Los Angeles Kings: Getting Physical At Development Camp

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Los Angeles Kings 2009 Development Camp for their young prospects, which ended on July 12, was rather different from camps held in previous years for several reasons.

One was the fact that only three days of the week-long camp were open to the public and the media to allow the young players to better focus on the task at hand.

But another more striking reason was that compared to previous camps, there seemed to be a greater intensity during both the scrimmages and the practice sessions and much of that may have been due to the fact that the Kings have brought in a number of prospects who not only are capable of playing a physical brand of hockey, but their toughness and fierce, competitive nature extends into their psyche as well, something that has been somewhat lacking throughout the Kings’ system.

One such player is their first round pick (fifth overall) in the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Brayden Schenn, a wet-behind-the-ears seventeen-year-old center from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

“The one thing about this guy is that his number one attribute is his competitiveness,” Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi at the draft in Montreal on June 26. “He’s a playoff-type player. I know that’s what [Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian] Burke saw in him and that’s certainly what we liked about him.”

“He’s a good player, but this is a kid in the playoffs when they were playing the Calgary Hitmen where his shoulder went out and he refused to quit,” Lombardi added. “He tried to play with one shoulder and refused to leave the bench. When you talk about a competitor that’s pretty attractive.”

For the 6-0, 198-pound Schenn, it was his first trip to Southern California and he got a lot out of the development camp.

“It’s been good, my first pro camp coming in here,” said Schenn. “Really didn’t know what to expect. It definitely wasn’t an easy week. Long days, but at the same time, it was good. Learned a lot of good things. Everyone got something out of the whole week, so it was good.”

Like the rest of the young prospects, Schenn will now begin his off-season training regimen back home in Saskatoon.

“I’ll be working out with guys, we’ll have a trainer,” he said. “I’ll train with my brother [defenseman Luke Schenn of the Maple Leafs]. We have a pretty good program there and that’s what I’ve been doing for I don’t know how long now.”

The Kings want Schenn to work on his skating, his quickness and his strength.

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