Gleason Makes a Strong Bid for Roster Spot

There’s a difference between playing hard and playing tough, but Tim Gleason seems to grasp that distinction at the young age of 20. Those instincts and his sturdy, 6-foot, 217-pound frame enable him to stand out in the crowd of players vying for spots in the Kings’ defense corps this season.

“He has brought an element that we’d like to have on our team, which is that he plays hard,” Coach Andy Murray said. “He competes for every puck and is intense, and that in itself leads to physicality.”

The Kings acquired Gleason’s rights in the trade that sent Bryan Smolinski to Ottawa last March and signed the Clawson, Mich., native to a three-year deal in May. Gleason took the initial shot on Luc Robitaille’s decisive goal in a 4-2 victory over the Mighty Ducks on Thursday night at Staples Center.

“I’ve been excited the whole time,” said Gleason, who had 38 points and 75 penalty minutes for his junior team in Windsor, Canada, last season. “This is an opportunity to make it and I’m going to play as hard as I can.

“It’s definitely a quicker pace than what I came from in juniors, but this is my third camp, so I’m kind of used to that.”

Mattias Norstrom, Aaron Miller, Jaroslav Modry and Lubomir Visnovsky are entrenched in the top four spots, but the last two are up for grabs among Gleason, Denis Grebeshkov, Brad Norton, Martin Strbak, Maxim Kuznetsov, Bryan Muir, Tomas Zizka, Jason Holland and Joe Corvo. However, Kuznetsov’s chances are being hurt by visa problems that have kept him in Russia.

King assistant Mark Hardy said Gleason, who attended two NHL training camps with the Senators, is being considered for the season-opening roster.

“He’s gotten better every single day,” Hardy said. “What we really like about Tim is he’s very consistent. He’s been very physical, but he hasn’t taken any cheap penalties. He moves the puck well and is good in his own end.

“I just see him getting better and better.”

Gleason said he’s sticking to basics. “Just to keep it smart and simple, and when I have the chance, join the play,” he said. “I just want to play my game.”

Meanwhile, Robitaille, signed in the off-season for his third stint with the Kings, scored two goals. He made the game-winner when he sent the rebound of Gleason’s shot past goalie Martin Gerber 13:04 into the third period to break a 2-2 tie.

Robitaille and John Tripp scored the Kings’ first two goals. Dustin Brown added an insurance goal.

Alexei Smirnov and Chris Armstrong scored power-play goals for the Mighty Ducks.

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The Kings replaced the black protective netting behind each goal at Staples Center with clear netting, improving sightlines. ... Lubos Bartecko, formerly of the Blues and Thrashers, is in the Kings’ camp on a free-agent tryout. He’s scheduled to play Saturday against Phoenix at Staples Center.

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Just who will keep forward Mike Leclerc’s roster spot warm is still to be seen, but the Mighty Duck hierarchy is taking a long look at rookies Joffrey Lupul and Ryan Getzlaf.

Lupul, the Ducks’ top draft pick in 2002, and Getzlaf, their No. 1 pick last June, have kid-in-a-candy-store faces with bull-in-a-china-shop bodies. They are part of General Manager Bryan Murray’s effort to make the Ducks a bigger, grittier team up front in the future.

Both, though, hope that the future is now.

“I started thinking about this camp as soon as last year’s was over,” said Lupul, who sat out much of last season’s camp because of a back injury. “Going to your first camp is tough and the injury made it even tougher. But I learned how to prepare myself and what was expected of me. I can do all the things that are necessary. I just have to show I can do it night in and night out.”

Lupul and Getzlaf are Exhibit A and B in Murray’s effort to bulk up the team. Murray even joked last training camp that the Ducks had no more small jerseys to hand out.

Lupul is 6-1, 200 pounds and was so impressive that the Ducks gave Nashville a third-round pick to pass on him in the 2002 draft. The Ducks took him as the seventh player overall.

Getzlaf, the 19th player taken in June, is 6-3, 208 pounds with clear skills around the net. He scored three goals for the Ducks in a rookie tournament two weeks ago.

Getzlaf is still a longshot as a junior player invited to camp.

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Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, who played 30 minutes in the Ducks’ 3-0 victory over the Kings in the minor game Thursday, will start in goal tonight. Jean-Sebastien Giguere will make his first start against Phoenix Sunday at the Arrowhead Pond.