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7-10-17

FROM LA KINGS INSIDER: effective during a 24-game stretch between November 30 and January 21, a period in which he was assessed only three minor penalties July 7, 2017 and scrapped with Chris Neil in the Senator’s By: Jon Rosen 1,000th NHL game after sending Bobby Ryan Player Evaluation: Nolan flying with a massive, open-ice hit. “I don’t think he was really at full runnin’ until probably the first of JORDAN NOLAN November,” Darryl Sutter said. “I think he’s gotten This season: 46 games, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points, a little bit of that energy and enthusiasm back in his 44 minutes, -3 rating, -3.2 CF%Rel, 10:51 game that was lacking for a long time. He’s a boy time on ice that’s got to understand what his role is in terms of what he can give, in terms of the physical part of the The good: Jordan Nolan, who was coming off a game and the staying out of the penalty box part of difficult season that ended when he underwent back the game and not turning pucks over – simple things surgery in March, 2016, appeared to be battling to like that – and he has to really stay in that wanting remain in the lineup early in the first half of 2016- to be a 10-minute player.” He did that for the first 17. By the end of the mid-November Eastern time in his career, jumping nearly two full minutes Canada swing, he had already been held out of the per game to a time-on-ice average of 10:51. lineup 10 times and hadn’t scored a since the mid-April game in Calgary that knocked the Kings The bad: Nolan’s most effective moments have yet out of playoff contention late in the 2014-15 season. to be sustained over a full season, and 2016-17 was It gets better from there! With a two-goal, first star no different. Those stretches include his arrival in performance at Arizona on December 1, and with the second half of the 2011-12 season, his several standout, chance-generating showings production over the first half of the 2013-14 season, through much of January, he became a mostly and this most recent late-fall, early-winter consistent “teen-minute” player in a checking, emergence that saw his name reliably written across energy role and was demonstrating an improved Sutter’s lineup card. While injuries have played a ability to hold onto pucks, make plays and drive the role, Nolan, who has more skill and better hands net without playing too often in the defensive zone than many other players his size or in his role, or causing turnovers. Nolan is sneakily strong at simply hasn’t been able to consistently sustain his zone entries, which was surely an asset in 2016-17, health, production and responsible play over a full a year in which he experienced interesting zone season, and immediately after he played 36 straight starts that skewed away from neutral zone faceoffs. games, he appeared in only one of the next 20 after (His opponents’ CF60, though, was among the lower-body injuries suffered against Colorado and lowest on the team, so the competition he faced Anaheim took him out of the lineup during the wasn’t overly fierce.) But things seemed to be team’s late-season playoff push. His inability to clicking well for Nolan during a mid-season surge remain in the lineup did not sit well with that saw him play in 36 consecutive games between Sutter, who referred to his first ailment as “a silly November 13 and February 1 as he raised his little injury” and, on April 6, was openly displeased minutes and adhered to the rigors and structure of that his forward wasn’t practicing. “I went on the an NHL energy role. “I think the way I’m trying to ice today and I was trying to figure out who the hell address the game and hold on to the puck more with wasn’t out there, and I figured out halfway through my feet so seems to be working a little bit,” Nolan [Nolan] wasn’t out there, so that’s about as much as said in late December. “I think I’m just playing I can [share]. We want guys really interested in more confident. I’m hanging on to pucks, I feel like practicing and playing tonight,” he said. Yeesh. It’s I’m not scared to make a play out there and I think not a surprise for an energy player on a low-scoring it’s just a lot of confidence. That’s really the main team, but not many goals were scored while he was thing I can say. I’m trying to make plays, I’m trying on the ice, and his 1.23 GF60 was the 18th lowest in to bring pucks to the net and I feel like it’s all kind the NHL among forwards with a minimum 475 of coming together now.” He was particularly minutes. Nolan has never finished a season with a

