Injuries Mount, So O’Donnell Returns

The up-and-down week of King defenseman Sean O’Donnell continued. On Tuesday, he was devastated with the news of his assignment to Phoenix of the International Hockey League. A distraught O’Donnell, who appeared in 71 games last season, told reporters he thought his King career was over after learning he would be exposed in Monday’s waiver draft.

Not quite.

Three days later, the Kings recalled O’Donnell from Phoenix and his name then appeared on Saturday among the Kings’ protected players for the NHL’s waiver draft. With injuries to three key defensemen--Rob Blake, Philippe Boucher and Steven Finn--the Kings could not risk losing another steady player with experience. And there was some thought that the Ottawa Senators could end up taking him in the waiver draft.

Teams protect 18 skaters and two goaltenders, and the Senators will pick first Monday when the draft starts at 8 a.m. (PDT). Five Kings were left unprotected--centers Ken McRae and Patrice Tardif, left wing Brent Grieve, defenseman Mark Astley and goaltender J.C. Bergeron.

Among those made available around the league include goaltenders Tim Cheveldae (Boston), Rick Tabaracci (Calgary) and Jim Waite (Chicago) as well as defensemen Geoff Smith (Florida) and Doug Houda (Buffalo) and former Mighty Duck center Bob Corkum (Philadelphia).

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The Kings tied their final exhibition game, 3-3, against Colorado on Saturday in overtime before an announced crowd of 10,852 at the Forum. They finished the exhibition season 4-2-1, after winning their first four games.

Right wing Adam Deadmarsh scored twice for the Avalanche and center Yanic Perreault, defenseman John Slaney and center Ed Olczyk scored for the Kings.

The game benefited paralyzed college player Travis Roy and raised $100,000 for the Travis Roy Foundation, Paralysis Project of America and Kings Care Foundation.

“It’s great because I know what I’ve been able to do with all the financial help I’ve gotten,” Roy said.

“I’ve made a lot of progress. There’s a lot of equipment people could use but might not be able to afford and through the foundation maybe they will be able to afford it.”