Feb. 12--Manchester, N.H., along with Boston, is starting to feel like the new Buffalo.
"We get a blizzard every Monday," defenseman Derek Forbort said. "We have about six, seven feet of snow. We get it every Monday, it seems like."
Finally, in between storms, Forbort accomplished a great feat and got out of town, officially recalled by the Kings on Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, when veteran defenseman Robyn Regehr became ill with a suspected case of food poisoning, Forbort had been poised to join the Kings in Columbus, Ohio, and even got on the plane in Boston.
The plane never left because of bad weather. Regehr gutted it out and played against the Blue Jackets.
"I was about to drive," said Forbort, who was a first-round draft pick by the Kings in 2010. "It [stunk] but there was nothing they could do."
Waking up on a sunny, warm day in Southern California was at the other end of the weather spectrum.
"I put on jeans and long-sleeved [shirt] and thought I'm a little overdressed," he said.
Forbort, whose parents are elementary school teachers, grew up in Duluth, Minn., and attended the University of North Dakota. His patience has been tested in American Hockey League in Manchester, waiting his turn to get called up to the Kings for the first time and said it got "a little tough at times."
With Manchester, he had two goals and 11 points in 46 games this season with a plus-minus rating of plus-15. His uniform number with the Kings will be 84.
"He's probably got 120, 130 [minor league] games under his belt now," Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said. "Experience would be the main thing, coming out of school, like every other defensemen. He's not like any other young player that comes out of college or junior. Unless you are somebody that jumps into the lineup like a high first-round pick, it usually takes two or three years. It's what Derek's is doing.
"We called Derek up because we're in a situation we've been in all year. We need defensemen."
Regehr did practice Wednesday but was unavailable to talk afterward, still feeling under the weather.
"We've seen it with players this year," Sutter said. "Guys that played sick and just played. Some guys can play when they're like that. Some guys can't.
"I think that was Jeff [Carter] in Calgary last time, Robyn the other night."
Carter was not at practice. His grandfather, Lyle Carter, 83, died this month in Canada. Services were held Tuesday, not far from Jeff Carter's hometown in London, Ontario.
Sutter expected that Carter would be back from Ontario in time for Thursday's game against the Calgary Flames, weather permitting.
KINGS VS. CALGARY
When: 7:30.
On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 790.
Etc.: Former Kings coach and ESPN analyst Barry Melrose will be honored before the game as part of the organization's continuing "Legends Night Series." Melrose coached the Kings from 1992 to 1995 and helped guide the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1993. The Flames practiced at El Segundo on Wednesday afternoon, and center Sean Monahan, who leads the Flames with 17 goals, did not take the ice, getting a maintenance day, according to the team.