positive CF%Rel, and his -3.2% in 2016-17 is His duties will be similar to his duties last year, but actually the second best rate he has posted in his with a touch more structure than when he was just career. starting to carve out a role in player development. Calling the opportunity “exciting” and describing Moving forward: With one year remaining on his how he loved the work undertaken with the contract at $950,000, Nolan will have an inside development team, he’ll again call upon the lessons chance at reclaiming his energy and physical role and subtleties he learned through an 872-game NHL but will face competition from players such as Andy career that included two titles and a Andreoff, Justin Auger and Michael Mersch, all of Western Conference Championship and share that whom could slot into similar roles and would have with a young group of centers, who will have the to pass through waivers if the team decided to opportunity to benefit from his responsible and assign them to . With Adrian Kempe and respected game. In January, Ontario Head Coach Jonny Brodzinski also looking to crack the roster Mike Stothers noted that Stoll’s presence was good out of camp in admittedly different roles and for both the young centers, such as Mike Amadio, expectations, there will be an interesting placement and those with more miles, such as Andrew of diversely equipped pegs into the third and fourth Crescenzi, Brett Sutter and TJ Hensick. lines of a team that was not a high-scoring group one season ago. Nolan has done a good job bringing In describing his focus, Stoll explained that most a mid-season intensity into preseason games in the rewarding aspect of his work with the club was past, and given his experience, it’s probably his job making the younger players feel comfortable in the to lose. But there does appear to be a pattern in demanding world of professional hockey and Nolan’s six seasons, one more or less reinforced by watching them implement what they learned under his most recent campaign. He’ll carve out a strong his direction in live game settings. identity and share some secondary production for weeks-long stretches before ultimately settling on The work continued in earnest when he took the ice somewhere between 55 and 65 games played and and ran drills at development camp last week. nine or 10 points. Health in hockey goes well beyond the dings and sprains and blunt force “It was weird being out there,” he said. “I wanted to injuries sustained over a grinding 82-game season, take off the track suit and put on the equipment and and it’s great to see Nolan open up about having do some of the drills with the guys.” made a choice to cut alcohol out of his life entirely. Nolan surely deserves appreciation for serving as a As a member of the staff barely removed from his terrific role model and a voice for his own extended tenure as a player, that energy should community and for a tight brotherhood of First translate well to the club’s prospects, who will be Nations Canadian athletes. . able to bank on the experiences and perseverance of someone who won two Stanley Cups as a player.

July 6, 2017 He’ll join a staff headed by Senior Advisor to the By: Jon Rosen General Manager/Development Mike O’Connell Stoll Joins Development As Part Time and Director of Player Development Nelson Consultant Emerson that also includes former Kings Mike Donnelly, Glen Murray and Sean O’Donnell, as Jarret Stoll, who gained experience in a well as Dusty Imoo in Goaltender Development. development “internship” position last season, has More good news: Brantt Myrhes will return to the been hired as a Consultant on a part-time basis by club for a third year in Player Assistance. the team to work in Player Development. His position will allow him to continue to work with the club’s young centers in Ontario and elsewhere July 6, 2017 within the pipeline. By: Jon Rosen Shore Signs One Year, $925K Extensions

