Visheau, Modry Sent to Ice Dogs

The Kings made their final cuts Wednesday, sending injured defensemen Mark Visheau and Jaroslav Modry to the Ice Dogs and reducing their roster to the league-mandated 24 players.

Visheau, impressive in training camp, is not expected to be able to play for 8-10 weeks after an operation on his left thumb. The thumb was jammed and broken in a fight with the Mighty Ducks’ Stu Grimson.

Modry suffered a bruised thigh and knee in an exhibition game against the Ducks.

The Kings are contracted to send six players to the Ice Dogs and eight to Springfield, Mass., of the AHL, but “we’ll probably have trouble getting 14 healthy bodies to them,” said Dave Taylor, the team’s vice president and general manager.

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Defenseman Doug Bodger says that a stop he made last season at New Jersey has helped him prepare to play with the Kings.

Bodger, acquired in an off-season trade, began last season with the San Jose Sharks before being sent to the Devils.

“I learned a few things from [former New Jersey coach Jacques] Lemaire that are helping me learn the system here,” Bodger says. “Little things like keeping my stick on the ice and two hands on the stick in front of the crease. I had always poked at the puck with my stick.”

Much of what the Kings do was learned by Coach Larry Robinson when he assisted Lemaire at New Jersey. The two also were teammates with the Montreal Canadiens.