There are perhaps only a few North American-born players in the NHL further from home than Edward (Teddy) Purcell--those from Alaska, and Jordin Tootoo. According to MapQuest, St. John’s, Newfoundland, is 4502 miles from Los Angeles. You could drive it, but it would take you 75 hours. But it’s more than distance that separates the 22 year-old Purcell from his home. He is so removed from his roots playing in LA that you could make some almost-funny jokes about the distance.

This place is so far from LA that it wasn’t even in Canada until 1949. It’s so far from LA that the time difference is 4.5 hours. That’s right. As anyone from Canada will tell you, Newfoundland (pronounced either by stressing the first syllable or the second) is not just in the East, say on New York time. It’s not even just on “Atlantic” time, an oddity which separates the people who live on Canada’s east coast by four hours from those in California. No, where Purcell comes from is an extra half-hour removed even from that, so that TV shows on Canadian networks always announce themselves like this: “That’s 8pm [for a prime time show, say], 8:30 in Newfoundland.”

And young Purcell’s geographic dislocation doesn’t end with being in LA. Like any newcomer to the Freeway Metropolis, he’s not quite sure yet how to get around. “Well, I’ve been to LA before. I spent a bunch of time here last summer during the Kings’ Prospects Camp and Training Camp, but up here, Sully [Patrick O’Sullivan] is our driver, and he shows us where the best places are to eat and things like that” he explained Tuesday night after his first home game at Staples Center.

When I asked him whether, if I put him behind the wheel of my car, he could drive me to his temporary home (the Kings use a hotel near the practice facility in El Segundo to house newcomers), he quickly replied. “Yeah,” then he smiled, “Well, maybe not from here [Staples Center] actually. I’m OK with the Manhattan Beach area and El Segundo, but there are a couple too many freeways on the way here.” For those of you who don’t drive in Los Angeles, Staples is at the south end of downtown, about twenty minutes inland from the airport area where the Kings’ practice facility sits.

But it really doesn’t matter much how far away from home he is, or how good he is at navigating in his new town. Purcell is with the Kings for the simple reason that, at this moment, he deserves to be because of outstanding play in Manchester. There, before his call-up, he had logged 40 games, and his point production was an impressive 14-39-53, placing him third in the league and first among rookies.

It’s not just for himself that he’s here, either. His presence with the NHL squad sends a message to other youngsters in the organization that they can earn their way to Hollywood and a look-see which could turn into a career.

With this season’s hopes having faded even before the New Year dawned, the LA Kings focus on the youth who make up what is finally hoped to be a bright future. And to its rich group of prospects, the point of Teddy Purcell’s presence in the NHL lineup this last week is clear: play well in the minors, and you’re going to get rewarded by seeing your name on the back of the big club’s sweater.

But Purcell doesn’t care about messages. He’s just excited to be up with the pros. One wake-up moment came for him Tuesday night against the Red Wings. “I’ve always been a big fan [of the game] and in the second period I was lined up next to Nick Lidstrom, one of the best defenseman and a hall of fame guarantee. That’s still a little surreal, and I had to do a double-take and make sure it’s real.”

The first three games he played were away games, a good start to deal with the nerves. His take on his play, “Now that the first few games are out of the way I just have to be responsible and make things happen out there. There’s no more excuses like in your first couple of games.” Not that he needed any. His ice-time averaged almost twelve minutes, and he recorded four shots on goal.

This may have been helped by the fact that he had family members come to see him on the Kings’ road trip. As he explained to Inside Hockey: “I didn’t know if I was going to play in Edmonton, but they had the opportunity to come to Calgary and Vancouver as well. If things keep working out and I stick here a little bit, they’re planning a trip out West too, so it’s pretty exciting for them.”

Now, his goal is to play with intensity, and to score. “I had a couple of chances in the first couple of games and hit a post. You try not to think about it too much and control what you can control. Sooner or later, one will fall in.”

