Thanks to the 2012 NHL playoffs, America has learned names of Los Angeles Kings players like Jordan Nolan, Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick, but hockey fans in Manchester, NH aren't surprised to see these stars shine.
The small city located in the Granite State is home to the Kings' American Hockey League affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, where the aforementioned playoff heroes fine-tuned their skills before making it to the big time.
Before Brown lead the 2012 playoffs in goals, he scored 29 goals and 45 assists for the Monarchs en route to a 2004-05 AHL All-Star selection.
Before stone-walling opposing offenses in the net, Quick shutting out his competition in Manchester from 2007 to '09.
The Kings are a squad who aren't built around one superstar like Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby. Rather, they are built on the "team-first" approach and a rich farm system that has paid huge dividends this season.
Nolan, who scored the first goal of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals, caught up with the Monarchs' official website to talk about his time with the minor league team:
"I think when I was in Manchester, I felt pretty good ab ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Alex Hall
Stanley Cup 2012: AHL Farm System Paying off for Los Angeles Kings
June 2nd, 2012 by Alex Hall Leave a reply »
Advertisement