One season into his junior hockey career, Michael King has the complete attention of National Hockey League scouts.
King, a six-foot-four, 205-pound defenceman for the Westside Warriors of the B.C. Hockey League, is the highest-rated Prince George product for the 2011 NHL entry draft, June 24-25 in St. Paul, Minn. When NHL Central Scouting released its final rankings on Monday, King was listed at No. 126 among North American skaters.
"It's quite an honour," said King, who had five goals and 23 points in 48 games with the Warriors this season. "It's definitely exciting and a measure of where I am in my career. It's a stepping stone and something to work for."
King is one of five locally-connected players who made Central Scouting's final list. The others are Mitch Elliot, Alex Roach, Dylan Willick and Jesse Forsberg (see other story).
In the midterm rankings, King was 133rd, so he moved up seven positions. NHL teams that contacted him during the season included the Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks.
King had two unexpected meetings with Pittsburgh scouts, the first at an early-season Westside home game and the second when he was on his way back to Kelowna after he played in the Canadian Junior Hockey League Prospects Game in Dauphin, Man.
King recalled the first encounter as follows.
"I was actually in the stands, injured, and [the scout] came and asked if I was Michael King and I was like, 'Yeah,'" King said. "He was like, 'Why aren't you playing? I came to see you.' He was kind of upset that he came to the game and I wasn't playing."
Then, after the Dec. 7-8 CJHL showcase event, a different Penguins scout spotted King. This time, the conversation happened at about 40,000 feet.
"I was on the plane and there was an empty seat beside me and he came up and asked if I was Mike," King said. "I said, 'Yeah,' so we kind of chatted for a bit. It was nothing really formal -- just chatting."
Obviously, scouts like the size of the 18-year-old King but, as a hockey player, he offers much more than an intimidating frame. He's also an excellent passer, has good puck-handling skills and owns a booming shot. On the other side of the coin, he's looking to pick up his intensity when he's on the ice.
King, a graduate of the Cariboo Cougars major midget program, was a Western Hockey League bantam draft pick of the Kootenay Ice (third round, 59th overall in 2008) but opted to go the BCHL route and try for a U.S. college scholarship. Part way through the year, he signed papers with Colorado College and will start the 2012-13 season in that NCAA program.
This season, the Warriors posted a record of 33-20-2-5. In playoffs, they went the maximum seven games with the Trail Smoke Eaters in the first round and won the deciding game 4-0. In the second round, Westside lost to the Vernon Vipers in six games. The Vipers went on to defeat the Powell River Kings in the league championship series.
"It was a pretty good season but, on a team note, I would have liked to get a little bit farther in the playoffs," King said. "It always sucks to lose."
