What happens when you allow an NHL general manager to rebuild a a franchise from the ground up through patience, intelligent drafting and shrewd moves, rather than mindlessly doling out picks and prospects and overpaying for players to fill in the gaps? We'll find out this season.

The Kings are on the cusp of announcing their presence with authority to the rest of the league. With a stable filled with promising prospects, Dean Lombardi's vision of the Los Angeles Kings is almost in focus. Almost.

For four seasons, Lombardi has assembled a squad that showcases the younger talent by filling in the lines with veterans. Led by team captain Dustin Brown, alternate Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov, the Kings were able to play meaningful games into March last season. Coach Terry Murray was able to improve on the squad's dismal defensive showing from 2007-08 season, going from 27th in the league (3.17 GAA) to 11th (2.71), the lowest GGA since 2003-04 (2.65).

Much of that had to do with the arrival of a decent goaltender. Jonathan Quick helped solidify the postion from the goaltender carousel the previous season. He became the first Kings starter since Jaime Storr in 1998-99 to crack the top 15 in goals against of the entire league. Add to that an improved blueline led by alternate/assisitant captain Matt Greene, Sean O'Donnell, Jack Johnson and the real Calder Award winner Drew Doughty, the Kings dropped their shots against by almost four per game, good enough for fourth-best in the NHL.

Really, the only battle was to see who gets the call as back-up to Quick. The smart money was on Erik Ersberg, since he played well early last season. The nice thing is the Kings are no longer in a position to hurry along a prospect like Jonathan Bernier, who is going to start down in Manchester for another year of seasoning.

By the way, I love the term 'seasoning' when it refers to a player's development. I envision throwing a player in a Crock-Pot (a stint in the minors), throwing in some spices (playing time, elevated opposition) and simmer for a spell (one or two seasons). Now I'm usually not wild about eating a meal that's been cooked all day, since it lacks that pizazz of freshly prepared food. But when it's done right, like a platter of Lucille's Tri-Tip, there's nothing better. Here's hoping Bernier finally emerges tender, meaty and slow-cooked to perfection rather than overcooked, blanched and void of all flavor. Damn, now I'm hungry.

Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Rob Scuderi was signed as a free agent in the off-season from Pittsburgh, and joins O'Donnell, Greene, Doughty and a healthy Jack Johnson on what should be one of the best defensive lines in the West.  Again, the only training camp drama was what to do with the bottom of the defense corps? Peter Harrold could be inserted here but has been more of a tweener, playing forward at times. Should Hickey get the call? How about Alec Martinez? How about Davis Drewiske? All  have played reasonably well, and should flourish at this level.

With O'Donnell serving a two-game suspension to start the season, both Martinez and Drewiske made the cut. Both have logged quality minutes down in Manchester. I've read good things on the development of Hickey, and think he's a blue-chipper. But I also think he's a year away, and could use that seasoning we talked about earlier. On Manchester, he'd be at the top of the Monarchs' blue line, and he'd log a lot of minutes on the ice and on special teams. He joins other defensemen, like Colten Tuebert, Andrew Campbell and Viatcheslav Voynov, all of which are going to continue to grow in Manchester.

Again, it's nice to have that kind of depth to be concerned with. I'd rather worry over who to send down to the minors rather than try to figure out how to plug holes on the big club.

Tomorrow: a look at the Kings offense.

Other notable previews

• Yahoo's Puck Daddy: Introducing the 2009-10 Los Angeles Kings!

Itwas a little surprising when Terry Murray, the epitome of old schoolcoaching, took over the relatively fresh-faced Kings. To some, he feltlike a retread for a team attempting to move forward. But Murray turnedout to be a good tactician and a father figure for a slew of youngplayers. He still may not be the guy behind the pine with the Kingsturn the corner as a franchise again, but he could very well guide thiscollection into the postseason.

• NHL.com:  For Kings, accent remains on preventing goals

Despitecoach Terry Murray's push for defensive responsibility, the Kings didnot have a full-time forward who was a plus player last season. That'slargely because were a distant last in the NHL with just 114 goalsscored while skating 5-on-5.

• ESPN's Pierre LeBrun: Kings' defensive lineup taking shape

Ifound it interesting the Kings once again will pair young sophomorestar Drew Doughty with veteran Sean O'Donnell in what essentially isthe team's top defensive pair. As Kings GM Dean Lombardi told me Mondaynight from Kansas City, "Anything with Doughty on it is a top pair."

• TSN: 30 Teams in 30 Days: Young Kings on the verge of something big

Witha potentially good young team on the ice and ample cap space available,look for the Kings to make a big move for a proven player at somepoint, if only to take the attention away from the Lakers for a moment.

• Sporting News blog:   All the Kings Men 2009: Offensive Force

TheKings are a team in desperate need of an identity - they have someskilled players but they are not a finesse team. They also have somebangers and grinders, but are far from a shutdown defensive team.Basically, they are an honest hockey team fighting six other teams forthe final playoff spot in the West.

• The Hockey News: Screen Shots: Western Conference predictions

Butyou, me, and even casual Kings followers know how much pressure is onthese guys to do something of real merit this year. And in the tougherof the NHL’s two conferences, they may need something to go wrong forother teams just as much as they need a lot to go right for themselves.