Buchberger’s Work Ethic Never Gets Old

Whenever King Coach Andy Murray calls a practice that is optional for the players, he knows he can count on at least one to show up.

Kelly Buchberger will always be there.

The Kings’ oldest player--he’ll turn 35 on Dec. 2--might also be the most dedicated to physical fitness. After every game, he can be found either sitting astride an exercise bike, peddling intently, or on the floor doing sit-ups.

“When you get a little older,” he said, “you’ve got to make sure you’re in top physical condition because in this day and age the game is so fast and the younger guys coming in are faster and a lot stronger than when we were coming up. You just want to make sure you’re equal to the task.”

Buchberger usually is. The veteran winger, a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams with the Edmonton Oilers and a former Oiler captain, has played in 195 consecutive games, the last 112 with the Kings.

Part of an “energy” unit that Murray credits with keeping the Kings in every game, Buchberger will play in his 1,000th NHL game Jan. 7, barring injury.

His work ethic is second to none.

“That’s why he’s still in the league,” Murray said. “That’s why he’s been able to take all that punishment all these years.”

Buchberger said he learned from the best. He was only 20, a tough guy inserted into the lineup against the Philadelphia Flyers, when he made his NHL debut in Game 1 of the 1987 Stanley Cup finals, joining an Oiler cast that included Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Grant Fuhr, Paul Coffey and Jari Kurri.

Some say it was the greatest collection of players ever assembled.

And they were confident.

“As soon as I sat down after my first shift,” Buchberger said, “Paul Coffey leaned over to me and said, ‘You just got yourself a ring.”’

Buchberger said it was a confidence born of pride and perspiration.

“They taught me what it took,” he said. “These were some of the best leaders and best players ever to play the game and you knew that if they were working twice as hard as anybody else, you had to work harder than them just to survive.”

These days, his career winding down, Buchberger savors every practice.

“He’s only got about five or six years left,” Murray said with a grin.

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The Kings did not practice Sunday.... Steve Kelly, sidelined since abdominal surgery Sept. 18, is ready to play and is expected to be loaned today to the Kings’ American Hockey League team at Manchester, N.H.