Camp Observations, Queen Style!

Lots of ink and video has already been devoted to the first two days of training camp by the fantastic pro writers that cover the Kings. I love hockey but I am not the sharpest technical mind in the blogging game, so I thought I'd give you a purely fan-style perspective on camp so far. Here are some mostly non-hockey related observations, with a few nuggets of questionable wisdom thrown in.

• Seeing Anze Kopitar back makes my heart happy. He hasn't lost a step since last season, and the smile at being back hasn't left his face.

• Jonathan Quick is kinda hot with longer hair.
• Watching goalies do conditioning skates in like watching oompah-loompahs. They practically have to be bowlegged to move around their gear.
• Mike Richards is a STUD. He let off a shot yesterday that almost took Jonathan Bernier's head off -- top shelf and straight into the net. He can stay.
• Rich Clune's mouth hangs open in exactly the same position 100% of the time that he's skating. Oddly, it's a look that works for him.
• Watching a whole squad of professional hockey players get confused by a drill is funny. Even the brand new video demonstration tool with the cool TV couldn't help it make sense. Back to the whiteboard!
• Seeing Willie Mitchell's sneer makes my day. Every team needs a badass and he's the baddest of then all.
• It's so funny watching Matt Greene absolutely BURY Jarret Stoll in the net knowing in only a few days they'll bring their bromance back to warm-up skates at games.
• Jonathan Bernier drew the short goalie straw being assigned to Group A. He spent every session getting pummeled by Dustin Brown, Mike Richards AND every rookie dying to make an impression on the coach. Poor guy even broke his twig.
• Davis Drewiske is really too beautiful to be a hockey player. He looks like he belongs in Ralph Lauren ads.
• If Dustin Brown, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne stay together as a line, the Western conference opposition is going to be in a lot of pain, much to the delight of Kings fans.
• Matt Greene will own you of you have the puck.
• I love Andre Loktionov more every day. Slava Voynov is growing on me, although I wish he'd bring the long hair back.
• Speaking of hair, Matt Greene's hair will always be just a little...off somehow. Then again, Greener is a little "off" himself.
• Our prospect Michael Schumacher may not drive a race car, but he skates like he's powered by one.
• Kyle Clifford's smile is like Disneyland. You can't go there and not smile too.
• I can't wait until the day my favorite smile is back on the ice again....

Photo courtesy of Nichole Glaze Photography. Smile courtesy of Doughty Enterprises, LLC.

Finally, if you haven't checked them out already, get all The Queen's photos and video from Saturday and Sunday on the Kings Court Facebook page and YouTube channel. Because a picture of your favorite King is worth more than all the words I just wrote.

GO KINGS GO!