Sharing key takeaways from General Manager Ken Holland\u2019s season-opening availability.<\/p>\n
First things first are three key injury updates involving veteran players who were expected to be on the roster this season. Sharing those updates, as we have them, below. <\/p>\n
Mats Zuccarello
Let\u2019s start with the easiest one and that is Zuccarello, who was in a red, non-contact jersey during Day 1 of training camp today.<\/p>\n
Holland shared that Zuccarello fell on the ice during a captain\u2019s skate last week and sustained a minor shoulder injury. Nothing crazy there but it was enough to where he practiced today in a non-contact capacity. Zuccarello was involved, though, and he rotated in largely with Alex Turcotte and Alex Laferriere on a line. He didn\u2019t take every drill but that seemed to be his spot when he\u2019s ready. <\/p>\n
It is encouraging, though, that Holland said that Zuccarello is expected to be good to go by next week and is expected to be in the lineup for Opening Night when the Kings head to Colorado on September 30.<\/p>\n
Kevin Fiala
Here is the timeline I\u2019ve gathered on Fiala from what Holland said.<\/p>\n
Fiala, as was not a secret, was on the ice in the spring, as the Kings finished the regular season and headed into the playoffs. He wasn\u2019t seriously in contention to return last season but it wasn\u2019t ruled out either. Four games later against Colorado and his season was done, though he was skating on his own throughout that entire time. <\/p>\n
His summer preparations were fine but as he started to really ramp things up, skating with his teammates in captain\u2019s skates, something felt off for Fiala. After looking into it more and evaluating the situation further, Fiala had the follow-up procedure, which was announced earlier this month by the team.<\/p>\n
Holland said that following the surgery, Fiala was unable to do much in terms of working out for two weeks, because sweating heavily could impact the healing process of the procedure he had done. Not uncommon with surgeries. We\u2019re right around one week from Fiala\u2019s procedure, so that brings us to the end of next week with that two-week timeline.<\/p>\n
The plan to work Fiala back up to speed is to start him on the ice, working 1-on-1 with John Odgers, who leads Sports Performance for the organization. Then, the hope is that Fiala is feeling good and progresses to more hockey work with Assistant Coach Derik Johnson, the following week. If all goes according to plan and Fiala feels good, he would reintegrate with the full group in a couple of weeks\u2019 time. This is my own estimation here, but we are probably looking somewhere in early-October on that front, with the Kings a few games into the season. <\/p>\n
Holland\u2019s hope is that by November 1, the Kings will have Fiala back in the lineup. Remains to be seen how optimistic that is, but the Kings have a light October schedule with only 12 games to be played. That\u2019s light by NHL standards, especially over the first three weeks of the season when the Kings only play six total games. <\/p>\n
This is a best-case scenario timeline. There are several steps along the way and Fiala is not yet back on the ice. We need to see how he responds at each stage and see how he is able to progress. Until he does it, it\u2019s an unknown. The reason we\u2019re here is that Fiala didn\u2019t quite respond to higher-intensity training as everyone hoped he would. Hence the second procedure. If all goes according to plan I think this is quite positive news. A month out is manageable. Hoping things stay on track. <\/p>\n
Stressing, though, that while this is the plan, there are no guarantees. Things can change. Hoping things play out as everyone hopes to get Fiala back on the ice as soon as he can be there. <\/p>\n
Brian Dumoulin
I don\u2019t have a ton to offer on Dumoulin\u2019s status. <\/p>\n
He did not pass his physical yesterday and he is undergoing additional testing today. Dumoulin was not on the ice for Day 1 today but Holland did not have additional information on his situation to offer. <\/p>\n
For now, let\u2019s consider it to be day-by-day in terms of how we evaluate it. Will check in tomorrow and going forward to see what the status and update is. <\/p>\n
With all of that in mind, here is how Group A for the Kings lined up on Day 1 \u2013<\/p>\n