The book research and writing continues, and I recently spoke with a Los Angeles Monarchs player, Kenny Watson.

A bit of history about the Monarchs, which have had several incarnations over the years. These Monarchs were a pro team in Los Angeles from 1948-50 in the Pacific Coast Hockey League, which later became the Western Hockey League.

Watson, a Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, played in Los Angeles in the ‘49-50 season. His stories about the game and the fans are remarkable. One nugget: the Monarchs routinely filled the Old Pan Pacific Auditorium, especially for rivalry games against other California teams.

I have been immersed in writing the book and traveling for some other work this summer, so the updates have been far more infrequent.

What I can tell you is the book is starting to take shape. After months of writing bits and pieces of various chapters, I believe the project is becoming more cohesive. As I type, I’m taking a break from writing about some of California’s Olympic hockey players. There have been four of them so far – any guesses who they are? (Hint – two men, two women and three of them all played the same position)

On the local hockey front, there are going be at least a dozen Californians in NHL rookie and main camps in early September. I will detail them in my next post. All three California teams will have prospects from the state in their rookie camps – Tyler Maxwell and Brandon Kozun with the Kings, CJ Stretch with the Sharks and Matthew Konan with the Ducks. A common thread? All four played in the WHL this past season.

A man with a deep background in hockey in Southern California told me recently that very few people remember the old Western Hockey League or the Los Angeles Blades, but it was very, very good hockey.

After spending a good amount of time researching that topic for the book, including reading an excellent book by Jon Stott called “Ice Warriors”, I am convinced he’s right on.

Think about it, when the old WHL was a thriving minor-league on the West Coast there were only six NHL teams. There were a lot more than 120 elite hockey players at the time, and many of them, especially the Western Canadians, played in the WHL.

It has been fascinating to learn about the Los Angeles Blades, San Francisco Seals and San Diego Gulls.

The Blades, for example, started Willie O’Ree’s 13-year career in the WHL. He played more games for California WHL teams than anyone. … The Seals won back-to-back hockey championships, the second over the Blades in 1964! Can you imagine the Sharks and Kings or Sharks and Ducks playing for the Stanley Cup Finals. … And the Gulls not only outdrew the NBA’s San Diego Rockets by nearly 3,000 fans per game, but they actually outdrew the San Diego Padres (on average per game) during one season. Such was the love affair the Gulls and their hockey fans had in the 60s and 70s.

The history of the sport here never ceases to amaze me!

Several recent NHL draftees from California have been attending prospects camps during the past week, and several were noted on various team sites.

On the New York Islanders’ site, forward Rhett Rakhshani of Huntington Beach is mic-ed up for some of the scrimmage video highlights (Day 3). If one looks carefully, you can spot the Denver University product behind John Tavares on the camp opening page. Rakhshani, incidentally, has been selected DU’s captain for the upcoming season.

Forward Colin Long of Santa Ana is quoted several times throughout coverage of the Phoenix Coyotes’ camp on the team’s web site. Long served as captain for Kelowna of the Western Hockey League this past season, and the Rockets came within one game of winning the Memorial Cup.

The Edmonton Oilers have a nice video interview with defenseman Kyle Bigos of Upland on their prospects camp coverage. Bigos addresses a variety of topics, including winning the RBC Cup and his college choice of Merrimack.

And the Detroit Red Wings have a nice feature on forward Mitch Callahan on their site. Callahan went from being a walk-on player at Kelowna’s camp to a sixth-round draft choice in one year!

I wanted to let you in on a little secret about one of the NHL’s biggest, and some would say meanest, players – former Anaheim Ducks and current Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger.

Pronger is a really nice individual. He’s also a very smart one.

Those statements are bound to gall fans of the Kings, Sharks and especially the Oilers, but I believe it’s true. People who follow the Ducks on a daily basis have told me this year after year. And I experienced it myself when I interviewed him for the book.

It’s difficult to find hockey players, even pros, who won’t make a few minutes to talk when I tell them the subject of Palm Trees and Frozen Ponds – the game’s history in California. Most politely answer questions, and a few will expand ideas.

Pronger was different. After our introduction (and after he put down the Wall Street Journal he had been reading), he asked me questions about the project. Once he had a grasp of it, he offered stories – including a fun one about his first visit to Anaheim before the 1993 draft.

Another thing stood out – his sense of humor. He is a really funny guy.

It’s no surprise to me that he wears a letter wherever he plays. Leadership is a lot about enfolding people, welcoming them and helping them succeed, as well as the occasional kick in the pants (which I, thankfully, didn’t get).

In my book, Pronger is very good at all of those things. Anaheim’s loss certainly is Philly’s gain.

Two players who played their youth hockey in California, and a third who was born in the state were selected on Day 2 of the NHL Entry Draft on Saturday. I write about all three at Calirubber.com

A few personal notes about each that you won’t read about there.

As impressive as defenseman Kyle Bigos‘ size is (6-5, 230 pounds), his commitment to improve his skating in recent years has really put him over the top with scouts. He was dominant in the RBC Cup this spring, and he played at a consistently high level in all three zones this past season, his second in the BCHL.He also led the Vernon Vipers’ blueliners in scoring.

Bigos (Upland) is an example of why persistence pays off in hockey. He was picked as a 20-year-old in a draft that can pick players as young as 18. And aside from one summer before he left to play in Saskatchewan, he didn’t play at the AAA level in California.

