Jonathan Quick focuses on becoming the Kings’ goalie of the future

In his minor-league days, Jonathan Quick slept so deeply that his teammates would stumble off their bus after a trip and the equipment managers would unload the gear and think all was done only to find the goalie under a seat, slumbering.

That made for good jokes but bad mornings -- especially when the Kings sent goaltending development guru Kim Dillabaugh to Manchester, N.H., to work with Quick. Only Quick was late, having overslept.

A good scare -- a demotion to the ECHL during the 2007-08 season -- and a good, loud alarm clock changed his habits.

“It was a teaching moment, so to speak,” Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi said.

Quick is learning to face setbacks in the same manner he faces shots from opponents: head-on, without hesitation and with enough success to help lift the Kings to the top of the Western Conference.

Since his promotion from the American Hockey League a year ago, Quick has become a fixture in goal for a team notorious for decades of net-minding woes. It’s almost too much to hope that he might be the goalie who will provide the stability the Kings have long lacked.

“I do want to be that goalie,” he said, and he’s beginning to win over the most wary of fans.

Quick, who will be 24 next month, leads the NHL with 2,046 minutes 54 seconds’ ice time and 34 starts. His 2.58 goals-against average and .904 save percentage aren’t exceptional, but it’s important to note they improved while the Kings were most depleted by injuries and needed him most.

“I do think I’ve been more consistent for the team this past maybe month, month and a half. I really can’t explain why,” he said. “I just have been doing the things I’ve been doing since training camp.”

He has been doing them better in December, with a 6-1-1 record, 2.38 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. In the 10 games that preceded the Kings’ current break, he was 7-2-1 with a .931 save percentage and 2.24 goals-against average.

Coach Terry Murray said Quick is more patient and plays deeper in his net during penalty kill situations, which explains some of his sharpness. As with most goalies, the roots are mental too.

“His comfort level right now is tremendous,” Murray said. “When a goalie’s on top of his game, everyone else around him seems to play better.”

Quick didn’t get to this point easily. He lost three of four decisions from Nov. 18 to Nov. 26 and yielded 13 goals. Some were soft.

Faced with a new problem, he attacked it methodically. He studied videos. He became more purposeful and focused and enhanced his already careful attention to detail.

“A year ago he was on a roll and he didn’t really have to deal with any difficult times,” Kings goaltending consultant Bill Ranford said. “And then already this year he went through a little bit of a stretch where he stumbled a little bit and there was some work to be done on his game. For him to build it back up to where he’s playing right now is just showing maturity.”

Part of Quick’s progress comes from experience and what Ranford called a unique ability to quickly correct his game. “I can talk to him about something in the morning and he can apply it at night, which is amazing,” Ranford said.

Quick also is evolving off the ice. He and his wife, Jaclyn, are expecting their first child March 23 and he marvels every day at his daughter’s vigorous kicking.

“It might seem like a lot is going on in my life but you find time for each,” he said last week at the Kings’ practice rink in El Segundo. “The important part about maturing is being able to do the time management. Not being home when you’re supposed to be here and not being here when you’re supposed to be home.

“You go to your practice and you enjoy coming here and working with the guys. I enjoy being here with the team. Then I go home and get to see the progression of my wife with the baby growing. I’m very fortunate.”

Quick deflected credit for his success to his teammates.

But their perseverance wouldn’t have mattered if Quick hadn’t carried a heavy load game after game, using his superb lateral movement and sturdy 6-foot-1, 216-pound frame to its best advantage.

“A couple guys are out. You’ve got some new guys that haven’t played too much time that are jumping in and playing some big minutes and so you do feel responsible and you want to give your team the best chance to win every night,” he said.

That desire to win intrigued Lombardi when he scouted Quick at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Lombardi compared Quick’s cockiness and temperament to that of Mike Vernon, a two-time Stanley Cup winner.

Vernon’s statistics weren’t great but he performed well under pressure and Lombardi said he has seen glimpses of that in Quick. However, he emphasized Quick is just beginning a path whose direction seems promising but whose course remains unclear.

The most successful goalies, Lombardi said, “recognize critical moments.”

“So far, Jonathan has shown those traits in college and he’s shown signs of it here, that he rises to the occasion and he doesn’t let bad goals get to him.”

The next step for Quick is playing on the world stage. He’s likely to be the third goalie on the U.S. Olympic team at the Vancouver Games, which Ranford sees as a good opportunity.

“I was fortunate enough to represent Canada a few times and any time you can play against the best and even be around the best it’s a real good experience,” Ranford said.

It should help Quick prepare for the heightened expectations he and the Kings will face.

“The first half of the season is the easy part. Great teams really buckle down in the last half,” Ranford said. “This will be a real good test for not only him but for the rest of our team.”

Quick says he feels refreshed by the eight-day break that ends Saturday at Phoenix, and it’s a good thing because when his daughter is born, sleep will be precious -- and he won’t need that clanging alarm clock anymore.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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