MEDIA: Alex Laferriere and Jim Hiller | LA Kings Training Camp

MEDIA: Alex Laferriere and Jim Hiller | LA Kings Training Camp

So, closing in on the final couple of preseason games, uh, what are your takeaways from the games that you’ve been a part of so far? Uh, good. Yeah, I think they’ve been, um, high compete, you know, kind of trying to get the rust out and, um, yeah, I think I think we’ve played really well. You know, we’ve been in situations where we’ve had to go back to real hockey and kind try and close out games and we’ve done that. Obviously, the last preseason game we didn’t, but um yeah, I think it’s good to try to kind of get in game situations again and and kind of go against guys who you aren’t seeing in the locker room after the game. So, it’s it’s good. Now, in camp last year, you came in having not taken very many faceoffs, took some in camp, took some throughout the regular season. Now, even the opportunity to kind of center a line in the preseason, you know, what have some of your takeaways been from centering a line, taking more faceoffs, and is that something that’s been communicated to you being more consistent going forward? Uh, yeah. Yeah, Jimmy’s talked to me a little bit about um trying to get me get me out there at center sometimes and um obviously don’t really know when those situations are going to be, but um as a righty, you know, you kind of want to be able to take face offs and if I’m going out there on the penalty kill and stuff like that, we don’t have a lot of righties, so being able to win faceoffs for that would be is a good thing. So, um yeah, little little conversations about about it and uh yeah, it’s different. you know, I haven’t really played much center in my whole life, so um just kind of trying to get comfortable doing that. And um yeah, I think I definitely have felt a little bit more comfortable. So, um yeah, it’s been good. If I’m not mistaken, you had a couple practices last year, right? kind of in the middle or uh yeah, I think kind of like whenever like if Kobe took a day off or something like that, I kind of messed around with stuff into it that much, but I remember you see a couple times last game or last year I played one game at center. That was kind of the only the only real time I was there for a like solidified role. So, um but yeah, I guess what are some of the challenges that you’ve faced and how you’re trying to improve in the faceoff circle? Yeah, I mean winning them first off, it’s it’s hard. I mean, you go against guys who their whole job is to win faceoffs and um you’ve never really taken them your whole life. It’s it’s hard, but um yeah, I think I’ve gotten a lot better at it and um just trying to like compete a little bit more for them, not just trying to lose it on my on the first go. So, um yeah, as long as I can make it hard for them to win faceoffs, it’s better off for us. the way that your standard line has continued to build chemistry. How has that worked so well for you guys since you were first together last season and then this year into camp? Yeah, I think it’s I think it’s been amazing. Obviously, I mean, they’re two incredible players who um are really important pieces for our team and um yeah, I think my job is just to try and make it easier for them and and make sure that they’re kind of contributing and they’re doing their thing and um as long as I can kind of help it help out with that and make it easier for those guys and I’m doing my job. So, um, yeah, I mean, they’re staples for our team and their team. They’re guys that we need to have scoring goals and and doing offensive things every single night in order to win. So, um, my job is just to make sure that they do that. With the last two preseason games in Utah and back here, presumably being dress rehearsal games, do you treat those different? Do you try to mimic your your inseason routine going into those or how is it different at all preseason versus regular season? Yeah, I think so. I think it’s more um yeah, like you said, just trying to get into those routines and stuff like that. I think um you know, whether it’s like going on the bus to the games and like who you’re sitting next to or like when you’re playing soccer before the games, who you’re like standing next to trying to get out and stuff like that. It’s just like little things like that that kind of um you real like you miss a little bit during the season. And um I think the preseason’s good to kind of get back to that and feel like a team again and and it kind of makes you feel like like what you’re going towards and working towards is is right there again. So um yeah, it feels more comfortable when we’re getting into it with everybody again. And um yeah, so I think it’s just like those little things that you realize that you miss and um yeah, it’s good to get that going again. And with the split squad preseason games, like on a night where you’re not playing, are you watching or you checked out or? Yeah, I mean, I haven’t I’ve only not played one of the games so far and and yeah, I sat back and watched it a little bit. Um yeah, it’s it’s tough because you want to be out there and and uh and you see the guys that you’re used to playing with and seeing them out there. So, um yeah, it’s fun to watch. It’s I think it’s really cool to see like the younger guys and and those guys kind of get their opportunities to to prove themselves and um yeah I I did watch the one game so it was fun. Jim at this point what is it that you’re still trying to work on and work out you know through practice as you lead in obviously you want to get the veterans their games at the end but what are you still working on? Uh well you know I think Dennis asked the question we we we have added a couple new things. We want to make sure that the that the things we’ve added feel natural. So, we’re trying to do it as best we can as part of a five on five, you know, kind of like a game rather than trying to walk through it on video or be really static. So, we’re just we’re trying to do more game-like situations, I guess, is what I would say. Particularly the stuff that we’ve tried to add. talking to Laugh just now. He was mentioning he’s had a conversation with you about what happens at center position. I know there was a few practices last year in a game. Yeah. What attributes does he bring that says to you, okay, he can take on that pass? Uh well, you know, center is is a tougher job than than wing first of all because you have to play down low in Dzone. That’s really where it gets you. Everywhere else in the ice outside of the faceoff circle is pretty similar. It’s once you get down and if you end up as the low guy, which more than often you do in Dzone, it’s being able to box out. It’s reading where’s your guy. Um, he’s competitive. He his defensive hockey sense and his understanding is at a very high level. So, most wingers really have a difficult time