SB Nation - Trevor Lewis

Kings Gameday- Ballistic: Sleek vs. Kelly

RudyKelly — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:01:22 -0000

Los Angeles Kings vs. Phoenix Coyotes

7:30 PST, Fox Sports West

Left to right: Earl, Rudy, Rudy's pec's

As you all know, Earl and I hate one another. Maybe it was the time I slept with his sister, or the time I slept with his mom, or the time I slept with him... the point is, we don't like each other. We begrudgingly work together because, for some reason, ranting and cursing only goes well when it's balanced by puns and cartoons. Things finally boiled over recently, however, and we almost came to blows. Cooler heads prevailed (his, because I would destroy him) and we settled our latest disagreement with a bet.

The bet is simple: if the Kings finish higher than the Ducks, I win.

If the Ducks finish higher than the Kings, I don't win.

It's the 2nd greatest bet of all time, behind the bet in Can't Hardly Wait (I'm Freddy Prinze, Jr.). The terms of the bet? Simple, yet devastating: sig change. If I win, Earl has to change his signature to something embarrassing for the entire off-season. If Earl doesn't lose, I have to change my sig to something like, "The only things smoother than Corey Perry's skating skills are his balls on my chin."

And this is where you come in.

We are asking you, our smokin' hot readers, to come up with some ideas for good signatures that I one of us will wear in shame at the end of the season. Post your ideas in the comments and we'll have a vote when I one of us loses in April. My original idea for Earl was, "I sure do deserve a 'pun'ch to the face," but I know you can do better.

-The Kings have decided their 4th line for tonight's game and I'm this close to being excited. They're playing Brad Richardson at center, Trevor Lewis at right wing... and Ivanans at left. Whatever. I'm still trying to run down whether or not Trevor Lewis is a wing or a center, since he's always played center but has switched over to wing this entire preseason. Oh, if only anyone important returned my e-mails!

-The Kings have a new goal song, finally ridding us of that atrocious song that has plagued rinks across the country. (You know the one, the one that kind of sucks.) They basically ripped off the "Hey! Hey! Hey hey hey!" part of the Rangers' goal song, which is fine because that is the best part of the best goal song in the world. Hey!

-If Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth collide while battling in the corner, do they turn into maple syrup?

-Speaking of Smyth, I don't know how to boo without sounding like the old lady from Princess Bride so I'm not sure how to properly show my displeasure towards him. I'm thinking I might give him the snoot salute. "Boo, Ryan Smyth, and again I say boo!"

-There's still no concrete word on what the special team lines are going to be, so it'll be interesting to see what the Kings throw out tonight. On the penalty kill I think the Kings will run Stoll-Brown and Handzus-Frolov units, with Kopitar, Williams, and Simmonds getting minutes if needed. It's interesting, the Kings have like 9 guys that can play short-handed. Oh, that's not interesting? Scew you buddy.

On the power play, I imagine the Kings will run Smyth-Kopitar-Brown-Doughty-Stoll, with Frolov-Handzus-Purcell-Johnson-Williams comprising the 2nd unit. I'm not a big fan of having a forward on the backend on both power play units, but then again I'm not a big fan of Flash Forward so what do I know.*

*I don't get this show. I've watched the first 2 episodes and the were just the worst. The acting was terrible, the humor was weird and inappropriate, and why the fuck are people driving home the day after a global disaster? I don't get shows like 24 or Lost either, so I think it's my problem. Everyone I knows seems to think it's pretty good. Oh well, at least there's Community.**

**I almost cried I was laughing so hard at the end of the last episode when the Dead Poet's Society teacher made his big speech and then started climbing a tree. Also, "I will have... a birthday cake!"

