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For the next two weeks, the best young players for the Los Angeles Kings will practice drills and play pick-up hockey every morning at HealthSouth Training Center in El Segundo. Puck fans can watch for free, meet the players and, often, chat with Kings coach Andy Murray and general manager Dave Taylor. No media cover the annual Prospects Camp, but detailed reports that are better than any newspaper can do (and photos) are put up daily on LetsGoKings.com. That's the fan website where a member investigated the Kings' finances earlier this year and ended up on the front page of the L.A. Times (and in media all over the U.S. and Canada).
LGK members will also report in depth in August when local National Hockey League pros (including several stars) gather at HealthSouth for informal preseason morning workouts. In September when the Kings conduct their training camp, LGK will also be there. There's no cost to watch any of these workouts, from warm bleachers or standing right at ice level. Anywhere from a dozen to a few hundred fans typically attend. It's the best free pro sports show around, and the contrast with the Lakers (who also train at HealthSouth) could not be more stark. The Lakers bar the public from workouts, and keep the players isolated from fans behind locked gates. The hockey players, however, park their SUV's and BMW's in the public parking lot and usually sign autographs without hesitation.