The checked another box off With Shore on board, remaining RFAs are Andrew their list of restricted free agents, signing Nick Crescenzi, Michael Mersch, Paul LaDue, Jonny Shore to a one-year, $925,000 extension. Should he Brodzinski, Justin Auger, Zac Leslie and Kurtis not come to terms with the club on his next contract MacDermid, with Gravel the lone player to elect for before July 1, 2018, he will again become an RFA. salary arbitration. Los Angeles currently has 21 players under contract (plus Matt Greene’s buyout, It’s going to be an interesting year for Shore, who is and Mike Richards’ cap recapture and termination coming off a two-year, $1.2-million contract. He’s penalty) for 2017-18 at a combined cap hit of still young – at 24, he was the youngest King prior $69.063-million, figures that include Adrian Kempe to Adrian Kempe and Jonny Brodzinski’s arrivals – and Darcy Kuemper on the roster but not Jeff and there still exists the yet-to-be-reached ceiling of Zatkoff or the unsigned restricted free agents, based production that the center showed hints of during on financials provided by Cap Friendly. With his very good AHL stints in Manchester. While he approximately $5.937-million of remaining cap generated perfectly passable numbers in what was space, the Kings will look to construct a 23-man basically a fourth line center role in 2016-17, it still roster while also coming to terms with its remaining remains to be seen whether his playmaking skills RFAs, only a portion of which will make the and offensive awareness can lead to levels of opening night roster. Those requiring waivers to be production better than those of other periphery-type assigned to the AHL include Jack Campbell, Darcy roster players, who are often the most likely to be Kuemper, Andy Andreoff, Zatkoff, Shore, Auger, replaced. There’s no doubting Shore’s responsibility Crescenzi, Mersch and MacDermid. in more unsung aspects of the game, and at $925K, he’s not clogging the arteries of the team’s financial Previous RFAs to re-sign this off-season include structure. He has earned the coaching staff’s trust Tyler Toffoli (three years / $13.8M), Tanner by winning faceoffs against top players, suppressing Pearson (four years / $15M) and Andy Andreoff shots very well and killing penalties, but while his (two years / $1.355M). 17 points on a low-scoring team certainly checked a box off, the Kings would be well served if he went beyond the expectations of a depth center role and competed for minutes alongside linemates more inclined to provide offense. As noted in his evaluation, he outscored Nic Dowd, the team’s most frequent third line center, in five-on-five play.

The 2011 third round pick has 10 goals and 34 points in 172 career games, and set career-highs in goals (6), assists (11) and points (17) in 2016-17.

FROM LAKINGS.COM

July 6, 2017 Getting to Know: LA Kings No. 41 Pick Jaret Anderson-Dolan Who is this 17-year-old the LA Kings took with their second round pick? ...we'll go ahead and answer that rhetorical question for you

The LA Kings selected centerman Jaret Anderson-Dolan with the 41st overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft. But who is this 17-year-old the Kings took with their second round pick? ...we'll go ahead and answer that rhetorical question for you. In the 2015-16 season, Anderson-Dolan led all of the Chiefs' rookies in goals, assists, and points with 14 goals and 12 assists for a total of 26 points in 65 games. During the 2016-17 regular season, Anderson-Dolan scored 39 goals and added 37 assists for a total of 76 points. He was ranked second in Chiefs scoring and became the fourth 17-year-old in franchise history to score 30 or more goals in a season. Anderson-Dolan's team-high of 14 power-play goals during the 2016-17 season were the most PPG by a Chiefs' player since the 2013-14 season. Internationally, Anderson-Dolan won a gold medal with Canada White at the 2015 Under-17 Hockey Challenge. During the 2017 Under-18 World Championship, Anderson-Dolan took on a new role as the captain of Team Canada. Anderson-Dolan states that he models his style of play after current forward John Tavares. Outside of hockey, Anderson-Dolan hopes to help advocate for an inclusive and inviting environment throughout the NHL.

• If I could "Carpool Karaoke" with any celebrity it would be: Taylor Swift • TV show I recently binge-watched: The Office • The celebrity that always makes me laugh: Will Ferrell • The app I spend too much time on: Instagram • At an all-you-can-eat buffet I go straight for the: Meat • The coolest person I've ever met: Wayne Gretzky • Athlete I admire most: Sidney Crosby • One thing people don't usually know about me: I have two moms • If I could be any superhero I would be: Superman • I am inspired by: Underdogs • I am afraid of: Heights • I dream of: Hockey

July 6, 2017 Getting to Know: LA Kings No. 103 Pick Who is this 18-year-old the LA Kings took with their fourth round pick? ...we'll go ahead and answer that rhetorical question for you