-Things you learn from NHL 10's Be a Pro Mode:

+/- is bullshit. Seriously, I have one foot on the ice when the other team scores and it's my fault?
Fuck coaches. B- in team play? I have 5 points tonight asshole! I'm demanding a trade.
Having teammates is the worst. I dance around Jay Buowmeester, fake a shot, slide the puck over to Ryan Smyth... and then he misses a wide open net. Goddammit. (That's 8.)
I'm a child. I don't care how many games I play, hitting another player after the whistle and then chasing the ref around the rink when he appears is funny as hell.
I'm also an asshole. I never knew this, but apparently I'd get like a thousand penalty minutes if I were a skater instead of a goalie. I'm supposed to be a sniper but I keep fighting. Hack my leg? I'll kill you!
Michal Handzus will always be overrated. I don't know what it is about Handzus, but he always gets overrated in video games. The guy can't skate 10 feet without giving away the puck in real life, but put him in a video game and he's a superstar. I think he has 10 goals in the 3 games I've played with him. It's probably because he makes over $4 million dollars a year so people assume he's awesome.
Seriously, +/- is bullshit. I'm blanketing my guy at the point, how the fuck am I supposed to prevent that goal?????? I'm demanding a trade.

-Kings game tonight. I'm trying to think of a Kings team I've liked as much as I like this one, but I'm coming up with a blank. I mean, I hate Ryan Smyth, Jack Johnson is a douche bag and Peter Harrold is terrible but other than that I love everyone on this team.

Kopitar's the future.

Justin Williams looks like the villian in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

Ted Purcell is tantalizingly talented and I hope for the best.

Dustin Brown is the captain, bold and moral.

Michal Handzus looks like Beeker from the Muppets.

Jarret Stoll... he's there.

Alex Frolov is my high school girlfriend.

Wayne Simmonds is the meat train.

Raitis Ivanans eats shoes.

Brad Richardson is probably of Norwegian descent and is thus cool in my book.

Trevor Lewis is a big mother fucker and will hopefully be a badass shutdown player in the future.

Drew Doughty once made a mistake; he said he wasn't amazing when he was 7.

Sean O'Donnell is an angry old goat who once kicked an ogre's ass.

Matt Greene is a future angry old goat.

Rob Scuderi is an angry goat.

Davis Drewiske... is also there.

MEAT TRAIN!!!!!!!!

Jonathan Quick makes amazing saves and has giant ears.

Erik Ersberg gets carded when he goes to R-rated movies.

Terry Murray always looks like a meerkat when he thinks he's spotted a grub. The meerkat Terry Murray, not actual Terry Mur... wait, hold on.

Yep, I think this may be my favorite Kings' team of all time. Maybe it's coloring my predictions for this season, but I do honestly think the Kings are going to make the playoffs this season.

The Kings have a mountain to climb.

Let's climb it.

You are Bold, Yes...

RudyKelly — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:24:29 -0000

But are you Daring?

Bold Predictions

-Anze Kopitar will score 80 points or more.

-Wayne Simmonds will score 30 points.

-Justin Williams will play less than 60 games.

-Ryan Smyth will make me say, "Goddammit," over 100 hundred times. (I'm already at 7.)

-Jack Johnson will score over 30 points and I will still hate him.

-Either Ryan Getzlaf or Scott Niedermayer will miss more than 15 games.

-The Sharks will trade for Dany Heatley, strip their captain of his responsibility, change the culture in their locker room... and lose their first game to the Avalanche.

-Ted Purcell will not score more than 42 points.

-Sean O'Donnell will begin as a #2 defenseman this season and end as a #6.

-Thomas Hickey will be a breakout player this season.

-Alex Frolov will do everythng right and yet still get criticized.

-Rob Scuderi will be the new scapegoat.

-Corey Perry will miss time when he is beaten half to death... by his own team.

-Jonathan Quick will play well this season.

-Jonathan Bernier will be the Kings' starting goaltender by the end of the year.

-No one will understand the reference I made in the title.*

*I don't understand why Doritos abandoned that ad campaign. I thought it was hilarious. Take this commercial as an example. It was the 3rd best food ad campaign after the glorious Emerald Nuts campaign and those creepy Cheetos commercials.

-Jarret Stoll will score 20 goals this season but still no one will like him.

-Joe Thornton will go on a scoring tear and will be seen around town with a 19-year old man named Slade.

-Michal Handzus will miss games with an injury.

-The Kings will be on the power play and pass it between their two defenseman before taking a weak shot from the the blue line that is easily blocked. The Kings will get the rebound and repeat. (Wait, that's not bold.)

-Richard Clune will only play 40-45 games this season and yet have over 10 fights.

-Raitis Ivanans will play more than 65 games and yet have less than 10 fights.

-Trevor Lewis will play limited minutes but his season will still be considered a success.

