At heart Dean Lombardi is a draft geek, as animated while praising the hands of a seventh-round pick as when he's gushing over the raw skill of a first-round choice.
Having reaped the benefits of selecting early in the last half-dozen NHL entry drafts, the Kings' general manager decided to keep those benefits to himself for a few days before unveiling them to the world.
It seemed curious when the Kings announced a few weeks ago that their development camp would last only three days, ending Sunday. Previous camps had gone a week or more, and heaven knows those unsuspecting kids needed every moment to learn about what they were getting into.
In truth, this year's camp started several days before the Kings opened the doors of their El Segundo rink to fans Friday and it will continue a few days past Sunday's final game, contested before several hundred enthusiastic fans in the chilly practice rink.
Players began arriving in stages last weekend for drills, tutoring and conditioning, though they were on public view only the last few days.
Why such secrecy?
"NFL teams don't open up their camps. Baseball, it's ridiculous," Lombardi said Sunday. "We do three days for the fans and that's when the combined groups come in. The other four days they're here to work.
"They've got to be focused. They're here to work and get better, not entertain, and they've been really good."
Let's not forget that it's July, when heat can impair clear thinking and the Kings are undefeated. Nearly every kid looks like a potential All-Star and every goalie is a candidate to plug the decades-old black hole between the pipes.
But the effort at this camp by the coaches and 30 or so draftees and free agents reflected a new level of seriousness by the entire organization.
It also acknowledged that after years of collecting good material, the Kings know they flat-out can't screw this up.
Lombardi is committed to rebuilding on the backs of Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown, all Kings draft picks. This camp probably doesn't have a Doughty, who made a remarkable jump from junior hockey to top-four NHL defenseman last season, but it might be a springboard for a few players to accelerate the trek back to the promised land of the playoffs.
"This is the funnest part of the job, when they're all trying to get better," Lombardi said, "and they're all getting better at this stage, some of them hour by hour."
