While many may be surprised by his success making the Kings roster, let alone his excellence in the playoffs, Clifford has not been. He said he planned to make the L.A. roster and help the team to the playoffs at the outset of the season. Without a hint of hesitancy or a modicum of doubt, he defined his goal at the beginning of the playoffs as being an impact player for his club in the postseason.
“It’s a big stage, you work your whole life for this and all I can think about is the Stanley Cup,” he said.
I hope he continues to progress. He has really brought so much together to cap off a great rookie season as a 20 year-old.
My only concern is his defense in his fighting and the fact that Matt Greene pretty much stopped fighting this year, Simmonds took a step back and Westgarth only playing 54 games pretty much made Clifford take on all the big boys.
He doesn't need to fight as much anymore, he has now earned a reputation, don't get me wrong, I love fighting but he can leave most of the fighting to Westgarth....Kevin should have more fighting majors than Kyle next year.
Kyle had 18 majors, 4th most in the NHL behind Parros, Konopka and Boll. Westgarth had 15, 11th most in the NHL. I would hope that those numbers switch next year.
Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad some people are enjoying the article. Any questions about bits from the piece or the season in general I'd be happy to take and answer in as much detail as I can.
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Danny Duberstein is good at two things ...
Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad some people are enjoying the article. Any questions about bits from the piece or the season in general I'd be happy to take and answer in as much detail as I can.
Great article. Liked the Clowe and Morrow quotes, as I put more weight on competitor's evaluations than coaches or teammates...
My only concern is his defense in his fighting and the fact that Matt Greene pretty much stopped fighting this year, Simmonds took a step back and Westgarth only playing 54 games pretty much made Clifford take on all the big boys.
He doesn't need to fight as much anymore, he has now earned a reputation, don't get me wrong, I love fighting but he can leave most of the fighting to Westgarth....Kevin should have more fighting majors than Kyle next year.
Kyle had 18 majors, 4th most in the NHL behind Parros, Konopka and Boll. Westgarth had 15, 11th most in the NHL. I would hope that those numbers switch next year.
Most guys cut back after they gain some respect and some guys have their teams tell them to do it as they become more important to stay on the ice/in the lineup. That happened with Brandon Prust in New York this year, for example.
Westgarth has a hard time finding dancing partners, which is an issue for many heavyweights today. Rarely can they find someone in their class and even if their opponent has a big fella neither guy gets a ton of ice time to take advantage of the opportunity. I think we'll continue to see the meaner middleweights lead their teams in majors for that reason, guys like Konopka in New York.
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Originally Posted by driller1
Great article. Liked the Clowe and Morrow quotes, as I put more weight on competitor's evaluations than coaches or teammates...
Thanks, I tried to get some guys in the division that play the power game and see what they thought. Neither guy knew Clifford personally at all but they had both taken notice of his play.
Prust had 18 fights last year, down from 25 the year before....but he got stuck with a lot of the dirty work because Boogard went down mid season and was gone.
Great article, Clifford is my favorite King since McSorley. Terry Murray seems to really like him.
Last edited by Johnny Utah: 05-04-2011 at 03:02 PM.
Prust fought more at the start of the year, I think in the first month of the season he had as many fighting majors as he did after Feb 1, which is almost three months of action including the playoffs. In that same month, Boogaard had half as many majors (3) but turned in a pretty heavy seven in 22 games by the time he was done.
He had a nagging injury (shoulder, I think) but that didn't stop him, around that time the staff basically told him to reign in his fighting a little.
I don't think that was ever a consideration for the Kings but it could easily become one in the near future.
Murray does like Clifford and he's a favorite in the dressing room, among the younger guys in particular.
