Andreas Lilja has continued to be a disappointment, an overage veteran drafted out of the Swedish Elite league in the 2nd round of the 2000 draft, Lilja has a nice set of wheels and can move the puck, but his head is not in the game enough and he has consistently taken stupid penalties this pre-season. Barring any injuries Lilja will be sent back to Manchester in the final cut.
In better news, winger Adam Mair has been outstanding so far in the pre-season, displaying the grit and hard work he was known for during his junior days. Mair is in a dog fight with Steve Kelly, Scott Thomas and Randy Robitaille for those final roster spots. Mair could be a contributor this year for the Kings, and would look great on a line with Ian Laperriere.
Rookie Jaroslav Bednar has recovered from an awful start to the pre-season by picking up a couple of goals in his last two games, but more importantly than the goals, is the fact that Bednar doesn’t look out of place out there like he did earlier in camp. With the Tomas Vlasak disaster fresh in the minds of the staff, the Kings want to put Bednar in the best possible position to succeed.
Just a quick update for Kings fans wondering how much Yanick Lehoux will light up the Q this year, well he is off to a good start. Playing in his first game Friday night since being sent down, Yanick scored 2 goals and added 2 assists for a 4 pt game. Both of Yanick’s goals came shorthanded, something he did a lot of last year as well.
Stephane Fiset yesterday went unclaimed in the Waiver Draft in which any club in the NHL could have had him for free, this might be enough proof that Fiset’s days as a NHL goalie, much less as a starter are over. The Kings are now stuck in the dilemma of what to do with him, he is slated to earn $2.75 million whether he plays in LA or Manchester. Dave Taylor was probably hoping that Vancouver would grab him and his $2.75 million contract. Taylor is going to have to eat up at least half of his contract and hope some club desperate for a veteran back-up would give the Kings a mid-round pick for him.
