyers sent Craig Fisher, Scott Mellanby and Craig Berube to the Oilers for Kurri, Dave Brown and Corey Foster. Of course, Kurri's best years came when he was part of the dynasty years of the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers in the Eighties. Kurri won Stanley Cups with the Oilers in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988, before Gretzky was traded to the Kings in August, 1988. Kurri also won the Cup in 1990 with Edmonton, his fifth Stanley Cup. Kurri was best-known for being the recipient of Gretzky's passes, usually resulting in a one-timer for a goal. "Wayne and I were no secret, really," Kurri said. "He was a great passer and I liked to hit the holes and shoot the puck." Kurri's offensive prowess earned him a whopping 601 goals and 797 assists for 1,398 points in 1,251 games, making him the highest-scoring European-born player in NHL history. And in the playoffs, Kurri is ranked third behind Gretzky and Messier, with 106 career goals and 127 assists for 233 points. With the Oilers, Kurri scored 1,043 points, second in team history behind Gretzky's 1,669. Kurri also scored fifty goals or more in four straight seasons with Edmonton, including 71 goals in 1984-85. "Jari Kurri was underrated as a player," said Oilers' general manager Kevin Lowe, who was a defenseman on those vaunted Oilers' teams in the Eighties. "I really believe that. Sounds crazy, as much as he accomplished, but that's the truth." "What people tended to overlook was that to play with Gretz, a guy needed a lot of natural ability just to be able to read what he was going to do," Lowe explained. "People just thought 'Well, no wonder he scores. He's out there with Gretzky all the time!' Sorry, but it wasn't that simple. Nobody could see a game, think a game, like Wayne. A lot of guys would get out there with him and just be totally lost. He was so far ahead of them." "He wasn't ahead of Jari," Lowe added. "They were on the same wavelength almost from the word 'Go.'" Lowe also marvelled at his memories of Kurri's great skill. "He was so smooth," Lowe recalled. "It's hard to think of anyone who could one-time a puck as well as Jari. [Former Kings' left wing, now with the Detroit Red Wings, Luc] Robitaille can do it, kind of. But he's awkward, sort of whacks at the puck. [Former Kings' right wing] Bernie Nicholls could do it. But Jari, it was so fast, so smooth, so effortless that the puck was in and out of the net before anyone could bat an eye." "He was just a natural goal scorer," Lowe said. "The kind of talent that can't be taught." Gretzky, who would be reunited with Kurri in Los Angeles, praised his long-time teammate, saying that Kurri was as good defensively as he was on offense. "Jari Kurri was one of the most unselfish players I ever played with," Gretzky said. "He could easily have score twenty more goals a year if he'd been more selfish. It was amazing, especially on our hockey club, the way he always put defense ahead of offense. He was born that way. It was in his blood." Kurri's great offensive talent overshadowed his defensive prowess, and was usually overlooked. "How many players ever had the ability to be flawless at the defensive end of the ice and dangerous at the offensive end?" asked Lowe. "I'll tell you...not many. Not in that era. Not in this era. But Jari Kurri was one of those players. This guy was good enough defensively that he could've won five or six Selkes." No question. In fact, even among greats such as Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr, Kurri was the Oilers' best all-around player. "We've got some outstanding people, eh? All-Stars, right?" said Oilers' Personnel Director Barry Fraser back in the Eighties, during the Oilers' dynasty years. "But Kurri is by far our most complete player." "The unfortunate thing about Jari is that he played at a time when they didn't vote the Selke Trophy [awarded annually to the best defensive forward in the NHL] to offensive players," Lowe said. "Either [Sergei] Fedorov or [Steve] Yzerman won it one year and then it became fashionable. Before that, it was low-scoring players only." The 2001 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis on ESPN2 at 8:00 PM PST on Monday.
Sources close to the Los Angeles Kings indicated on Sunday that center Steve Kelly, who underwent abdominal surgery to repair a hernia, is ready to return to the lineup, and is expected to be assigned or loaned to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL on Monday.
11-10-01 On Saturday, the Los Angeles Kings activated right wing Ziggy Palffy and defenseman Aaron Miller, and both are in action as of this writing as the Kings take on the Detroit Red Wings at Staples Center. To make room on the roster, the Kings assigned rookie forward Jaroslav Bednar to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL. Bednar, 26, has played in ten games with the Kings this season, with an assist and two penalty minutes.
11-9-01 The injury bug continues to bite the Los Angeles Kings, this time down at Manchester... Center Adam Mair suffered a fractured orbital bone in his face during a recent game with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL, the Kings' primary minor league affiliate. Mair, 22, will be out of the lineup for four to six weeks. Mair, who was acquired late last season in a trade that sent defenseman Aki Berg to the Toronto Maple Leafs, was struck in the face by a wrist shot from close-range. Mair needed four plates and sixteen screws to repair the damage. But there is good news on the injury front... Right wing Ziggy Palffy and defenseman Aaron Miller are expected to return to the lineup on Saturday when the Kings host the Detroit Red Wings. The Kings will also honor former Kings' left wing Luc Robitaille, now with Detroit. A video tribute will be shown prior to the game.
