Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

Anze Kopitar, Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson are three of the young stars in LA.

LOS ANGELES - What would it look like if the National Hockey League made one of those "History Will be Made" commercials about this Los Angeles Kings franchise?

You would see former Montreal GM Sam Pollock among the poachers delivering all of those high draft picks back to L.A., a team that held on to just four of its first-round picks in their first 13 drafts, after join the NHL as part of the Original 12 back in '67.

You would see goalie Ron Grahame heading back to the Boston Bruins, and Ray Bourque perhaps tugging on a Kings jersey at the 1979 draft, as it was their first-round pick the Bruins used to select the Hall of Famer.

You'd see Marty McSorley putting that big hook back into the stick rack in the old Montreal Forum, instead of grabbing a legal blade in Game 2 of the '93 Stanley Cup final.

But most importantly, you'd see a franchise that has always gone for the quick fix, revert to patience. The L.A. Kings would stop doing things wrong, if they could have a do-over.

The team that takes the ice Monday night at the Staples Center, with their series tied at 1-1 with the Vancouver Canucks, is the next in that NHL conga line of franchise rebuilds. They are just a year or two behind Chicago in its evolution, but with goaltending. As deep in talent as Washington, yet younger and with more grit.

Their jaw-droppingly talented star is on the blue-line in Drew Doughty, not at centre ice like Sidney Crosby. And their first-round goalie is still on the farm because, like the Vancouver Canucks, he's having a bit of trouble with a kid named Jonathan Quick.

But the re-building of the L.A. Kings wasn't nearly as easy filming a commercial - something they're actually pretty good at in this town.

Just ask general manager Dean Lombardi, one of hockey's real good guys who is in his second kick at the can at building a winner after a stint in San Jose. He's a razor-smart GM who carries between his ears the blueprint that Canadian franchises like Toronto, Edmonton and perhaps even Calgary should be copying to a tee.

With one Stanley Cup Finals appearance in team history, he'll admit that ownership was ripe for his gig in that first interview with the Kings back in '06.

"It was easier at the beginning to say, 'If I'm going to come here, this is what I think needs to be done,'" Lombardi recalls. "From what I saw, with no young defencemen, an older team (on the farm) in Manchester … it was going to require doing it the old fashioned way. Get draft picks, build with your own. Find an identity."

Lombardi got blown out of San Jose in '03 when the Sharks missed the playoffs after five straight appearances. He went to scout for Philadelphia, where he went to school on what it takes to build a winner. From there, he poached the old goalie Ron Hextall, his assistant GM and one of the game's more respected personnel men today.

Together they've built a hockey culture in L.A. It must be hockey's version of splitting the atom, when you look at the list of those who have tried and failed.

"Edmonton was always my favourite place to go as a scout," Lombardi will tell you. "There was so much history there - you could just feel it. It was hockey. It was cold. Then when I went to Philly and it was angry. It was a tough town.

"In L.A., everything is nice. It makes you wonder (if winning here is possible). But any time I've doubted, I'd just look down the hall and see those six trophies in the Lakers offices. And I knew it can be done."

Kings owner Philip Anschutz deserves the credit as the first owner of their franchise with enough patience to build this way. From Jerry Buss, through to Bruce McNall, they've always gone for the quick fix here - until now.

"There are no guarantees," Lombardi said. "There are a lot of teams that have tried this. But you can't say the L.A. Kings have tried this."

He leaned on his father-in-law, Bob Pullford, the head coach of the 1974-75 Kings, the best regular-season team in franchise history. And he sought counsel from legendary Islanders GM Bill Torrey, who told him to try and hit on two good players per draft.

Today, Lombardi has 11 picks in the upcoming 2010 draft and 18 players who are 23 and under on the farm in Manchester, which made the AHL playoffs.

On this Kings roster he has several young studs, all drafted by the organization: Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Wayne Simmonds, Alexander Frolov, Doughty and Quick.

With this core, Lombardi can lure the right free agents to town. Not simply older players who want to wear sandals to the rink all winter, and avoid the Canadian media.

"We couldn't have recruited Ryan Smyth two years ago, who are we kidding? Now, our team's is on the right track, and he takes five minutes to give up his no-trade (clause)," Lombardi said. "Now, with the advantage of being where we are, one of the nicest training facilities in the league, that's 10 minutes from the airport and 10 minutes from the beach a guy says, 'I want to go there because they win.' Now, I can out-recruit anyone.

"You can win here, and you can live here. Who else are you going to choose?"

It's been a long time since they've been able to say that down here. If ever.