Right wing Mitch Callahan of Whittier is another example of where hard work can get a player. He played just one season of AAA in California, and even more impressively, he made the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets as a walk-on. As if that wasn’t a rare enough feat, he was an impact player for a team that came within one victory of winning the Memorial Cup. Callahan didn’t sit out one game all season and he was one of the toughest players in the league despite weighing well south of 200 pounds. And he could score – he had 27 points, including 14 goals, in the regular season.

The third player, right wing Brandon Kozun, was born in Los Angeles and might have played some of his earliest hockey here. A former coach of his older brother confirms they were part of the West Valley Wolves program at one point in the late 1990s. Kozun has an invite to the Canadian World Junior camp, and he put up 108 points, including 40 goals, for the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL.

I spoke with Vernon Vipers defenseman Kyle Bigos of Upland earlier this week about his BCHL team’s recently completete season.

Bigos was selected the MVP and Top Defensive Player of the RBC Cup (Canadian Jr. A hockey’s championship series). This is quite an accomplishment for the 6-5, 230-pound blueliner who barely played AAA hockey in Southern California.

Bigos left home before his sophomore year in high school to attend Notre Dame Prep School in Saskatchewan. From there, he played the past two seasons in Vernon. This season he led all Vipers defenseman in points, and Vernon captured the league’s Doyle Cup en route to taking the RBC Cup.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, Bigos recently accepted a scholarship offer to play collegiately at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.

All in all, not a bad month. And it could get better. Bigos has been getting feelers from NHL teams for that league’s upcoming Entry Draft. Unpicked in his first season of eligibility, there is a good change he’ll go this time around.

(Updated on June 11)

Here is what we know thus far about programs playing Midget AAA hockey in California for the upcoming 2009-10 season – there likely will be eight  programs at the 16U level and six at the 18U:

The 18Us: California Stars, LA Selects, LA Jr. Kings (with CA Wave additions), OC Hockey Club, SoCal Titans and San Jose Jr. Sharks

The 16Us: California Heat, California Stars, LA Selects, LA Jr. Kings, OC Hockey Club, SoCal Titans, San Diego Gulls and San Jose Jr. Sharks

This is tentative, but it is what has been posted thus far. Can anyone remember a time when there were 14 Midget AAA teams in the state?

The first weekend in June was tryout time, so I expect these to become more concrete in the coming weeks.

As I research the history of the game of hockey in California for my upcoming book, I have discovered that ice rinks existed in Los Angeles as far back as 1917. I now can document it. Whether or not those were used for ice hockey is another matter.

However, I did find some record of hockey being played in the Los Angeles area during the early 1920s. So it’s not a stretch to say the game is at least 85 years old in California.

I also have uncovered concrete evidence of organized youth hockey beginning around 1960, meaning we are approaching nearly 50 years of youth hockey in the state. This predates several sources I’ve spoken to for the book.

I keep plugging away, one shift at a time.

So much for the restful offseason, at least for the Midget hockey ranks in California.

Several developments have taken place that will profoundly affect the 2009-10 season.

This starts with the Jr. Kings, who participated in the Tier I Elite Hockey League this past season at the 18U level. Their 16U team will join the league this coming season. This adds a travel burden, but the pay off, and Jr. Kings coaches told me this all season, is their teams will play five games guaranteed in three days, and play them against a quality caliber of competition. Those are important distinctions because most tournaments only guarantee three or four games, and unless it’s an elite tournament, it’s tough to anticipate what level of competition you’re going to face.

Shortly thereafter, the LA Selects 18s and 16s were invited to join the Tier I Elite league. This makes sense given that program’s track record of success and the desire to cluster teams geographically. What I will be interested to see is how they match up at 18s because the Selects are typically so strong at Bantam and 16U that most of their best players move on at 16. But it can only help hockey in Southern California to have two teams in that league. The Jr. Kings played host to the Detroit division in a showcase event last December, and it featured some terrific hockey.

This past week, the Southern California Titans and San Jose Jr. Sharks announced they were joining the new North American Prospects Hockey League at the 18 and 16 Tier I levels. That league includes 20 programs from all over the country. Just like the Tier I EHL, the NAPHL will have showcase weekends, though not nearly as many to start. One of those will be in San Jose in February, just before the state tournament.

The new league is part of the NAHL junior circuit, which battles the perception it is inferior to the USHL. In theory, this could give NAHL teams a distinct recruiting advantage with some programs. Really, it gives Jr. A hockey a bit more of a foothold in a state where the trend of late has been to have top-end prospects head to the WHL.

The fifth 18UAAA team last season was the California Wave, and I wondered aloud over the weekend – what about the Wave? That question was answered Sunday night when the Jr. Kings announced a partnership with the Wave at the 18U Tier I and Bantam Tier II levels for the 2009-10 season.

I have a few more questions – what about beyond next season? Could it become a permanent merger? Team managers I’ve spoken with recently expect numbers to be down in travel hockey because of the economy.

My other question is what about the “mid majors”, programs like the California Stars, OC Hockey Club, Tri Valley Blue Devils, California Heat, San Diego Jr. Gulls? All have had very good AA and AAA squads, though not at every age level every year. How do they fit into this new midget world order?

Stay tuned.