DRAFT PICKS OF NOTE

Drew Doughty, 6-0, 213, Guelph (OHL): Doughty, chosen with the second overall pick, is a talented puck-moving defenseman who, at age 18, might be ready to crack the NHL lineup this season. The Kings were impressed by his maturity and strong hockey sense in all areas of the game.

Colten Teubert, 6-3, 185, Regina (WHL): Who better to describe Teubert than Teubert? "I'm a punishing defenseman, a player that forwards don't like to play against." Enough said, as far as the Kings were concerned. If he develops into a NHL player, he will give the Kings some much needed toughness. He went with the No. 13 overall pick.

Vjateslav Voinov, 6-0, 190, Russia: The Kings had an eye on Voinov with their No. 28 overall pick, before they traded it to the Anaheim Ducks. They didn't hesitate to grab the Russian defenseman with the No. 32 pick and are confident that Voinov is willing to play junior hockey in North America next season.

FREE AGENT FOCUS
No players signed. Rob Blake, last season's team captain, signed a one-year, $5-million contract with San Jose on July 3.

PLAYER NOTES

--G Jonathan Bernier appears to have a solid chance to make the NHL roster in training camp. Bernier started last season with the Kings but was returned to his junior team for more seasoning. The Kings will go into training camp with the idea that Bernier, who turns 20 in September, could make the team. He looked exceptionally strong during the Kings' development camp in July and will spend time in August at a camp run by Kings goalie coach Bill Ranford. Bernier, presumed to be the Kings' goalie of the future, was the team's first-round draft pick in 2006.

--D Thomas Hickey's status for the start of training camp remains unknown. On July 11, Hickey had pins removed from his right ankle, the latest step in his recovery from the torn ligaments he suffered during the end of the season. Hickey missed the Kings' development camp and wasn't scheduled to start his offseason on-ice training until late July, but still has a chance to make the Kings' roster out of training camp, since the team will likely include at least one young defenseman.

--G Erik Ersberg, a restricted free agent this summer, signed a one-year contract on July 16. The contract is a two-way deal that will pay Ersberg $700,000 if he makes the NHL roster. Ersberg appeared in 14 games for the Kings last season and had a 2.48 goals-against average. The Kings filed to take Ersberg to arbitration but the two sides settled before the hearing.

Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.