Catching Up with Former LA Kings Goalie Development Coach Dusty Imoo

(Photo courtesy of @Dusty70/Twitter)

When Kim Dillabaugh joined the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015, the former goalie development coach left the Los Angeles Kings with a sizable void. To succeed Dillabough, the Kings hired Dusty Imoo, who was fresh off working with the AHL’s St. John’s IceCaps — the then-affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets. In taking over as the club’s new goalie development coach, Imoo, despite having big shoes to fill, did not disappoint with the Kings.

While the Kings’ on-ice success had wavered during his time with the club, Imoo was focused on strengthening the club’s future in goal. So, while Jonathan Quick remained the club’s No. 1 netminder, Imoo was there to make sure the organization had quality depth between the pipes for years to come.

Working primarily with the Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, Imoo was reunited with a familiar face from St. John’s in Peter Budaj upon his arrival to his new organization.

Early in Imoo’s tenure, though, the Kings organization had dealt with a thinning depth chart.

Having already lost Martin Jones to San Jose (via Boston), prospects Alec Dillon and Patrik Bartosak — due to injuries and off-ice issues, respectively — were no longer part of the Kings’ future plans. Imoo, however, was unfazed.

While working with the likes of Budaj and a supporting cast that included, rest his soul, Ray Emery, Imoo’s efforts helped the Reign excel on the ice while the Kings were busy scouting — and acquiring — some promising netminders, including Matt Villalta and Cal Petersen.

Along the way, Imoo even had the honour of backing up his son, Jonah, for the Reign in October 2016.

In 2019, Imoo joined the KHL’s HC Kunlun Red Star but didn’t leave the Kings without invigorating a plethora of promise and an abundance of excitement for the organization’s future in goal.

I recently had a chance to catch up with Dusty Imoo who spoke with me about his time with the Kings, the relationships he made within the organization along the way and how he’s been doing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Studying Stothers

When he joined the Kings in 2015, Dusty Imoo was already established as a goaltending coach.

Following his retirement as a player in 2006, Imoo joined the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles as the club’s goaltending consultant before moving onto Seattle to join the WHL’s Thunderbirds.

En route to assisting in the development of others, these stops also contributed to Imoo’s own development as a coach.

“By the time I got to L.A., I kind of figured out who I was and what type of coach made me successful,” the native of Westminster, B.C., said. “By the time I decided to go to Russia, I knew how I was going to be and it wasn’t going to be any different when I met Jeremy [Smith] and Simon [Hrubec], the [Kunlun Red Star] goalies. The way I am, I just go about being me, having a good time and connecting with the guys and I did the exact same thing going [to the KHL].”

As for those with the organization who resonated with the former goaltender, Imoo attributes his happiness and success with a large number of influences.

“The people in L.A., I could go right from [Kings’ Director, Hockey Administration] Eva [Bassett], the people that were doing my travel in the office all the way up to Blakey [Rob Blake]. There were so many people [in the Kings organization] that made my time there so good. I took so much from all of them, actually.”

With that in mind, the 49-year-old admitted that he learned the most from one person in particular.

“Stuts [Reign’s then-head coach Mike Stothers] and I, we had a really interesting relationship,” Imoo noted.

“I learned a lot from him even though he’s a thousand percent different than me,” he continued, laughing. “I learned that he just did him. Win, lose or draw, he was just going to do him and, sometimes to the detriment of moving forward, but at the end of the day, the best version of Stuts was right in front of you. I always tried to live like that and being around him made me believe even more so in how I am, even though we are totally different people. I took the most from him because I was around him a lot.”

Adding Promise to the Future

While the Kings’ depth chart was thinner in 2015 when he arrived, it wasn’t long before Dusty Imoo was given more to work with. Still, the coach couldn’t help but glow about his time with the goaltenders he had worked with.

“There were so many fun and interesting people that I got to work with,” beamed Imoo. “And from guys who were only there for a couple of months like Ray Emery and all of these different guys who came to help the team through to guys like Buds [Peter Budaj], Soupy [Jack Campbell] and Cal [Peterson], they were all fun in their own way and I enjoyed them all equally.”

An advantage to being a goaltending development coach certainly garners an exorbitant amount of pride professionally but personally, as well. This was no exception for Imoo.

“The biggest highlights for me are not because they did any better,” the Red Star coach began. “Say, a guy like Matt Villalta, who just came out of junior, to a guy like Soupy; I’m equally proud of those guys but it’s a special moment when you see those guys achieve their dreams. So, when I got to finally see Jack stay up [in Los Angeles] and get his first shutout, for example, or a big win or stopping 50 shots, those kinds of moments are very thrilling to me because that’s the biggest– that’s your rush. That’s my rush. That’s the high I get out of coaching is when they achieve their dreams. Then, when Cal went [to Los Angeles] the first time two years ago and he had that stint where he was standing on his head, that was huge. He got a shutout, [debuted and won] in Chicago, those were huge moments and now that he’s [with the Kings] for good, another huge moment.”

In his first NHL stint (in 2018-19), Petersen would go 5-4-1 in 11 games, sporting a 2.61 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage to go along with a shutout.

Soup-y of the Day

While the likes of Jacob Ingham and the aforementioned Matt Villalta were acquired through the draft, the Kings took the free agent route in acquiring Petersen and Cole Kehler. However, it was through a trade from the Dallas Stars that brought a former first-rounder in the aforementioned Jack Campbell to Los Angeles — a goaltender whose resurgence Imoo admits was the result of one of his proudest accomplishments with the Kings.