The LA Kings selected defensman Mikey Anderson with the 103rd overall pick in the 4th round of the 2017 NHL Draft. But who is this 18-year-old the Kings took with their fourth round pick? ...we'll go ahead and answer that rhetorical question for you. In the 2015-16 season, Anderson was named to the USHL All-Rookie Second Team after he registered 16 total points (one goal, 15 assists) in 57 regular season games. He added three assists and two goals duirng nine playoff games in that season. Anderson was named to the USHL Second All-Star Team after leading the Blackhawks defensmen in points (5- 29=34) during the 54 games he played during the 2016-17 regular season. Internationally, the Roseville, Minnesota native won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 World Junior A Challenge and represented Team USA at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial. Anderson is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the 2017-18 season. There, he will be joining his older brother, , who spent the 2016-17 season with Minnesota- Duluth after beign drafted by the in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Kings fourth-round pick models his style of play after New York Rangers Defenseman Ryan McDonagh and states that his childhood hockey idol is current New York Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy. Gettting to Know: Mikey Anderson

• If I could "Carpool Karaoke" with any celebrity it would be: Justin Bieber • TV show I recently binge-watched: The Office • The celebrity that always makes me laugh: Will Ferrell • The app I spend too much time on: Snapchat • At an all-you-can-eat buffet I go straight for the: Dessert Table • The coolest person I've ever met: Pierre McGuire • Athlete I admire most: Roger Feder • One thing people don't usually know about me: I'm a pretty funny guy • If I could be any superhero I would be: Superman • I am inspired by: My brother and sister • I am afraid of: Snakes • I dream of: Playing in the NHL

July 6, 2017 Getting to Know: LA Kings No. 118 Pick Markus Phillips Who is this 18-year-old the LA Kings took in the 4th round of the NHL Draft? ...we'll go ahead and answer that rhetorical question for you.

The LA Kings selected Markus Phillips with the 118th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, and the 6-foot, 200-pound defenseman was on-hand to soak up every second of being drafted by an NHL team. But who is this 18-year-old the Kings took in the fourth round? ...once again, we'll go ahead and answer that rhetorical question for you.

Phillips led all Owen Sound Attack defensemen in goals (13) and amassed 43 points during the 2016-17 season. He added five assists in 17 postseason contests before Owen Sound was eliminated by eventual OHL champion Erie in the third round. In 2014-15, Phillips was captain of the Toronto Titans Minor Midget AAA club that won the GTHL Kraft Cup Championship. He recorded 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in 24 games. Internationally, Phillips was named captain of Team Canada at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and also represented his country at the 2016 Under-18 World Championship. The LA Kings fourth-round pick compares his style of play to defenseman Morgan Rielly. He also said that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Green was his childhood hockey idol. Getting to Know: Markus Phillips

• If I could "Carpool Karaoke" with any celebrity it would be: Taylor Swift • TV show I recently binge-watched: Friday Night Lights • Celebrity that always makes me laugh: Jonah Hill • App I spend too much time on: Snapchat • At an all-you-can-eat buffet I go straight for the: Steak • The coolest person I've ever met: Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson • Athlete I admire most: Sidney Crosby • One thing people don't usually know about me: I love country music • If I could be any superhero I would be: The Flash • I am inspired by: My dreams • I am afraid of: Failing • I dream of: Playing in the NHL

July 6, 2017 LA Kings Sign Nick Shore to 1-Year Contract Extension The 24-year-old center registered a career-high 17 points during the 2016-17 season

The LA Kings have signed forward Nick Shore to a one-year contract extension, Kings Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake announced today.

Shore's contract will have an Annual Average Value (AAV) of $925,000. The 24-year-old Shore (born Sept. 26, 1992) is a 6-1, 201-pound native of Denver, Colo. who appeared in a career-high 70 regular-season games this past season with the Kings, recording a career-high in goals (6), assists (11) and points (17). He also tallied his first career short-handed goal, Jan. 9 vs. Dallas and registered his second career game-winning goal on Dec. 22 vs. Nashville. A third-round (82nd overall) selection of the Kings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Shore will be entering his fourth NHL season in 2017-18. He has appeared in 172 regular-season games posting 34 points (10-24=34) and 62 penalty minutes in his NHL career. LA Kings Season Ticket Memberships for the 2017-18 season are on sale now, and deposits are also being accepted for Groups of 15 or more and Private Event Suite rentals.