making that transition. There’s been some centermen that have been pushed over to the wing. Uh, but because he has those some of those attributes and he’s strong on his skates, he’s got good balance and he’s strong on his skates, we feel like there’s there’s times, you know, when necessary that he might be able to make that transition. And where we really noticed it was his first year with the team uh because we didn’t have this in mind at all that he ended up down low quite a bit and he was able to handle the situations. And you know, we go through it and we we’re pretty nitpicky and oh, this guy got beat and and you really didn’t say that much about laugh. So we felt like, you know, if we’re in a pinch and we need somebody to play center, maybe he can do it. So just trying to get him reps. Jim, center depth doesn’t appear to be an issue with this team. So why are you looking at him? Just you just never know. You can never have too many centers. So uh yeah, I don’t intend for him to play center this year, but you know, you just never know. There’s different scenarios. There’s there’s faceoffs. He’ll probably penalty kill this year. So can he take that penalty kill face off? You know, most teams have a left-handed center. they choose that dot, you know, more often than not, we don’t have a lot of right-handed centermen, so it’s getting those faceoff reps. So, there’s there’s just different reasons um you know, that we’re just trying to just give them the reps. It’s an opportunity to do that. You played Anaheim three times already. Even though the lineups are different, you have a good sense of the way that they want to play, but now you’re going to play two against Utah in the preseason. Is there any sort of pre-couting at all or you’re just more worried about what you’re doing and you’re not thinking about what you’re doing? Yeah, not too much. I mean, with Joel there, the Anaheim looks a little different. We’ve been able to recognize that for sure. Um, the coaches back in Utah, so we we expect them to play similar to what they did last year, which is different than what Anaheim is doing now. So, uh, it it’s it’ll be a good test for us. It’s good to see somebody new. And there’ll be there’ll be some different challenges. Their power play in particular with, uh, with Keller and Schmaltz and Sergeev, uh, Hayden, I don’t think Hayden’s that’s a that’s a really good power play. So that’s going to challenge us some different ways. They do some different things that makes it really difficult. So um you know that’ll be the one that we really have to be on our toes for. Mentioned the penalty killing for we talked to Alex Turk earlier in the preseason. He said that might be something. Is that a point of emphasis for you guys to kind of have some more options there and get some more forwards in on the PK this year? Yeah. Yeah, we’d like to. We we think there’s time. Well, our me is a penalty killer, too. So, you know, some of those minutes will be will be distributed differently for sure. And um you know, so we got to get those guys reps now. Whether Turk’s on there full-time or last, those things remain to be seen. Um but yeah, we are transitioning. You know, probably Copi and Juice will penalty kill less this year. Still be there different times for different reasons, but probably a little bit less than they’ve been in the past. Alex was talking just now about working back into his sort of game day routine, who he sits on the bus with, you play soccer with. As a coach, do you go straight back in or you using the preseason to figure out, okay, this when I want to take this meeting, this when I want to take my nap, this one when I want to have my meal kind of thing. Yeah, I’m I don’t know if we we we have it that specific, but we do have a routine and like all of us, you get out of your routine. It takes a little bit Oh, just to remember what your routine was again. So, I think we the the exhibition season is important for the coaches as well for the same thing. We need our reps. You got to get sharp. You got to be able to see what’s happening again and um all those things. Uh, so I think the preseason we’re not we haven’t been as good as we need to be yet either and I know the results don’t matter but you know so we’re working on that in the same way. I think there’s just two guys that have played in all four of the games so far. Just curious did that happen organically? Was that all part of the plan? You know is are things going according to plan? I I would say so. Yeah, I would say so. like, you know, really a few and well, you’ll see as it as it finishes off this week, which is a tough week with three games and two two long travel days. Some guys are going to get most of our players, I shouldn’t say most, probably half of the veterans will get three games only. They they’ll play the last two um as a team. And the other guys will might get the first five and then not play the last two. They might get five and then play another a sixth one. When you have somebody who plays six. So, you know, there’s some specific players that we’re one giving opportunity to that didn’t get quite get as much opportunity and two that we want to look at them just a little bit closer. Next season, it’s going to be a shorter preseason. Could you ever envision not playing a player a veteran in the preseason? They have to get Yeah. No. No. Cuz you know what? If I bring it back to, and I’ve talked to a lot of people about this, the bubble season after the bubble we came back for that was it 48 or 54? I forget the number. 54 maybe. We’d remember we had a short training camp, no preseason games and we jumped right in. First game that the guys played was the first regular season game. I think we had about four or five days and uh cuz you know all of a sudden got going like that and we I was talking with the players they jumped right I I was amazed jumped right in. Those games were good right out of the get-go. So, so I think you know we’re maybe on to something here by shortening it a little bit. You know, one maybe two and and get going. Coach, with Brandon Clark coming into this season now, from what you’ve seen, small sample size, are you comfortable to put him in any situation in a game? Yeah, I’d say so. From what we’ve seen, he’s he’s raised his level for sure. Now, um what happens is when we get all of our defenseman and now there’s competition for that, so we’re comfortable with it. But is there somebody that can perform better in that that particular moment? If it’s six on five for the other team, are we comfortable with Clarky? I would say yes from what we’ve seen. Does that mean he’s going to be going out in that situation ahead of Edmonson, Dowy, Anderson, Dumo? You know, you can go down the list. You know, I I don’t know if we’re there yet.

0:00 – 4:43 Alex Laferriere
4:44 – 12:13 Jim Hiller

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