Los Angeles Kings 2009 Hockey Fest

Tied with Phoenix for the NHL's second longest active playoff drought (6 seasons) behind Florida (8 seasons), Los Angeles has been looting the annual NHL Entry Draft as of late and appears poised for improvement.

To celebrate what they hope will be a breakthrough season in their rebuilding process the team is staging an inaugural interactive extravaganza two weeks prior to training camp. Behold Hockey Fest '09.

Facing off on Friday August 28th with player appearances and a musical performance, Hockey Fest '09 at L.A. Live hits its stride on Saturday August 29 and Sunday August 30 with an action packed program including a seven part speaker series featuring roster royalty from the franchise's 42 year history, 17 NHL trophies (excluding the Stanley Cup), the debut of EA Sports' NHL 10, a street hockey tournament, autograph sessions, game worn memorabilia, and a beer garden.

Friday August 28th: 6pm-10pm
6pm-10pm: Kick off party with the team, alumni, and Eddie Kowalczyk

Saturday August 29th: 9am-6pm
10am-11am: Kids Press Conference hosted by Heidi Androl
(Anze Kopitar, Matt Greene, Wayne Simmonds, Teddy Purcell)
12pm-1pm: NHL Experts Panel hosted by John Buccigross
(Ray Ferraro, Jim Fox, Kelly Hrudey)
2pm-3pm: The Enforcers hosted by Nick Nickson
(Stu Grimson, Brad Norton)
4pm-5pm: Triple Crown Line hosted by Bob Miller
(Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Charlie Simmer)

Sunday August 30th: 9am-3pm
10am-11am: Kings Hockey Operations hosted by Daryl Evans
(Dean Lombardi, Ron Hextall, Terry Murray)
12pm-1pm: Bob Miller’s One Man Show hosted by Bob Miller
2pm-3pm: Growing Up Kings hosted by Jim Fox
(Luc Robitaille, Bernie Nicholls, Mark Hardy)

Other attendees include Bob Berry, Gary Edwards, Rogie Vachon, Jamie Storr, Nelson Emerson, Glen Murray, Russ Courtnall, Jamie Kompon, Peter Demers, Gene Carr, Mike Murphy, and Ian Turnbull.

Desperately trying to translate their maxim of "Pride=Passion=Power" into performance, points, and playoffs, the Kings will settle instead for promotion this weekend at Hockey Fest '09. Other teams would be well served to take a play from the Kings marketing manual and offer such inexpensive access to the hockey heroes of their hometown faithful.

For live updates from the Fest all weekend long follow @puckreport on Twitter. Three day passes ($45-$60) and single day tickets ($17-$37) may be purchased here with complete schedule information residing here.