Kings awards are here! (for games 1-10)

Let's hand out some King stars for the first ten games, shall we?

*** Winner ***

Anze KOPITAR, C - sudden emergence and production of this first Slovenian product in the NHL did not go unnoticed. 11 points (including 3 goals) in 10 games, as well as third-best on the team (and first among forwards) TOI (over 22 min/game). His defensive play is often overlooked, but especially in the last two games of the period in question, Kopitar did bring his d-force up the notch (especially coming out of the zone with the puck). Overall, very natural team leader and sudden, albeit unquestioned offensive creator.

** Runner-up **

Brent SOPEL, D - this is what Kings were *really* getting when they traded Grebeshkov and Tambellini for him last year. His knee is back to 100% and it shows. Nifty moves, one heck of a slapshot and some heads-up passing make him pretty much a complete package, and at that noticeably better than veteran Rob Blake.

*Third place*

Michael Cammalleri, C/RW - leading goalscorer for the Kings with 5. Very active in the offensive zone, however loses out on backchecking effort in the neutral one. Needs to shoot still more, especially bringing the puck in.


Honorable mentions:

Craig Conroy for defensive effort, which often escapes the headlines, Lubo Visnovsky for powerplay set-up and bringing the puck up the ice, and Mathieu Garon for the only shutout and overall solid play.

And who would YOU recognize for the first ten games, ladies and gentlemen? Don't be shy - the comments section is dying for some traffic ;).