Canucks at Kings - March 29, 2007

Well, well, well. We finally got to see what all this Jack Johnson fuss has been about. In a season that has been absolutely dismal, even for us long-suffering Kings Fans, it was nice to have something that we could all be enthusiastic about here in the spring. That never happens with Kings fans. Jack Johnson got his official welcome to the NHL by being “pin-wheeled” by a Canuck pretty early on in the game. Nice to see Thornton come to his aid, but it was especially nice to see that Johnson was willing to get physical to protect himself as well. I think with all the talk about the tremendous skills that he has, people tend to forget that he’s still a defenseman. He even got into that little shoving episode with a Canuck after receiving what Jim Fox kept referring to as 'the cold shoulder.’ I guess what this means is, he’s no sissy, folks.

All things considered, I was trying not to get too excited about the whole thing. After all, we’re talking about a guy who signed a contract just days ago and was thrown onto the ice to make his NHL debut with all of one practice under his belt. I was surprised to see how much ice time he got, especially on special teams. Anyway, it didn’t take long to realize that he looks like he’s going to be a good one. He definitely looks like what I would call a playmaker, a creator, a facilitator if you will. Anyway, I wonder if the Kings have already determined which Stanley Cup contender they’ll trade him away to in a few years. This will, of course, have to be done if the Kings are going to continue with their “40 year long, 5-year rolling, continuous rebuilding plan.” It’s the only rebuilding plan of its kind in any sport. Nobody does rebuilding like the Kings. Nobody. Maybe that should be their marketing tag line for next season. And the next season. And the season after that….

The future does look bright for the Kings though. They’re going to be a lot of fun to watch next year. Question; is anyone on the Kings as exciting to watch as Dustin Brown? If your answer is anything but ‘yes’ you’re wrong. He’s soooo damn fast. He’s got big-time scoring capability and he’s one of the top hitters in the league. This guy knocks someone on his ass at least once a game. And it’s always a real crowd pleaser of a hit, too. Not one of those grazing hits that Patrick O’Sullivan was dishing out last night. You could almost see the target skate away with a grin on his face after receiving a mighty O’Sullivan blow. Anyway, Camalleri is awesome. Frolov continues to frustrate since he still hasn’t lived up to his potential (he’s the Kings’ answer to Devean George). Yet his numbers have improved. Kopitar has superstar potential, and Visnovsky is one of the good young defensemen in the NHL. All we need is a goalie. Wait a minute! Maybe that should be the Kings marketing tag line for next season and every season going forward.