A self-serving review of Parse parsing

 

July 8, 2008

Quisp said:

I’m kind of hoping for a Trevor Lewis, Scott Parse, Alec Martinez surge. Martinez’s name obviously has been mentioned a bit lately, but Lewis and Parse have become (unless I’m missing something) all but forgotten…

July 9, 2008

Quisp said:

My own preferred wishful thinking is that one of Lewis or Parse makes a big splash in camp and plays left wing on the second line. Again, not likely, but as long as we’re dreaming…

November 28, 2008

Quisp said:

re Parse: I have been rooting for him for awhile, and I agree with Anthony that he’s in danger of slipping down the depth chart if he doesn’t get it turned around sooner rather than later. After not doing much the first couple of games in Manchester [...] he’s putting up some points. So rumors of his demise may have been premature. If he can’t get a call-up this year, maybe ‘09 camp, where there should be more room with the (presumed) departures of Calder and Armstrong. He’s going to be fighting Purcell, Moulson, Lewis, Clune, Richardson, Azevedo, Loktionov, Zeiler, etc. for those spots, but it’s possible. His last shot? Could be. I wouldn’t want to give other big-bodied prospects (e.g. Wudrick) too much time to grow into their frames.

January 3, 2009

Quisp said:

I would also note that my long-time favorite, Scott Parse, is having an excellent season finally. Once Calder is gone, I wouldn’t mind seeing Parse in some games (since his contract is up after this year anyway — let’s see what the kid can do in Calder’s place). Parse and Lewis are better alternatives to Calder anyway.

February 15, 2009

Quisp said:

Parse — finally having a good season in Manchester, and he’s (I think) in his contract year. I will be sad if he goes, because I have long held out hope for him.

August 25, 2009

Quisp said:

Who of the other prospects might unseat one of the Moller group? MEE KOOOSH [...] Wudrick is a long shot [...] King and Clifford [...] Loktionov probably needs a full season in the AHL, as does Clune. Cliche? Who knows. (I don’t know if I’ve given up on Parse yet; no, I will hold my breath for one more year.)

Standings by Winning % (okay, points per game, which is winning % times two [and by winning % I mean % of possible points earned, not % of wins out of set of possible outcomes {possible outcomes being regulation win, regulation loss, OT win, OT loss, shoot-out win, shoot-out loss}])

12 Games, 16 points — is THAT good?

Three times in franchise history the Kings have done better: ‘74, ‘80 and ‘90 (7-1-4, 10-1-1, 9-2-1, respectively). Three times they’ve equaled it: ‘75, ‘99 and ‘05. And, yes, they made the playoffs every time but ‘05.

Projecting the Western Conference – On the Forecheck

12. Los Angeles Kings: Lots of flash, but they still haven’t solved goaltending problems.

via Projecting the Western Conference – On the Forecheck.

Lots of flash? Cool. But. Really?

Last cuts are coming, and my guess at the opening night roster:

[UPDATE: final cuts announced and I was right except for the Bernier/3-goalie plan]

Smyth/Kopitar/Williams

Purcell/Stoll/Brown

Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds

Ivanans/Lewis/Harrold

(Clune [IR], Richardson)

Martinez/Doughty

Johnson/Scuderi

Drewiske/Greene

(SOD/susp.)

Quick

Ersberg

Bernier

That’s my guess. Hickey will get sent down; no loss of face there. DL will keep three goalies up and give Bernier a game or two. If he does the job, Ersberg gets waived. Probably that’s all too whacky and they’ll just send Bernier down. But I think the 3 goalie plan is possible in the short-term. Westgarth will get sent down; Ivanans will live to fight another day. Richardson will get waived when Clune returns.

And there’s still a chance DL brings in one more  old veteran D between now and the beginning of the year.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to draw any kind of conclusion from pre-season games. But what the h***, that’s all we have right now

• If Frolov is anything less than stellar in his contract year (i.e. if he takes nights off), he will get dealt sooner rather than later. And Frolov is especially vulnerable the first 10-15 games, I think. If he plays like an “enigma,” I think DL will have a few chances to ship him to someone looking for offense on a more run-and-gun team.
• If Bernier plays like a pro in Manchester, Ersberg will get traded, sooner rather than later.
• If the Kings have any problem scoring 5-on-5 — by which I mean, if they are in the bottom third of the league in that stat — hello Oscar Moller second line center. Stoll will end up centering the fourth line for awhile.
• If there is any problem on the power play (which I think is less likely), we will see Hickey.
• Murray may have his lines “set,” but I think the only lines set in stone are as follows: Kopitar is the first line center. Handzus is the third line center. That’s it.
• Frolov will probably move between the first three LWs all season or as long as he stays with the Kings.
• Smyth will bounce back and forth between Kopitar’s line and the line of whoever is the second line center.
• I say “whoever” because unless the Kings are playing their A game, I think Stoll is vulnerable and we could see Lewis or Moller (or Azevedo) in that spot.
• Any faltering from a 90 point pace, and I think DL looks to move either Frolov or Stoll or both. Everyone else (Kopitar, Williams, Brown, Handzus, Simmonds) is more or less secure (unless he can find someone to take Handzus’s salary).
• Purcell probably wouldn’t get moved, just swapped out for Moller or whoever is the best in Manchester at the moment.
• Simmonds could easily end up being RW2 or even RW1 before the season is done. I think he’s about to become a star.
• Players I’m not worried about: Quick, Doughty, Johnson, SOD, Greene, Purcell, Handzus, Simmonds, Lewis, Williams, Kopitar, Brown, Smyth. Players with asterisks: Frolov, Stoll, Ersberg, Drewiske, Scuderi, Westgarth. Players I wish would move on: Ivanans, Richardson, Zeiler, Calder, Armstrong, Preissing, Gauthier, what? Oh, cool. Okay. The first two then.
• I really hope, a month from now, we’re not all talking about how much we are missing Kyle Quincey.