And you can read something into the fact that he talks this way about the potential of his first goal—it’s not a matter of if, in his mind, but of when. And what that projects is an attitude that will make the guy a winner.

To look at him, Purcell kind of surprises. On the ice, he seems big, a little bit like Kopitar in his hunched-shoulder skating posture. On the stat sheet, the team has him listed at 6’3” and 177 lbs. In person, he doesn’t appear to be that tall. He’s not big, either, in the power-forward sense. But what he does pack onto his frame is solid muscle, professional athlete muscle (not all NHLers, by any means, could be mistaken for professional athletes if on the old “What’s My Line” TV show, believe me.)

His coach was clear in his opinion of Purcell’s physical attributes and potential for further growth. “Teddy is a good playmaker, and he was one of the forwards who definitely worked tonight. Playing against the caliber of NHL defenseman that they [speaking of Purcell and Matt Moulson] were playing against tonight was probably a lot more demanding on them than it is at the American League level, but they showed very well.”

His play has something about it that suggests that in him, the Kings have a real find. He gains space on the ice in a way that suggests he will dominate once he starts handling the puck more. He has a combination of speed and presence. It’s like he takes up more than his share of the ice when he’s on it, not because he’s tough or particularly big, but because he’s a threat, quick and ready to score from anywhere on any play.

Purcell came to the Kings un-drafted—overlooked, in other words, the way a guy like Dustin Penner was. He played two years with Cedar Rapids of the USHL before becoming Hockey East Rookie of the Year with U Maine during the 2006-07 season (this when he was about to turn 22). His title came on the strength of 43 points (16-27-43) in forty games, good for a tie for fourth in the country among rookies. He led the Maine Black Bears with five game-winning goals and a ten-game scoring streak as well during the season. The LA team signed him to a free agent contract last April, and he was named AHL Rookie of the Month in November.

Chances are, the team won’t keep him in Los Angeles after this week, what with his AHL scoring pace being interrupted by his absence from the Monarchs’ lineup. And, in truth, his development will be furthered by his having success down there, but so far, they seem happy with what they have in Purcell, especially for the future.

Speaking of what he needs to improve on, Crawford said, “Well, he needs to get stronger, and he will get stronger. He’s a very young guy, and he’s just now realizing how strong NHL defensemen are, and it’s always been my experience that when young forwards, and he’s got a good frame, recognize, ‘OK, hey, I gotta get stronger,’ then they go about in the off-season making the adjustments. For the rest of this year, Teddy’s got to just battle, keep his balance on the ice, keep his feet moving, and do the things with his lower-body strength, which I think is very good.”

“I think his upper-body strength has got to pick up a little bit, and that will make a huge difference in his shot, in getting away shots in traffic,” Crawford continued. “He protects the puck well. He’s a little bit like Frolov, maybe a little bit slicker, but Fro has that good strength so that he can fend off opposition defensemen, and we’re looking for that type of improvement in Ted, and I’m sure he’ll get that as he gets older, more mature.”

But if he’s not ready to step into the NHL full-time right now, this is a young man who can count on getting a good long look next fall in training camp if he does what his coach has suggested he do over the summer and bulk up a little bit, and no doubt, it’s a message he’ll take to heart. Newfoundland has a lot going for it—a vibrant cultural scene, great topography, and, if you follow the politics in Canada, natural resources that are constantly being argued over.

What it doesn’t have is a way to make millions of dollars playing hockey, nor 70-degree January days. And for those reasons alone, young Purcell has all the incentive he needs to find a way to maximize his considerable potential.

Kings Notes

The Kings lost 3-0 to Detroit after having started well. In fact, they never gave up, but just got outplayed in period two and on each of the three Wings’ goals.

Michael Cammalleri is still out, though his is skating in practice, wearing the non-contact jersey.

Brian Kennedy will be reading from and signing his book Growing Up Hockey at Vroman’s in Pasadena next Monday at 7pm. Check out GrowingUpHockey.com for more information or to share your hockey stories.