It has been a long eight months since we have last seen the Los Angeles Kings or the Ontario Reign play in California. As we inch closer to a 2020-2021 season, let us explore what the Kings have been doing with their extended offseason.

This is a departure from my traditional article format; however, it is interesting to see how the team has used this time to relax, recharge, and, most importantly, train for next season. I am going to compile several mini articles highlighting some of the most interesting offseason stories on the team.

Anze Kopitar Runs Youth Hockey Camp with the President of Slovenia?

Yes, you read that correctly. Slovenia was hit less severely by the Covid-19 pandemic and, with proper social distancing measures in place, Anze Kopitar was cleared to run his annual Hockey Academy youth summer camp in his hometown of Bled, Slovenia. As if actually being able to do something outside was not exciting enough, Borut Pahor, the President of Slovenia, came for a visit to play with Kopitar and the campers! Sounds like a fun way to spend the offseason!

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 @instahockeyacademy had a special guest today. Thank you Mr. president @borutpahor for a pleasant visit!
 
A post shared by  Anze Kopitar (@anzekopitar) on Jul 9, 2020 at 8:30am PDT
 

5 Prospects in Germany

While North America is not quite ready to return to hockey after spending several months in “the bubble”, some European leagues have begun to return to play. The Kings’ parent organization, AEG, is also the owner of the Eisbaeren Berlin hockey club in Germany’s top league, the DEL. The Kings had plenty of top prospects that were excited to return to play, thus, the Kings lent 5 players, Alex Turcotte, Tyler Madden, Akil Thomas, Aidan Dudas, and Jacob Ingham, to the team to allow them to play a little bit before the AHL and NHL seasons resume. It is nice to see the Kings play… somewhere!

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 :)
 
A post shared by  AT19 (@_alexturcotte) on Oct 18, 2020 at 5:00pm PDT
 

Alex Iafallo Finds a New Project while Staying at Home

For Alex Iafallo, staying in Los Angeles seemed to be the best option, but that does not mean that he was just sitting around doing nothing since early March. An avid surfer, Iafallo decided to build his own surf board! He also put together a pretty nice edit of the whole process. Hockey? Craftsmanship? Cinematography? He is man of many talents. Who knew?

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Built this board in the garage in March, finally put an edit together - - - - - - - 🎵: Invincible by Deaf Kev (NCS release)
 
A post shared by  alex_iafallo (@alex_iafallo) on Sep 20, 2020 at 12:33pm PDT
 

Evidently, the Kings have been very busy throughout the extended offseason. These are just a few of the most interesting stories but, like all hockey fans, I cannot wait to see all of these players back in Los Angeles playing the great game of hockey.

Main image via nhl.com