Kings' Andy Andreoff makes presence felt in first NHL game
The Los Angeles Kings had only a few roster spots open coming into training camp this season. Center Andy Andreoff got one, and he let everyone know it in the first seconds of his first NHL shift Tuesday night.
Andreoff had been on the ice for just a few moments when he dropped the gloves with Edmonton center Matt Hendricks. It might have been one of the most polite fights you'll ever see.
"The play was going and I tapped him and he said OK and we dropped the gloves," Andreoff said. "I thanked him after because I don't know if he wants to fight a younger guy, but it was good."
Going after a 33-year-old veteran like Hendricks might seem like a bold move but this was common for Andreoff in the AHL -- he was second on the Manchester Monarchs with 113 penalty minutes last season -- but this fight had a new meaning. A beaming Andreoff skated with his first fighting major and then it finally hit him: He was in the NHL.
"After that fight I felt like I had been in a couple games," he said.
With the nerves calmed and the jitters left in the penalty box, Andreoff made pretty good use of his 12 minutes on the ice. The 23-year-old Canadian had a shot, three hits and won three faceoffs in his first NHL game. He centered a fourth line with Kyle Clifford and Jordan Nolan on the wings and thought he brought exactly what he needed to bring to that line.
"Our whole line, we're the energy line so we've got to get something going," he said. "Either a fight, a big hit or a nice couple plays there. I thought we had a good game."
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A physical and versatile power forward, Andreoff started knocking at the door last season in the AHL. He took big strides, improving all facets of his game. But it was being with the Kings during their Stanley Cup run as one of the Black Aces (a practice squad that works with the big club during the postseason) that showed him what could be ahead and motivated him for the summer. Andreoff worked diligently in the offseason to refine his skills, focusing on doing the small things and doing them right.
"That was one of the best experiences of my life," Andreoff said. "They treated me like I was on the team. It was nice to feel and realize how good it would be to win a Stanley Cup."
It was exactly what the Kings were looking for out of him.
"When players come up and don't play, hopefully they're sponges," said head coach Darryl Sutter. "One game doesn't set your career. I said this morning, 'I hope you play and I hope you play well.'"
"And he did."
After three seasons in the AHL, Andreoff feels that he's prepped and ready to fully develop into an NHL player. With some of the regulars banged up right now, he has a chance to show everyone else as well. And Andreoff is well aware that there aren't too many chances like this with a team that has defied the salary cap era odds with its roster continuity.