“The big ones for me were obviously Soupy because of what he had gone through and where he was in his life and I felt that I had an affect on his life,” Imoo reflected. “Buds and Cal had unreal moments where they did great things. Buds was huge [in 2016-17] in re-surging his career, but he was okay in his life. I helped him a lot but he was okay in his life whereas Soupy wasn’t and to feel that I helped regain himself as a person in his life holds a special part in my heart regarding my career, so not because I love Soupy any more than Cal or Buds or anyone, but just because I felt I helped him in that way.”

Drafted 11th overall by Dallas in 2010, Campbell was one of the Stars’ highly-touted prospects. However, despite playing regularly for their AHL affiliate, Campbell would end up playing just one game with the Stars.

Upon being traded to the Kings in 2016, however, the native of Port Huron, MI, got a new start with the Ontario Reign. There, under Imoo’s tutelage, Campbell went 31-15-9 with a 2.52 goals-against average and five shutouts in his first season. Campbell’s success would continue in 2017-18 and in 2018-19, would suit up for 31 games for the Kings.

While his 10-14-1 record in 2018-19 in Los Angeles was more indicative of his team’s struggles than his own abilities, Campbell nonetheless shone in goal. During that stretch, the 6-foot-2 netminder would go on to record a 2.30 GAA, a .928 save percentage a pair of shutouts, leaving some to wonder whether Jonathan Quick’s No. 1 status was still safe.

Early this year, though, Campbell was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he hopes to challenge Frederik Andersen for the team’s No. 1 spot in goal.

As for Budaj, after posting a forgettable 0-9-6 for the IceCaps in 2014-15, the Slovakian made the most of his maiden season with the Reign, going 42-14-4 with nine shutouts, a 1.75 GAA, a .932 save percentage and a well-deserved spot in the AHL All-Star Classic. His efforts would earn himself a call-up to Los Angeles to start the next season. Following an untimely injury to Jonathan Quick early in 2016-17, Budaj would be thrust into the starting role and would shine with a 2.12 GAA and seven shutouts.

Cal Petersen, meanwhile, is now with the Kings as the No. 2 man, but there is plenty of reason to believe that the Notre Dame alum will take over the No. 1 job once Quick moves on.

We will see.

Laying Low

Due to the current global circumstances, many of us are on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including sports leagues at all levels. Dusty Imoo and the KHL are no exceptions to this.

Back at his home in Vancouver, Imoo, while missing hockey, is making the most of his time in self-isolation. Yet, while some aspects have been more difficult to deal with as a result, the former Kings’ goalie development coach admits that the current situation has helped him gain a better perspective on things.

“Everybody’s got their own way of dealing with things, I’m sure, but I was fortunate enough that [Kunlun Red Star] was still paying me, so I wasn’t having to worry,” Imoo noted. “So, for me, I wasn’t stressing in that sense.

“My kids are all adults and my grandkids weren’t allowed to come over for the longest time, so I was really on my own. So, I spent a lot of time playing my guitar, writing some music, so that’s one main thing that I’ve been spending most of my time doing.”

In addition to his music, Imoo admits that he’s joined a worldwide phenomenon, if you will.

“Another thing, I’ve picked up TikTok,” he said, laughing. “And people that know me personally, they know that I’m big into the arts, music and creativity. So, it was actually right up my alley and I love to have fun and make light of things and joke around, especially during this time. It was actually very therapeutic, to be quite honest. Everyone jokes about TikTok and the older people but to be honest with you, it helped a lot of people through this [period]. So, I [screwed] around with that, had some fun with that and the last thing I did honestly was that I started playing around in the market with some stocks and doing it on my own, which I had never done on my own before. But, I was just sitting in my office and I thought that it would be fun to do, so that’s been kind of fun. So, those are the few things that I’ve been doing.”

In the years leading up to their Stanley Cup success, the Los Angeles Kings were one of the best teams in the NHL as far as prospect development went. The Kings are once again among the best in prospect development and Dusty Imoo was a significant part of said restoration.

While they may not be competing for hockey’s Holiest prize this year, there’s no doubt that the Kings are on the right track, especially in goal.

With Quick and Petersen set with the big club, Villalta and Kehler will have some competition moving forward with fellow prospects David Hrenak and a pair of 6-foot-4 young men in Jacob Ingham and Lukas Parik, both coming off solid seasons for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers and WHL’s Spokane Chiefs, respectively.

As for Imoo, the future is just as bright.

With his maiden season with HC Kunlun Red Star is now in the books, the 49-year-old is eager for hockey to return so that he can resume his passion for developing the stars of tomorrow between the pipes like he has already done with, among others, former LA Selects (now LA Jr. Kings) star Eric Comrie and 2018 Vezina Trophy finalist, Connor Hellebuyck.

Kings news: Dusty Imoo leaving the organization for KHL. Great move for him.

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) June 10, 2019

But there’s more to Imoo’s workload:

People on the inside will realize this is a big deal. Imoo will also be helping on the goalie development front for the Olympic program in China. Great move by them.

— lisa dillman (@reallisa) June 10, 2019

A man deeply proud of his Japanese heritage, Imoo spent the majority of his playing career in the far east, suiting up for Seibu and the Oji Eagles between 1994 and 2006, while representing Japan at three World Hockey Championships as well as at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano. Imoo has used his unique experiences as a player to his advantage. This is especially the case with the Kings whose depth in goal is not only strong in terms of quantity but in quality as well. Dusty Imoo is an integral factor for the latter.

From his tireless work ethic with goaltenders to his infectious positive energy to his empathetic nature, Dusty Imoo is definitely one of the true good people in the game of hockey and the Los Angeles Kings were — and are, frankly — a better team for having had him in the fold.

 

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