Individual ticket sales information for the 2017-18 season will be released at a later date. Sign up now for more information about the 2017-18 season.

FROM DAILYNEWS.COM

July 6, 2017 11:28 AM By: Elliott Teaford LA Kings re-sign center Nick Shore to a one-year, $925,000 contract

The Kings re-signed Nick Shore to a one-season, $925,000 contract Thursday, one day after fellow restricted free agent Kevin Gravel opted to file for arbitration. Shore earned a raise from the $600,000 he was paid in each of the past two seasons. Shore, a 24-year-old center, had career highs in goals with six, assists (11), points (17) and games (70) last season with the Kings. He had three goals and 10 points in 68 games in 2015-16, his first full season in the NHL. He was a third-round pick in 2011 (82nd overall). Shore and Gravel were the Kings’ lone restricted free agents, but there are several minor-league players who need new contracts. Kings general manager Rob Blake said Saturday the team would not re-sign unrestricted free agent Jarome Iginla. It’s possible Blake could be done for the summer, but he said last week he’s likely to keep looking for ways to upgrade the Kings’ roster after the team failed to make the playoffs two of the past three seasons and underwent a management and coaching shakeup in April. The Kings have about $6.5 million in salary cap space, according to the website capfriendly.com. “A lot of things can occur from now until training camp,” Blake said. “I envision the roster that we’re setting with here today, going forward, but again, like I said, that can change. We do have a little flexibility cap-wise. I couldn’t say it’s a lot, but there are some things we’ll obviously look at. “But again, the roster that we’re setting on here today, we envision starting the season with.”

FROM NHL.COM

July 7 2017 By: Dan Greenspan Jaret Anderson-Dolan of Kings working toward next step to NHL Forward prospect has improved under Los Angeles assistant Don Nachbaur, former junior coach

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Los Angeles Kings forward prospect Jaret Anderson-Dolan understands there are no sure things in the NHL. Anderson-Dolan knew that just because the Kings hired his coach, Don Nachbaur, as an assistant, it didn't mean they'd select him in the 2017 NHL Draft. Although Nachbaur helped Anderson- Dolan develop, it is no sure thing his presence will help expedite the 17-year-old's route to the League.

"It's nice knowing a face coming in, but to make this team in the future it's going to be through me working hard," Anderson-Dolan, who the Kings selected in the second round (No. 41), said during Kings development camp last week. "It's not going to have anything to do with the people I know. Even though it's nice having Don here and having experience with him, I'm looking to make this team by working hard and playing my game." The addition of Nachbaur to the staff under coach John Stevens didn't change the way the Kings thought about Anderson-Dolan, director of amateur scouting Mark Yannetti said. It turns out Nachbaur already had shared his wealth of information about Anderson-Dolan with anyone willing to listen. "You can't get [Nachbaur] to shut up about Anderson-Dolan," Yannetti said after the draft. "There was no additional information gleaned from him because he had already told us [everything]. There is a body language change and a voice inflection change whenever he is talking about Anderson-Dolan. He believes in the kid as well as the player on a level that becomes sickening, maybe, if you spend too much time talking to him." Off the ice, Anderson-Dolan's character was built, to a large degree, by him being raised by two mothers. His work ethic on the ice was crafted by his work with Nachbaur, who painstakingly helped Anderson-Dolan improve his defensive play for three seasons. Nachbaur's attention to detail filtered down to Anderson-Dolan, helping him to take better angles, exercise better gap control, and work harder when battling along the boards. "Just watching a lot of video," Anderson-Dolan said. "[Nachbaur] points stuff out that you don't see during the game and that really helped me kind of see where I'm at and see things I need to be better at." Even with his increased focus on defense, Anderson-Dolan still had 76 points (39 goals, 37 assists) in 72 games for Spokane last season. The Kings need a boost on offense; they were tied for 24th in the NHL in scoring last season and averaged 2.43 goals per game. The addition of Anderson-Dolan and center Gabriel Vilardi, the No. 11 pick in the 2017 draft, reflect that. However, whether Anderson-Dolan remains at center or moves to the wing in the NHL is still to be decided. Anderson-Dolan's to-do list of improving on faceoffs and adding strength in his core and lower body reflects his desire to stay at center. "I consider myself a hardworking two-way forward," Anderson-Dolan said. "I think it starts in the defensive zone. If you're good in your D-zone, you're going to have more chances offensively, so for me just lock it down on defense and be a reliable player on all ends."

