Tonight We Dine With Kings

Today the LA Kings had their opening day of LA Kings Fest and EA SPORTS was to not only be a part of the festivities with a large chunk of space carved out with systems set up to show off NHL 10, we were also invited to meet some of the Kings prior to their walking on to the stage to meet their fans at the Nokia Center.

It was much more than today’s team however; it was their past, present, and future that were all in attendance during tonight’s affair. After setting up the PS3 and XBOX 360 systems that will be playing NHL 10 through the weekend, producer Andy Agostini and our crew were provided with some VIP passes to hang with the likes of the Triple Crown line of Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, and Charlie Simmer in one corner, while team President and Hall of Fame inductee Luc Robitaille chatted with some of his young superstars and prospects in another.

The moment we walked into the green room we were introduced to RW Justin Williams and assistant captain Anze Kopitar. One of the first questions Williams asked me after telling me that he played NHL 09 online when he was on the road with his buddies was, “So, what’s new in the game this year?” I went into some of the details of board play and he seemed pretty impressed. “I’m coming by the booth tomorrow to check it out.”

As we moved through the room, we saw the Triple Crown line reunited and it reminded me of those late 70’s and early ’80’s days when Dionne, Taylor, and Simmer were a menace to my beloved Canucks. Even the younger Kings were impressed as they looked up at the monitor that was showing a video of the three back in the day and how that line electrified Kings fans with their chemistry.

With some of them lined up to play some lucky fans tomorrow on the sticks, we were then introduced to defenseman Drew Doughty, Davis Drewiske, and goalie Jonathan Quick. With Drew just returning from Team Canada’s orientation camp, I asked him about his experience as one of the youngest players to be invited.

“It was an incredible camp. Last year I didn’t think I would make the Kings team and then to have the year I had and to be invited to the camp was unbelievable.” He talked about meeting Ryan Smyth for the first time and how excited he was about him coming to LA. “He’s a great guy and he’ll bring a lot of leadership and experience to the team.”

It wasn’t all about hockey on the real ice however as he did ask about his in-game rating this year admittedly stating that he’s one of the better gamers on the team. I let him know that Andy was the guy in charge of that. They had a friendly discussion over his rating (”Andy, you still haven’t answered the question,” asked Doughty) and with a smile and a wink, let him know that though he was pleased to be higher than last year, he’ll be looking to improve on his 83 rating from this year on future roster updates.

Drewiske on the other hand was just stoked to be in the game. “When I saw the picture you guys put up (from yesterday’s blog), I told my girlfriend and I literally had a tear in my eye,” he said with a laugh. His plan is to be permanent fixture on the team after playing 18 games with the Kings last year. On a squad with a great young core, he seems to be a good fit with their organization.

I then noticed (or was nudged to notice) Dustin Brown sitting right behind me and I kindly introduced myself. Little did I know that he was in the middle of rehearsing his speech for the fans and as I was about to give him back his space, he waved it off without a worry. The Kings captain was nice enough to answer some of my questions about the team’s outlook for this year.

“We’re a lot more optimistic this year that’s for sure. We all got together earlier this summer with the goal of bonding as a team and I’m confident in what we can do with our core group of guys here.” I was impressed to notice the experience in his voice well past his youthful 24 years of age. By the way…his speech went off without a hitch other than a small stutter that the crew blamed me for.

With that, the team of old, of today, and of the future made their way to their adoring Kings fans as they were all individually introduced and made their way high-fiving them down the isles. Back in the green room, the crew and I watched and took it all in ourselves.

We were reminded that at the end of the day though these guys make a ton of money playing a game they love, there’s this genuine excitement when they see themselves in an EA SPORTS NHL video game. It’s not about money…it’s about being In the Game.