The Hockey News: Western Conference predictions

10. Los Angeles. I hate for you to think I’m underestimating the Kings, because I’m not. The job Terry Murray did behind L.A.’s bench last year was phenomenal, their blueline has the potential to be one of the league’s best and individual talents such as Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty are only getting better. But you, me, and even casual Kings followers know how much pressure is on these guys to do something of real merit this year. And in the tougher of the NHL’s two conferences, they may need something to go wrong for other teams just as much as they need a lot to go right for themselves.

via The Hockey News: Screen Shots: Screen Shots: Western Conference predictions.

Me, I think it’s basically an 8-way tie for 6th place. My optimistic prediction is they finish 7th. Detroit/San Jose/Chicago/Calgary/Vancouver are the top five, though I have no idea in what order. I think San Jose will be worse than people think, due to poor defense; but other than that, any one of those five could finish anywhere 1-5. As far as 6-8, I would have to pick Anaheim, LA and St. Louis, again, in no particular order. Edmonton I think will be closer to 15th than 8th. Phoenix is my pick for the basement. MIN, NSH, CBJ and (who am I forgetting…oh  yeah) DAL all could easily be in the 6-8 spots instead of who I picked. If forced to rank them all, I would go with:

1. Vancouver

2. Detroit

3. Chicago

4. Calgary

5. San Jose

6. St. Louis

7. Los Angeles

8. Anaheim

——-

9. Columbus

10. Minnesota

11. Dallas

12. Nashville

13. Edmonton

14. Colorado

15. Phoenix

And in the East:

1. Washington

2. Philadelphia

3. Pittsburgh

4. Boston

5. Carolina

6. New Jersey

7. Ottawa

8. Tampa Bay

———

9. New York Rangers

10. Toronto

11. Buffalo

12. Montreal

13. Atlanta

14. Florida

15. New York Islanders

Playoffs

1st round – West

Kings v. Wings — Kings in 6

Canucks v. Ducks — Canucks in 7

Hawks v. Blues — Chicago in 6

Flames v. Sharks — Calgary in 7, of course

1st round – East

Caps v. Bolts — Caps in 5

Flyers v. Sens — Flyers in 6

Pens v. Devils — Pens in 5

Bruins v. Hurricanes — Bruins in 7

2nd round – West

Canucks v. Kings — Kings in 7

Hawks v. Flames — Chicago in 7

2nd round – East

Caps v. Bruins — Caps in 7

Flyers v. Pens — Pens in 7

3rd round – West

Kings v. Hawks — Hawks in 6

3rd round – East

Pens v. Caps — Pens in 7

Cup finals

Hawks v. Pens — Pens in 7. Hossa checks into mental hospital.

Puck Prospectus | Articles | 2009-10 VUKOTA Projections

Sometimes you just have to accept that even though you put together the right process or the right team, things didn’t go your way. The most likely outcome last season was a vastly better one than what the Kings got. Our projections can’t tell bad luck from good and underestimate the Kings as a result.

via Puck Prospectus | Articles | 2009-10 VUKOTA Projections

They predict the Kings will miss the playoffs by 8-10 points this season. But then, per the above quote, they say that the Kings should have finished higher than they did last year. Which I find interesting, since a year ago, pretty much everyone had the Kings far below where they ended up.

NHL Western Conference teams confront key questions – NHL.com – NHL Insider

Los Angeles Kings:

How much does Ryan Smyth have left? Smyth came to L.A. during the summer following two disappointing seasons after he signed a big-money free-agent deal with Colorado. The Kings are counting on his experience, grit and scoring ability to help a group of talented young players take the next step and make the playoffs. But Smyth, who will turn 34 during the Olympic break, has never had more than 70 points and is more of a support player, especially at this stage of his career. The Kings need his leadership, but a return to the form that saw him score 36 goals in 2005-06 and 06-07 wouldnt hurt either.

via www.nhl.com