LOS ANGELES (June 20, 2007) -- On Friday, the Los Angeles Kings begin the next chapter of their current rebuilding project, and all eyes will be focused on Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, where the Kings will have the fourth overall pick in the 2007 National Hockey League Entry Draft.

Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi and his scouting staff are already hunkered down in their Columbus hotel, working on their game plan, which could include trading their first round pick.

"In these situations, you have to do everything," said Lombardi. So if you're not shopping, you're not doing your job. Right now, you're looking at everything. Moving it, moving it down and then you make a decision."

"I'm not close to anything right now, but you'll do that right up until you make your pick," added Lombardi.

Conventional wisdom has forwards filling out the top three draft prospects on most published lists, which generally include right wing Patrick Kane and forward Kyle Turris, with forward James Van Riemsdyk and right wing Jakub Voracek battling for the third spot.

"I'd say overall that the conventional wisdom out there is probably the way most people see [the draft]," said Lombardi.

With forwards likely to be taken with the first three picks, chances are high that the Kings will choose a defenseman with the fourth overall pick, and the highest-rated defenseman prospects on most published lists are Karl Alzner and Keaton Ellerby.

Alzner scored eight goals with 39 assists for 47 points with 32 penalty minutes in 63 regular-season games with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) last season.

Ellerby scored two goals and added 23 assists for 25 points with 120 penalty minutes in 69 regular-season games for Kamloops of the WHL last season. He also scored a goal with two assists for three points with 12 penalty minutes in four playoff games.

Both defensemen have certainly been given a long, hard look by the Kings. Lombardi believes that both will be available when the fourth pick comes around, and thinks that Alzner is the more polished player, while Ellerby has more potential.

"I wouldn't disagree with the sentiment that Alzner is probably more of a finished product, and I think in Ellerby, you're looking more in terms of up side," said Lombardi.

"Alzner is pretty well-defined," added Lombardi. "He's a good player. His play is ahead of the curve with four years of junior in already, and he's played in the World Junior tournament. He's a more mature player, and his game is more mature."

"Ellerby is still growing and still defining himself. In the end, people might see Ellerby with more up side, but Alzner is a guy-- probably what you see is--you know what you're getting, and that often doesn't happen with 18-year-olds."

Some have predicted that the Kings are likely to select Russian right wing Alexei Cherepanov, but if you read between the lines, or even the lines themselves, it seems rather unlikely.

"I don't think anyone questions his ability," Lombardi said about Cherepanov. "When he wants to bring it, he's a pretty good player. But as far as the other things, you just don't know."

"Obviously, the Russian landscape has changed, not only in terms of their straight ability to get them over here, but with the money the Russians can pay. So you have to make sure he wants to be an NHL player and not be in the [Alexei] Morozov category where he's still a young player in his prime, turns down $3 million and goes home."

Indeed, it sounds more like Lombardi will be giving Cherepanov a wide berth this weekend.

Last season, Lombardi made the biggest splash in terms of draft-day deals, sending star forward Pavol Demitra to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Patrick O'Sullivan and the Wild's first round pick in 2006 that the Kings used to select center prospect Trevor Lewis.

That deal dumped salary, and nabbed two young, talented forward prospects for the Kings. But those who are hoping the Kings will once again make a big splash on Friday with a similar deal are likely to be disappointed.

"Right now, I don't see that type of deal, but you never say never," said Lombardi. "If you look at our list, I don't know if we have that type of player to deal even if we wanted to. As far as that type of deal, I haven't seen anything like that yet. Things can change, but that hasn't crossed my desk yet."

"You never say never, but I don't really want to do that at this point," added Lombardi. "We've put some young players in the organization, and we're going to add, hopefully, a couple more good players here in this draft. We're loaded for picks next year. I don't know if I want to strip out any more veterans. But you never know."

"Someone might knock your socks off. As I've said, you have a plan, but sometimes you have be willing to adjust it. It would take a major proposal from somebody for us to adjust it to that degree."

And what will Lombardi's draft strategy be? A rather simple one.

"It's the best available player," he said. "The rub comes when those players are really close. Then you look at position. In theory, it should work easy, but at times, it can be really close."

PREDICTION:

Gann Matsuda is a Los Angeles native and has followed the Los Angeles Kings since 1973. His days covering the Kings began in the mid-80's when he wrote game stories and news and notes pieces on various online services (GEnie, National Videotex Network and eWorld), before moving to e-mail lists and the World Wide Web. He has been the news editor for the Online Kingdom (http://www.kingshockey.com) since 1995, and has also covered professional hockey players of Japanese descent for the Rafu Shimpo (Los Angeles Japanese Daily News) since  2001.

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KINGS 2007:

Evaluating the 06-07 LA Kings Part 3 (3 Part Series)

A Look at the Road Ahead

Kings Notes, Mar 28, 2007

Kings Notes, Feb. 14, 2007

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