-Peter Harrold will play more than limited minutes but his season will be considered a waste.

-The Kings will be out of the playoffs most of the year but will make a post-Olympic run to the playoffs.

-The Dallas Stars will start off strong but then realize their season rests on the shoulders of Marty Turco and Alex Auld. They will then tumble, tumble, tumble.

-The Anaheim Ducks will miss the playoffs.

-The Kings will lose in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champions: the San Jose Sharks.

-After finally getting over the hump, Sharks fans will somehow become more insufferable.

Kings Training Camp Battles: "2nd" Line Wing

RudyKelly — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:12:26 -0000

The Kings line-up is fairly well set in stone; unlike the last few years, when you and the family dog were in contention to become the Kings' new goaltender (your dog had a weak glove hand), the Kings really only have the peripheries of their line-up to be filled out. The most prestigious spot up for grabs is that of left wing on the Stoll-Brown connection, incorrectly referred to as the 2nd line because people have this archaic assumption that lines that play good defense have to be known as the 3rd line.

Anyway, there are a couple candidates that are likely to fill the role and each would change the identity and chemistry of the line. The only thing any of these guys have in common are that they're on the Kings and their eyes are small. Here are the candidates:

The Front-Runner:

Teddy Purcell

#54 / Right Wing / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-3

Weight: 177

Born: Sep 08, 1985

(I would criticize the person that put that thing together but that is literally the best picture of Teddy Purcell I've ever seen.)

Most Kings fans would probably assume that Oscar Moller would be the front-runner for this position, but I think the Kings have been sending subtle hints that it was Purcell's job to lose all summer. They had him on the Kings cruise this off-season, put him on a panel at HockeyFest, and have done nothing but praise his conditioning and compete level since camp began. It seems clear that the Kings want Purcell to win the job, not only because it would give them a set-up man on a line with 2 shooters but also because it's Purcell's last chance to win a job with the Kings.

Purcell showed up to camp larger and more filled out than he ever has before and seemed to use his weight a lot better in the corners. There are some guys that show up one day and you can see that their demeanor has changed and they're ready to skate in the NHL; Teddy looks like one of those guys.

The Challenger:

It's odd to say when you're comparing a 24-year old to a 20-year old but Moller is probably the more easily projectable player of the two. Ted Purcell could be a 50-point winger next year or he could mope around like he did last year. Moller, on the other hand, is pretty predictable; he's going to get pushed around but he'll net you some nice goals and finish with around 35-40 points. I don't think the Kings necessarily want him on the team because they want him to learn how to play with men in the AHL, but they didn't want him on the team last year and he managed to make it then.

The biggest problem with Moller is that most of his value is derived from the power play but there won't be too much room for him there next season. Last season, Moller only had 6 even-strength points in 40 games, while he tallied 9 points on the power play. The Kings don't need another special teams ace, they need someone that can affect the game at even-strength.

Another problem with Moller is how he fits on a line with Brown and Stoll. Purcell fits because although he has a nice shot he is primarily a passer, while Stoll and Brown's biggest attributes are their shots. If Moller were on the line it'd be 3 guys skating around with their sticks half-cocked waiting for a one-timer while the other team takes it in on a 3-on-2.

I'm not a huge Oscar Moller fan. He's a little too small and doesn't really bring anything else that compensates for that lack of size other than a big heart. I'd much rather he figure out how to play against men (if he can) and then come to the NHL rather than figure out up with the big club. But we'll see; Dean Lombardi loves guys that compete and that's one area Oscar Moller has all over Ted Purcell, at least in the past.

The Dark Horse:

Trevor Lewis

#61 / Center / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-1

Weight: 204

Born: Jan 08, 1987

Lewis isn't really in contention for the spot with Stoll and Brown; Lewis is in contention if neither Purcell nor Moller prove capable of creating offense and the Kings have to move Alex Frolov into a more offensive role. Trevor Lewis is listed as a center but the Kings have been using him as a right winger pretty much exclusively in camp. A former first-rounder, Lewis' career potential isn't that of a scorer but more along the lines of a Rob Niedermayer, a former high pick who uses his physical tools to shut down the opposition. Lewis is big, fast, has a hard shot and isn't afraid to bang in the corners; what he lacks is great hockey sense. Like Niedermayer, Lewis will probably end up on a stopper line in the future somewhere and it could be in LA next season. If that happens the Kings are in a lot of trouble but you know, Murphy's Law and all that.

