No Minor Contribution

Dustin Brown had scored a goal, delivered several bone-crunching checks and goaded two Providence Bruins into penalties, a productive night by any measure. But the 20-year-old Manchester Monarch winger wasn’t done.

The Kings’ top farm team was tied with its Boston counterpart in the third period of their American Hockey League playoff game Saturday when Brown barreled in on net. He bowled over goalie Hannu Toivonen, sending Toivonen’s helmet flying and igniting a chorus of curses by the irate Bruins.

“There are going to be complaints when you play physical,” Brown said after the Monarchs had won, 4-2. “Goalies aren’t little antiques out there. They can handle it.”

Were it not for the lockout, Brown would have been scoring goals and annoying goalies throughout the NHL.

Chosen 13th overall by the Kings in the 2003 entry draft, he was projected to play at least a limited role for them this season. So was center Mike Cammalleri, who led the AHL with 46 goals and was second in scoring with 109 points.

Mathieu Garon, acquired from Montreal in June, would have started in goal. Tim Gleason and Denis Grebeshkov would have vied for the fifth or sixth defense slots, Tom Kostopoulos would have carved a niche as a fourth-line winger with offensive skills, and La Verne native Noah Clarke would have pushed veterans for a job.

Instead, they rode buses in the AHL, with no hope of promotion this season. But it wasn’t all bad: The Kings own the Monarchs and closely monitor their progress. And because Manchester is a few hours’ bus ride from most of its rivals, the team took only two plane trips; less travel time means more practice time, ideal for incubating young talent.

“If there’s any silver lining, it’s that these young players got to play a whole season, uninterrupted, in Manchester,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said. “If we’d played the season, any injuries we had, we’d have had to pull players back and forth.

“Over the years we’ve had development teams in Phoenix and Long Beach, and this is the best we’ve ever had.”

Although a 6-3 loss to Providence on Monday left the Monarchs with a 2-1 series deficit -- and Garon was pulled for the second time in three games -- they had a successful regular season. They tied Rochester for the AHL lead with 51 victories and had the second-most points, 110, and goals, 258. That’s impressive in a league whose caliber was elevated when NHL teams sent many of their top prospects to play there during the lockout. For the Kings, undermined for decades by bad drafting and iffy minor league operations, the Monarchs became a pipeline to a promising future.

“These kids are playing the roles they’re going to be playing in the NHL,” said Kevin Gilmore, assistant general manager of the Kings and GM of the Monarchs. “Tim Gleason and Denis Grebeshkov are playing 23, 24 minutes a game. It’s great for their development. We have eight to 12 guys there that ... if all goes well, will be playing together as Kings over the coming years.”

Whether the lockout will erase a season from players’ contracts is subject to bargaining between the NHL and the players’ union, but the Kings and other NHL clubs are assuming it will. If so, the Kings -- who previously let go Adam Deadmarsh, Jason Allison, Ziggy Palffy, Jaroslav Modry, Ian Laperriere and Jozef Stumpel -- will take the contracts of Roman Cechmanek, Martin Straka, Luc Robitaille and Stephane Quintal off the books, leaving at least half a dozen openings.

Cammalleri, Brown, Gleason, Grebeshkov and center Yanick Lehoux, who had 54 points in 38 games before tearing a knee ligament in January, are signed to NHL entry-level contracts. Cammalleri and Gleason, though eager to play in the NHL, said they wouldn’t become replacement players if there were no labor deal in the fall.

“I wouldn’t cross,” said Gleason, who had 24 points and 112 penalty minutes in 67 games and was a physical presence. “I’m definitely on the players’ side on this one.”

Said Cammalleri: “I think that it’s a situation that has to be resolved through the union and the National League, and hopefully they’ll get results.”

Playing in Manchester was a huge boost for Cammalleri, who played big minutes in crucial situations. He’s intent on proving King Coach Andy Murray wrong for cutting his ice time in 2003-04 after he slumped from eight goals in 11 games to merely one in his next 18. He was sent to Manchester in early March and finished the season there.

“When he’s been down here in the past, he was probably a little disappointed that he got sent down, and you could tell for a while. He would be grumpy,” Monarch Coach Bruce Boudreau said.

Not this time. Expecting that the NHL season would be lost, Cammalleri made the best of centering for Brown and veteran right wing Brad Smyth on the top line. Among his 46 goals were 17 power-play scores, many on one-timers taken on one knee in the faceoff circle, a la Pat LaFontaine.

He also scored points with Boudreau by leading cheers from the bench.

“There was never a doubt that he loves to score and loves to play and competes every night, but I didn’t know how good a team player he would be,” Boudreau said. “He surprised the heck out of me.”

Boudreau compared Brown to a young Deadmarsh for his fearless body checking and knack of getting on opponents’ nerves. Boudreau, who had a 17-year pro career, marveled that Brown lost most of his bottom teeth to a high stick with six minutes left in a game on April 2 but insisted on returning and scored in overtime.

“He couldn’t play the next night and he played with a cage for a week, but just to come back out says volumes to me of what kind of person he is,” Boudreau said of Brown, who had 29 goals and 74 points this season.

Grebeshkov’s game is built on finesse, and he led AHL defensemen with 44 assists.

Boudreau compared Gleason to King Mattias Norstrom for his intensity and ability to lead.

“Take his first year, when he didn’t score a goal, and this year he had 10,” Boudreau said. “Take his first year when he had no fights, and this year he had eight or nine and he fought some heavyweights. I see the brightest future for him.”

Cammalleri predicted the same for both defensemen.

“Grebby’s got hands like you wouldn’t believe. Better than any forward,” Cammalleri said. “Gleason has become a monster.... We’ve kidded him that he’s in the weight room more than he’s in the locker room. He’s such a force and he’s such a great influence, the kind of guy I would hate to play against. He works real hard. He’s one of those guys who will be the cornerstone for a team for a long time.”

Those cornerstones are ready to move into place.

“Next year is definitely a mystery,” Gleason said, “but there’s definitely a core of guys that want to be there and can be there, and it’s just a matter of time.”