On the second day of camp, the Kings got an idea of what their line combinations and defensive pairings might be on opening night.

"We separated players today, and yesterday, we gave a look at what we think our line combinations and defense pairs will be," said Kings head coach Marc Crawford. "They're not written in stone, though."

On day three, the Kings wanted to see the young kids play with the veterans.

"Today, we wanted to see our young prospects play with established NHL veterans, so you saw Thomas Hickey play with Rob Blake," Crawford explained. "You saw Teddy Purcell on a line with Anze Kopitar. Wayne Simmonds played with Derek Armstrong today and looked extremely good."

"We tried to give the guys we think are going to be Kings in the future a chance to see how close they are, how they match up with those veteran players," Crawford added. "Brian Boyle played the whole morning with Lubomir Visnovsky, and we liked how that looked. It was great to see some of our young guys, see that they're close and see that they're going to push for jobs this year. Not only that, we see that the future of the Kings is bright."

Crawford likes what he saw on Wednesday from two late-comers to camp.

"Hickey really held his own today," said Crawford. "Playing with Rob, he looked very comfortable."

Hickey and goaltending prospect Jonathan Bernier were late arrivals to camp after representing Canada in the Super Series. Canada trounced Russia in the series, winning seven of the eight games and outscoring Team Russia, 39-13 in the series.

"We played on Sunday," said Bernier. "I woke up at 4:00 in the morning on Monday to get here."

Bernier and Hickey made it to the Toyota Sports Center later in the day on Monday, but did not participate in on-ice drills after their physical examinations. Their first time on the ice was on Tuesday.

"I thought Bernier was special today," said Crawford. "We got to see him only a little bit in the game, but in the practices, he looks very calm, very quick to get on his angle, he looks very good in all the technical aspects of goaltending--how he sets up, how he moves from side-to-side, how he reacts to rebounds."

"[Bernier] is quick," added Crawford. "At any position, you have to be a great skater. As a goaltender, that is so true as well, and he's a great skater. Great skaters make it look easy, no matter what position you play. If you try to isolate what makes Jonathan extremely good, it's his ability to skate. He can move from side-to- side and from the post out to the high slot with very good efficiency, and that efficiency will pay some huge dividends for him.

THE FUTURE IN GOAL...

Bernier, who is considered to be an elite goaltending prospect and is looked upon as the future in goal for the Kings, played in just two games in the Super Series--his first games since May due to an ankle sprain--and was outstanding for Team Canada.

"I guess I was good in the first two games," said Bernier. "I just tried to do the same things that I did at the end of last season. I was more focused."

Bernier, who was selected by the Kings in the first round (11th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, also said that facing the adversity of being cut from Canada's roster for the 2007 IIHF World Junior Championship tournament last season was an eye-opener for him.

"Being cut at the World Juniors was good for me," he said. "I learned that I wasn't the only goalie who didn't make that team, and I came back strong after recovering from my injury."

And one advantage of playing in the Super Series is coming into training camp already in hockey shape.

"I didn't play in many games, but we had a week in Moscow where we practiced two times a day," Bernier explained. "So I guess I'm in pretty good form right now. For sure I would have liked to participate in the prospect camp but I got some great experience."

...AND ON THE BLUE LINE

Hickey, who was a rather controversial first-round selection (fourth overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft back in June, still seems to be getting used to being in camp with all the established veterans, and when he got to play with Rob Blake on Wednesday, he took a back seat, so to speak.

"He didn't try to do an awful lot offensively, but that's probably what you want from a young player--be respectful of the offensive capabilities of a Rob Blake," said Crawford. "He looked like he was quite content to play in behind him, and he made a lot of very good decisions."

"He's a guy I watched growing up, a guy you look up to," said Hickey. "To be giving him D-to-D passes, and vice-versa is something special to me and I'm really trying to soak it all in."

"He's so calm," added Hickey. "That's probably why he's made a very good living out of this. He doesn't get flustered on the ice. He keeps a really calm demeanor out there and that's nice for a young guy coming in who might have a couple of jitters."

Although Hickey would love to make the Kings opening night roster, he is not focusing on that.