Dustin Brown sez...

"Hey there folks, Brownie here. What am I looking at? Oh, just the Kings' future; I'd say it's... looking up! Haha, good one Dustin."

But Dustin, you're the one looking up, that doesn't make se-

"-Anyway, I give this one to Ted Purcell. He's a passer, and that's what I need so I can really break the shit out of the glass this season. Plus he's got the look in his eye this year. You know, that look that says, "Hey Dustin, you're a really cool guy." I like that in a player.

Oscar Moller

#9 / Center / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 5-11

Weight: 180

Born: Jan 22, 1989

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

RudyKelly — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 15:39:39 -0000

Training camp opens today! Yes, folks, the ice is forming, the weather's dropping, you can see people getting their cars ready for a long winter... haha, just kidding, it'll be like 75 degrees today. But camp is starting, and that means real, honest to god hockey is right around the corner.

The Kings have split themselves up into 3 groups, colorfully named A, B, and C. They're mostly random, but I wouldn't be doing my job as a team-centric hockey blogger if I didn't needlessly overanalyze every little thing.

Group A Notable Names: Brayden Schenn, Anze Kopitar, Ryan Smyth, Justin WIlliams, Jack Johnson, Rob Scuderi, Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert, Drew Bagnall, Jon Quick, Peter Harrold

Thoughts: Kopitar will start camp with Smyth and Williams on his wings, as Terry Murray hopes they can congeal into a #1 line. Brayden Schenn is sharing camp with Kopitar and can hopefully learn a little from the talented center. Jack Johnson and Rob Scuderi are with one another, perhaps signalling that they might form a defensive pairing; or, alternatively, they might be paired with 3 young defensemen who have the best shot at making the team to see if those young men are ready to make the team.

Peter Harrold is listed as a center. What?

Group B Notable Names: Jon Bernier, Jeff Zatkoff, Matt Greene, Davis Drewiskie, Oscar Moller, Jarret Stoll, Dustin Brown, Ted Purcell

Thoughts: This is the 2nd line tryout group, with Stoll, Brown, Moller, and Purcell all present. 3 of those 4 should comprise the Kings' 2nd line. It's interesting that Moller is listed as a center, perhaps signalling that the rumors Stoll might not be ready for camp are true. Drewiskie is known as a defensive defenseman, as is Greene, and the Kings could be taking a look at making them their shutdown pair. While Jonathan Quick is given the young John-Francois Berube, Jon Bernier is paired with Jeff Zatkoff; they will likely be partners down in Manchester this season unless Bernier impresses.

Group C Notable Names: Sean O'Donnell, Drew Doughty, Michal Handzus, Andrei Loktionov, Wayne Simmonds, Trevor Lewis, Brad Richardson, Alex Frolov, Marc-Andre Cliche

Thoughts: This line-up is less filled with intrigue than the other two. O'Donnell and Doughty are the only NHL-caliber defensemen on their squad, and are likely together not so much because they'll play together but because they're friends. This grouping does kind of give credence to what most of us had known, that Frolov will likely be paired with Handzus on the stoper line again. Richardson and Lewis are there as well, and hopefully they'll be paired together on the 4th line. Marc-Andre Cliche isn't a notable name but I've been cheering for him for years and I hope he someday makes an impression.

Finally, here's a guess as to how the line-up is going to look when camp ends (Note: not what I want, what I think will happen):

Smyth-Kopitar-Williams

Frolov-Handzus-Simmonds

Purcell-Stoll-Brown

Westgarth-Richardson-Lewis

Scuderi-Doughty

Johnson-O'Donnell

Drewiskie-Greene

Quick

Ersberg

Season Review: Jarret Stoll

RudyKelly — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:16:52 -0000

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Jarret Stoll	74	18	23	41	-7	68	10	0	1	0	155	11.6

Penalty Minute Breakdown: 29 minors, 1 misconduct

Most Frequent Linemates: Dustin Brown, Kyle Calder

Last Season:
I can't figure out if I like Jarret Stoll or if I don't like him. Most everyone else on the Kings, I have a pretty strong opinion about. Anze Kopitar? Love. Ryan Smyth? Hate. Drew Doughty? Want to have his kids. Raitis Ivanans? He's a very nice man and I'm sorry I ever criticized him. (Please don't kill me, Raitis.) But Stoll, I can't figure out. He's alright. He has a nice shot and he's a fantastic special teams player, but he's pretty much worthless at even strength and he takes too many penalties. I usually weigh everything and then end up saying, "Whatever, he's fine."

