Smirnov Appears Ready to Emerge

Alexei Smirnov wasn’t ready last season. He knew it.

Smirnov, the Ducks’ top draft pick in 2000, came from Russia to participate in Mighty Ducks’ training camp a year ago. He mixed it up a little, then he went home.

Now Smirnov seems on the verge of taking up permanent residency in Anaheim. He continued his impressive performance in this year’s camp with a goal in the Ducks’ 5-2 exhibition victory over San Jose on Friday at the Arrowhead Pond.

“Last year, I knew I still had to get better,” Smirnov said. “But I grew up. I feel I’m ready this year.”

Smirnov was awarded a penalty shot after being taken down on a breakaway by the Sharks’ Scott Hannan in the second period Friday. Smirnov then slipped a shot between the legs of goalie Vesa Toskala.

“Last year helped me because I knew what to expect,” Smirnov said. “I was able to prepare myself. I can play in the NHL.”

The Ducks hope so. Smirnov’s size (6 feet 3, 211 pounds) and his willingness to battle in front of the net are things they have lacked.

“It’s hard to talk about what a guy will be like five years from now, but what I see is a big man with great skills who seems to understand the game,” Coach Mike Babcock said. “We want to find out now if he can play in the NHL and contribute.”

Smirnov is one of five young players who will get a long look the next few games. Center Jason Krog, who had two assists, right wing Jonathan Hedstrom, who had one assist, left wing Stanislav Chistov, who had a goal, and defenseman Kurt Sauer were also in the lineup Friday.

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Fredrik Olausson, who missed the first three exhibition games with a sore groin, scored a second-period goal.

Chris Foster

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Yanick Lehoux, one of the Kings’ four highly touted forward prospects, didn’t make the second cut of training camp Friday, the Kings sending him and six other players to their American Hockey League team at Manchester, N.H.

The move was not a surprise. Lehoux, who scored 125 points in 66 games last season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is the most lightly regarded of a group of 20-year-old King prospects that includes Michael Cammalleri, Alexander Frolov and Jared Aulin, all of whom remain in camp.

Lehoux’s greatest shortcoming: lack of commitment on defense.

“He made steps [to correct that] this fall,” Coach Andy Murray said. “We had a long talk with him after our summer camp [in July] about the areas he needed to work on and he addressed those.”

Among the others sent down was Pavel Rosa, who played the last two seasons in Finland before returning this fall to give the NHL another shot.

“He said he wanted to tell us that he was going to play in the NHL,” Murray said after breaking the news to the 25-year-old Czech winger. “He said it in a polite way and with conviction, and that’s what we wanted to hear.”

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Other than former MVP Joe Sakic of the Colorado Avalanche, Murray said, Frolov was “the best player on the ice” in Wednesday night’s 3-2 exhibition loss at Denver. “He was tremendous,” the coach said of the Russian right wing, who had a goal and an assist.

Jerry Crowe