The Kings aren’t having a stellar season, but it’s now official that Anze Kopitar is.
The 20-year-old second-year center — the first player from Slovenia to make the NHL — was selected last week as the team’s lone representative in the league’s All-Star Game, Jan. 27 in Atlanta.
“It’s obviously an honor to be selected,� said Kopitar, who has 18 goals and 42 points in 46 games. “There’s going to be the 40 best players in the world. Just playing that game, I think it’s going to be really exciting for me, and really fun, too, to play against those guys in the same game. It’s different if you play (San Jose’s Joe) Thornton one night, and (Anaheim’s Chris) Pronger the next.�
As the world’s most elevated game of pond hockey — defense and hitting are just about non-existent — the game figures to play to Kopitar’s strengths as a skater and creative offensive player.
“I’m sure the score is going to be high, as it always is,� said Kopitar. “That’s a kind of a game that fans are really looking forward to, with all the skill that is going to be the ice, it should be fun.�
To coach Marc Crawford, Kopitar’s selection represents a degree of recognition that’s a bit late in coming.
“I thought last year he got snubbed when he wasn’t one of the rookie of the year candidates,� said Crawford, “and I think he’s the one rookie from last year that’s continued to excel all year. A lot of people talk about sophomore jinx, or whatever it is, and he’s a known entity now, and he’s continued to improve his lot in the NHL.�
This may be overstating the case a bit on Kopitar’s behalf. While the Kings player is ahead of his scoring pace of a year ago — he’s currently at .91 points per game; last year, the figure was .84 — Colorado’s Paul Statsny and Pittsburgh’s Evgeny Malkin are averaging over a point per game and on pace to improve on their numbers of a year ago. (The third Calder Trophy finalist, Pittsburgh’s Jordan Staal, is struggling mightily in his second season).
Still, there’s no doubt Kopitar is one of the few bright spots in the Kings’ season, and Crawford strongly believes the best is yet to come, based on the player he considers most comparable to Kopitar: Mats Sundin, the standout Toronto forward.
“To me, that’s who he’s most like,� said Crawford. “And I think even the most skeptical of Kings fans would be excited if you had, looking forward, a Mats Sundin-type career.�
Well, certainly, they’d like Sundin’s production — 543 goals and 749 assists over a career in its 17th season. But they’d prefer Kopitar’s career doesn’t mirror Sundin’s in one respect: Sundin has never come close to a Stanley Cup, making the playoffs nine times in 16 seasons and making it as far as the conference finals just once.
Another young all-star: Winning a Cup won’t be a concern for Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf, who also received his first invitation to the All-Star game last week. Getzlaf, of course, already has last year’s Stanley Cup on his resume.
Not surprisingly, the Ducks’ young power forward is as excited as Kopitar.
“It’s something I’ve looked forward to,� he said during a conference call, “and hoped I could be a part of this year. It’s an honor to be selected for something like this. … There are going to be a lot of guys out there I’ve looked up to for a long time.�
The 22-year-old finds it a bit hard to believe everything that’s happened in his young career.
“I never thought I was going to get drafted, and then that happened,� he said. “I never thought that I would make it. And it’s just stepping stones along the way, I think, and that’s all part of putting together a good career. This is just another stepping stone along the way.�
Getzlaf, who leads the Ducks in scoring with 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) and defenseman Chris Pronger will make up the Anaheim contingent at the all-star game, meaning another strong candidate for the Ducks — Getzlaf’s linemate and close friend Corey Perry (a team-high 24 goals, 10th in the league, and 39 points) didn’t make the team.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to play with him for the last three years,� said Getzlaf. “It’s unfortunate that he didn’t get there. But … there’s a lot of good players in our league. You can’t take anything away from the guys that were selected.
“I would have loved to see Corey there and be able to experience it with him.�
Youth movement: Bowing to the inevitable — or, perhaps, to a bit of public pressure — the Kings on Monday called up two of their top prospects, forward Teddy Purcell and defenseman Peter Harrold.
The 24-year-old Harrold has seven goals and 31 assists in 39 games with the Kings’ American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, N.H. Purcell, 23, is third in the league in scoring (14 goals, 39 assists) and leads AHL rookies. Both were recently named to play in the AHL All-Star Game.
Harrold has played 12 games with the Kings. Purcell will be making his NHL debut, perhaps as soon as tonight’s game at Edmonton.
With the Kings out of the playoff picture, fans and media members have wondered why general manager Dean Lombardi has not brought up some of the team’s highly-touted prospects. With forward Michael Cammalleri going on the injured list with a rib injury suffered on Dec. 22, the time has apparently arrived to give at least two of those players a look.
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