Stoll is usually listed as the 2nd-line center, but in reality he's the 3rd most important center on the team. Kopitar scores, Handzus shuts down, and Stoll usually does battle with whatever's left. For that role, he fits pretty well. Stoll's known for his shot but he's really more of a playmaker. He's kind of like a lesser Ryan Getzlaf in that way: both have fantastic shots but are more comfortable passing the puck off.* Stoll was at his best last season playing alongside Kyle Calder (guh) and Dustin Brown, where they banged along the boards and played a north-south game. It doesn't seem to fit with Stoll's style, but he was 25th among forwards in hits and he had 45 blocked shots last year, so I guess he does play pretty rough.

*How does that happen? Do guys like Getzlaf grow up passing and then develop their shot later as they get bigger? Is it just ingrained in his DNA to pass, just like it's in Kovalchuk's DNA to shoot? It's strange.

Stoll's true worth comes on special teams and in the faceoff circle. Stoll was 2nd among all forwards on the team in penalties with 29 minors, and I can't tell you how many times he made me mutter, "Goddammit," when he hooked some forward through the neutral zone.* When he wasn't in the box, though, Stoll was our best penalty killer, even better than Michal Handzus. The two are both great at faceoffs and are adept at getting their sticks in the lane; they, along with Sean O'Donnell, helped the Kings improve their penalty killing last year. Stoll also was 2nd on the team in power play goals, utilizing his big slap shot from the point to create opportunities. And faceoffs, holy shit is Jarret Stoll good at faceoffs. He was at 57.9% on the year, leading all Kings' centers. I don't know how important faceoffs really are (I suspect they're probably overrated), but it's better than not being good at faceoffs, right?

*Going back to Ryan Getzlaf: he had 47 minor penalties last year. Corey Perry? 45. Jesus Christ, guys.

But looking at all that, I still can't figure out if I like Jarret Stoll. He's not good enough to be a 2nd line center, but then again he was coming off knee surgery and could have a Handzus-esque jump next year. He's kind of tough but he prefers to pass, he's a center but he plays a game built for a winger, he dumped Rachel Hunter in an e-mail and that's fucked up but also hilarious...I don't know what the hell. Whatever, he's fine.

The Future: Jarret Stoll is what Dean Lombardi calls a "bridge." He's not a part of the core of the team, he's a guy that holds a place until someone is ready to jump up and take his spot. He'll occupy his current position for 2 more years, then "drop down" and take Handzus' spot while hopefully Brayden Schenn or Andrei Loktionov are ready to assume his old place. Then he'll hang out for another year until Trevor Lewis takes his spot. For next year, I think we'll see a much more comfortable Jarret Stoll out on the ice. He won't have Rachel Hunter distracting him, his knee will have had another year to recover, and hopefully we'll see a little more creativity out of him. Hell, I might even end up forming an opinion about him.

Kings Gameday: Roster Clog

RudyKelly — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:45:03 -0000

LA Kings (15-15-6) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (15-16-4)

7:30 PST, Fox Sports West

Here are 7 players:

-Trevor Lewis

-Derek Armstrong

-Oscar Moller

-Raitis Ivanans

-John Zeiler

-Ted Purcell

-Kyle Calder

You have to get rid of one of them: who is it? This is the question facing the Los Angeles Kings. Right now the Kings are playing Trevor Lewis, Ted Purcell, Raitis Ivanans, Kyle Calder, and John Zeiler, with Derek Armstrong sidelined by a concussion and Oscar Moller currently at the WJC. (Additionally, Brad Richardson is still injured and might be out for a while, according to Rich Hammond.) Armstrong will be back soon, however, and when Oscar Moller returns the Kings will have some decisions to make. Trevor Lewis and Ted Purcell are both eligible to be sent to the AHL, but neither has really merited a demotion in their time up so far. Kyle Calder and Derek Armstrong have the least amount of upside, but both provide veteran leadership. John Zeiler and Raitis Ivanans are kind of worthless, but they're the good kind of worthless where you don't have to worry about stunting their growth if they get only 4 minutes a game. It's quite the conundrum. It's worthy of a healthy beard-stroke.*

*I've recently grown a beard. It's marvelous.