"I just try to put all that aside, really," he explained. I know that, in reality, that's probably [not] going to happen. But if you come in thinking that then you're not really going to gain anything out of it. You might as well go out, give your best and see where you end up."

"If you get sent back to juniors, well you expected that in the first place," he added. "But why not try for something special. At the same time, I won't be let down or anything."

AUBIN TRYING TO MAKE AN IMPRESSION

Netminder Jean-Sebastien Aubin, who was signed as an unrestricted free agent to a one-year deal on August 28, has not had a standout NHL career to date, and that has him working hard to make a good impression with the Kings.

"You want to get off to a good start," said Aubin. "First impressions are always a big thing. You don't want to go into the first couple of games and get lit up. [Tuesday's session] was fun, things went well. I felt very comfortable, and I was very patient, which is my game."

"I think I just have to go out my business, do well on the ice, prove to the team that I can handle the job and go from there," added Aubin.

Aubin explained that once the Toronto Maple Leafs traded for goalie Vesa Toskala, he knew for sure that he was no longer in their plans, but added that he was already talking with other teams early on.

"I had good talks with teams before July," he explained. "But you can't talk about contracts before July, so we were just chatting. When July 1 came around, I had good talks with teams, but nothing really happened. Then the Kings called. We talked for a week, and finally, we got something done."

LOOKING TO REACH THE NEXT LEVEL

For two of the younger Kings, reaching the next level is a goal for this season.

For second-year center Anze Kopitar, that means improving upon his stellar rookie season in 2006-07 when he scored 20 goals and contributed 41 assists for 61 points in 72 games.

"My personal goals are higher," said Kopitar. "I don't want to expect too much or put more pressure on myself, but I go into the season confident and try to do my best every night and try to raise my game to another level."

"My start [last season] was amazing," added Kopitar. "The goals in the start--that will be pretty hard to reach. It was kind of a surprise for me last year. But I'm in good shape and ready to go."

Indeed, Kopitar already looks like he is in mid-season form, at least physically.

"I actually lost some weight, but I feel stronger," Kopitar said regarding his off-season training. "I did some conditioning back home and I think I'm ready to go. I feel stronger overall. I was working on my core because of my back--that was the most important thing this summer. I don't have any problems with my back."

After his highly impressive rookie season and after leading Team Slovenia to victory in Division 1, Group B of the 2007 World Championship, which helped Slovenia qualify for the 2008 IIHF World Championships in Canada, Kopitar became a big star back home.

"It was a pretty big thing when I arrived [in Slovenia]," said Kopitar. "I was kind of expecting it because everyone was telling me how big a deal it was back home. But now that I had a chance to see it, it was good. Sometimes, it bothered me a little bit, but in most cases, it was really good."

"People I didn't even know would come up to me and start asking me questions and talk to me like they knew me for five years," added Kopitar. "I didn't want to be rude but I didn't want to be too nice either."

And for the coming NHL season, Kopitar will have the support of his family right here in Southern California all season long, as he has moved his parents to the area.

"It'll be something special for them to see me every night at Staples Center," he said. "Hopefully, we can get something going in the beginning and put up some wins."

Perhaps eating a lot of his mother's home cooking will help.

Also trying to reach another level is forward Michael Cammalleri, who is coming off a career-year, with 34 goals and 46 assists for 80 points in 81 games, leading the Kings in overall scoring last season.

But for Cammalleri, the next level that he wants to reach is one of leadership.

Indeed, despite being a young player, Cammalleri has played parts of four seasons with the Kings, but only completed his second full season in the NHL last season. Nevertheless, he is being looked upon increasingly as one of the leaders in the dressing room.

"It's a natural progression of things," said Cammalleri. "It's what you expect. Anything else would be a shock. It's exciting for me and all the other guys who are in that role. We work our whole lives to be a part of something, to win something. When you're given those responsibilities it's fun."

And if he is named as an assistant captain?

"It would mean a lot," he said. "It's definitely a responsibility I would like to have, whether it's now or later. I would hope that I can contribute in a leadership role. It's something I've been able to do in the past on other teams in other leagues. I view it as a progression of yourself as a player. If it happens now or it happens later, it's something I would welcome."

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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