LOS ANGELES — In April 2006, when Dean Lombardi took over as general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, he insisted that they invest significant resources in scouting and development, which had never been done before in the history of the franchise. That move paid off, big time, as the Kings were finally able to build a winner primarily through the draft, something they had never come close to doing before.
Indeed, Lombardi brought the Kings two Stanley Cup Championships in three years, the first championships in Kings history and he did so with a philosophy that called for big, strong players who could check and move the puck up ice fast.