I'll be honest: I don't know what the Kings are going to do. No matter what, they're probably going to have to waive someone, whether it be Armstrong or Zeiler. I'm guessing Zeiler, since it's not like anyone is going to pick him up anyway. You might think you would need to demote one of Lewis, Purcell or Moller when he gets back, but I think the Kings can make it work without it coming to that. I'd like to see:

O'Sullivan	Kopitar	Moller
Frolov	Handzus	Simmonds
Calder	Stoll	Brown
Ivanans	Lewis	Purcell

Moller is a pretty gritty player despite his size and would give the top line another shot for the defense to account for. I like Frolov's line, and Brown's line has a nice identity to it. The 4th line is weird, but, as Earl fucking constantly points out, it's the same thing the Ducks did with Getzlaf and Perry and that seemed to work out OK. Plus, it gives Ivanans two guys he can leech off of and protect, perhaps leading him to play with a little more violent intent. Lewis can skate up with Kopitar and O'Sullivan when Moller sits (or, better yet, skate with Stoll and Calder when Brown moves up for a shift) and then Purcell can step in for Moller on a few power play shifts. Lewis and Purcell need about 12 minutes a game, and that's easily doable. This gives the Kings 4 solid, young, dynamic lines that can skate, rumble and score. It gives me a woody just thinking about it.

***

Another roster clog is coming soon in the goaltending department. Erik Ersberg's imminent return means some goaltender is going to have to get sent down. It's not Quick, who has played the best of any goaltender for the Kings thus far, and it's not Ersberg, who played well before he got hurt, so that means it's Labarbera. Does he get picked up off the waiver wire? If he doesn't, he most certainly will on re-entry waivers, so that means he's gone. Are the Kings ready to do that? I don't know. It'll be interesting to watch the next couple days.

So, that's the best solution as I see it. Let me know what you guys think in the comments. Or, you know, don't. Whatever, you people don't care about me and my feelings.

Prediction: Kings win, 3-0. Goals by Calder, Lewis and Brown. Oh yeah, the Kings are playing the Blue Jackets tonight, too. I'm Sorry, Columbus, I forgot you were there. You may go now.

Kings release Moller to world juniors

James Mirtle — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:56:10 -0000

The Los Angeles Kings have re-assigned forward Oscar Moller to the Swedish Junior National Team for participation in the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships --which will be held Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ottawa -- and have recalled forward Trevor Lewis from the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today.

Moller is one of four Kings players/prospects scheduled to play in the upcoming World Junior Championships. Moller (Sweden) joins defenseman Thomas Hickey (Canada), defenseman Colten Teubert (Canada) and defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (Russia) in the prestigious tournament. In addition, forward Andrei Loktionov has been invited to participate in Team Russia’s camp for this event.

>> team release

A great move by the Kings, one that more teams should really think about doing. What sense is there in having a teenager sit on an NHL bench when he could be playing against top competition for a gold medal?

Moller is averaging about 13-14 minutes a game this season, but has seen his ice time really drop in December. He still has six goals and 13 points on the year, so this isn't a completely insignificant loss.

Some players have already been sent down and will play in the tournament. Zach Boychuk, a Hurricanes prospect, and Alex Pietrangelo, from the Blues, both will skate for Canada, for example.

Sixteen players that are eligible to play in this tournament have played at least one game in the NHL, a group that includes Steve Stamkos (13:47 ice time, minus-12, three goals in 30 games), Kyle Turris (12:50 ice time), Jakub Voracek (11:53), Josh Bailey (15:24), Colton Gillies (8:51) and Brandon Sutter (10:50). Atlanta's Zach Bogosian is also eligible for Team USA, but he's still out with an injury.

Sam Gagner, Luke Schenn, Drew Doughty, Mikkel Boedker and Luca Sbisa are all playing key roles on their team but could technically play for their home countries.

There's no question in my mind at least Bailey and Gillies should be there. Why teams insist on pushing 18- and 19-year-olds these days is beyond me.