July 9 2017 40 most eye-popping plays of 2016-17 From acrobatic saves to gravity-defying goals, last season had it all

17. Jonathan Quick's snazzy leg save vs. Los Angeles Kings, April 2, 2017 Coyotes center Peter Holland thought he had a sure goal, but Quick nonchalantly kicked his leg to deny it.

FROM ESPN.COM

July 6. 2017 By: AP Kings re-sign forward Nick Shore

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Restricted free agent forward Nick Shore has re-signed with the Los Angeles Kings, agreeing to a one-year deal for $925,000, the team announced Thursday.

Shore has spent the past two seasons as a regular with the Kings, who drafted him in the third round in 2011. He set career highs last season with six goals and 11 assists in 70 games.

He has made 172 career appearances for the Kings, scoring 34 points.

Defenseman Kevin Gravel is Los Angeles' only significant restricted free agent still unsigned. Gravel chose salary arbitration Wednesday.

FROM MAYORSMANOR.COM

July 6. 2017 By: John Hoven Shore Signed; Update on Kings Salary Cap Situation and Roster Projection

Fresh on the heels of forward Nick Shore and the Kings agreeing to new one year contract, with an average annual value (AAV) of $925,000, we have updated our look at the team’s current salary cap situation. 2017-18 LA Kings Projected Opening Night Roster (with important notes at the end of the article)

Cammalleri Kopitar Brown 1,000,000 10,000,000 5,875,000

Pearson Carter Toffoli 3,750,000 5,272,727 4,550,000

Kempe Dowd Brodzinski 894,167 650,000 950,000

Clifford Lewis Andreoff 1,600,000 2,000,000 677,500

Nolan Shore 950,000 925,000

Muzzin Doughty

4,000,000 7,000,000

Martinez LaDue 4,000,000 1,500,000

Forbort Gravel 650,000 950,000

Folin 850,000

Quick Kuemper 5,800,000 650,000

The above 23-man roster would come in just shy of $66.8M (including the $1.57M penalty the Kings are paying next season for terminating Mike Richards’ contract and the $833K cap penalty for buying out Matt Greene). With a cap ceiling of $75M for next season, that would leave GM Rob Blake about $8.1M to play with for roster upgrades (and you have to solve the Gaborik Riddle).

NOTES:

– So… Marian Gaborik? True, the above information assumes he begins the season on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR). If/When he returns, one of the above roster players would have to go, due to the league- mandated 23-man roster limit. At that time, the Kings would also need to add his $4.875M AAV back into their total and still be under the $75M cap max. Just for some easy math, if you add Gaborik back in and drop one of the bottom six forwards (of which, most have deals valued at less than $1M), the Kings adjusted cap value would be about $70.7M; giving them just over $4M to play with.

– Jonny Brodzinski’s salary above is our estimate for his new contract that should be announced in the coming weeks. He is coming off a two-year Entry Level deal that had a cap hit of $808,750. Same thing for Paul LaDue and Kevin Gravel, those are estimated amounts for their new contracts. Gravel is coming off a deal with a cap hit of $667k, while LaDue was the most expensive of the group; he was holding a deal with an AAV of $925k. His new deal could come in higher than we’ve projected, depending on the term agreed to. – Oscar Fantenberg is another option on defense. However, we project him to open the season in AHL Ontario. He does not require waivers to be sent down, nor will his contract count toward the cap in that situation.

