Kings building trust early under new coach John Stevens

“Trust falls” were not part of the team bonding activities for the Kings this week, although one exercise hit a similar note.

They were instructed to help each other over a four-foot-high rope, one by one, without touching it, which left the last person stranded. Solution?

“Dustin Brown ended up being elected to do the Superman run-and-jump,” Michael Cammalleri said. “It took a lot of trust, but he just ran and [did it with] a lot of arms and his legs.”

Welcome to the Kings under coach John Stevens.

Team-building exercises are usually done later in a season, often on the road and sometimes during slumps. But with new faces on the roster and a break in the schedule, Stevens hired a group to put his players through problem-solving challenges Monday.

“It’s kind of fun to see how everyone has their own personal traits,” defenseman Christian Folin said. “Some people were more outgoing. Some people are more reserved in that way. You get a little bit more perspective into all the guys. You kind of know who takes the lead and who sits back. It’s kind of helpful to know who’s pushing a little bit more for the whole group.”

It was the first time Stevens did the outing with the Kings. He has given similar individual tasks, for instance, where he asks a player to state the names of a teammate’s children to see how well they know each other.

It’s a different approach to better communication, in his eyes.

“I just thought that interaction where guys are forced to work together in some pretty significant challenges, where you’ve got to think a little bit, you’ve got to work together, you’ve got to commit to a plan,” Stevens said. “All those things relate to what we do on a daily basis.”

Stevens and his staff formed one of the four groups that competed against one another. Trevor Lewis said his group won, but Stevens joked that the three player groups were disqualified.

Said Folin of the outcome, “We were just chasing a pot of gold.”

Lingering tension?

Matchups with the Calgary Flames have taken on more edge since an incident late last season when Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk elbowed Drew Doughty and received a two-game suspension.

The Kings were criticized for a lack of response. Stevens told season-ticket holders in August that, “Quite honestly, moving forward, I’d like to see our team react a little differently in that situation.”

But, asked Tuesday if there were messages to be sent, Stevens said, “I don’t think there’s any message-sending at all. We have to get established against a team in our division. I think the reason there’s some ill will with the two teams is because we’re trying to beat each other, and they’ve really improved as a hockey team. The division’s really improved because I think Calgary and Edmonton have gotten an awful lot better … I think that’s why it’s changed.”

NEXT UP

VS. CALGARY

When: 7:30 p.m.

On the air: TV: FSW; Radio: 790

Update: Alec Martinez (lower body) skated on his own. … Andy Andreoff has skated on the third line the past two days. … Jaromir Jagr, 45, has yet to make his debut with Calgary.

curtis.zupke@latimes.com

Twitter: @curtiszupke