– Three prospects will also be given serious consideration for roster spots coming out of training camp in October, Justin Auger and Michael Mersch at forward, along with defenseman Kurtis MacDermid. It is important to note that all three would require waivers to be sent back to AHL Ontario. Thus, the Kings will either need to risk them to waivers, trade them, or move out other players to make room for them on the NHL roster. Because of their contract values (they’ll be signed to deals later this summer for less than $900k per season), their contracts do not impact the team’s NHL salary cap unless they make the team. Which also means, if they make the Kings opening night lineup, they’ll likely be replacing a more expensive player (i.e. Shore, Andreoff, and/or Nolan), which would only improve Blake’s cap position even further.

FROM NBCSPORTS.COM

July 6. 2017 By: Mike Halford Kings re-sign Shore — one year, $925,000

After entrenching himself in the L.A. lineup over the last two years, Nick Shore is back for another.

Shore, 24, has signed a one-year, $925,000 extension with the Kings, the club announced on Thursday. That AAV is up from the $600,000 he made on his last contract, which was a two-year deal.

Taken by L.A. in the third round of the 2011 draft, Shore set career highs in games played (70), goals (six) and points (17) last season. The former Denver University standout worked his way into the Kings lineup after a couple of successful seasons at the AHL level, including the ’14-15 campaign in which he scored 42 points in 38 games.

Shore largely manned the bottom-six center spots last season, to mixed reviews. It’s believed L.A. was looking for additional center depth this offseason and, not coincidentally, was rumored to be chasing Joe Thornton before Thornton re-upped in San Jose.

FROM THE

July 6. 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 6, 2017

AHL NAMES 2016-17 WINNERS OF TEAM BUSINESS SERVICES AWARDS

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews has announced the winners of the league’s annual Team Business Services awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in a variety of categories including ticket sales, community service and fan experience. These awards were presented Wednesday evening at a gala reception during the Board of Governors’ Annual Meeting at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

As part of its Team Business Services program, the AHL honored one club from each conference for top revenue growth in four areas during this past season: overall ticket sales, season-ticket sales, group-ticket sales and corporate sponsorship sales. The winners in overall ticket sales revenue growth were the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and the Cleveland Monsters (Western). Winners for season-ticket sales growth were the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and the Milwaukee Admirals (Western). The Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and the San Diego Gulls (Western) earned the awards for group- ticket sales growth, and the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and Texas Stars (Western) were recognized for their corporate sponsorship sales growth.

Additionally, teams from each conference were selected for excellence in the areas of digital media, community relations and fan experience. The (Eastern) and Iowa Wild (Western) were honored for digital media excellence; the Hartford Wolf Pack (Eastern) and Ontario Reign (Western) earned the nods for exceptional community relations efforts; and the Utica Comets (Eastern) and Cleveland Monsters (Western) were recognized for outstanding fan experience at home games.

The AHL also honored several teams and individuals for their efforts during the 2016-17 season at the league’s Marketing Meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., last month, including the Iowa Wild as the sponsorship sales department of the year and the San Diego Gulls as the ticket sales department of the year.

The Cleveland Monsters were recognized for unique ticket sales promotion or theme night (“Cleveland Indians Tribute Night”); the were selected for unique game operations (“Hungry Hungry Hippos”), the Charlotte Checkers were chosen for unique community relations initiative (“Pass It Forward with Verizon”), the Grand Rapids Griffins were honored for unique social media promotion (“Snapchat Spectacles”); and the Charlotte Checkers were given the award for unique sponsorship package or entitlement (“HomeTrust Bank”).

In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 31 teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.

# # # Contact: Jason Chaimovitch, Vice President of Communications Emily Aasand, Manager of Digital and Social Media (413) 781-2030 | @AHLPR