FIT FOR THE KINGS? YOUNG FORWARDS WILL HAVE TO PRODUCE FOR L.A. TO MAKE PLAYOFF PUSH.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

The forwards might be too young. The defensemen might be too old.

The goaltender? He might be just right, but will it matter if the Kings don't have enough of a balanced team to cover the rest of the ice?

The Kings open the season Friday in Anaheim very much an unknown quantity. They finalized their roster Tuesday and the final product is eye- opening. If the Kings win this season, it will be with solid goaltending and veteran defense. If they lose, their youth up front will have been too much to overcome.

Among their probable top six forwards, Anze Kopitar and Patrick O'Sullivan have no NHL experience, Dustin Brown and Michael Cammalleri have one full year and Alexander Frolov has three full years. They're joined by Craig Conroy, who has nine full NHL years, four more than the rest of them combined.

That's a lot of inexperience to overcome. Most media prognostications have the Kings missing the playoffs this season.

Some have them among the worst three or four teams in the Western Conference.

A playoff appearance, in this transition year under new general manager Dean Lombardi and coach Marc Crawford, would be an accomplishment, but the players aren't thinking in such terms.

``I've seen a lot of good things here,'' team captain Mattias Norstrom said. ``This is the new NHL, and young guys have to be able to come through to make a team better right away. These guys aren't just here to get a chance to play, they're going to be able to participate and help our team win.''

The most intriguing aspect of training camp figured to be the development of 19-year-old Kopitar, the Kings' first-round draft pick in 2005, and 21-year-old O'Sullivan, the prospect whom the Kings got in a draft-day trade that sent Pavol Demitra to the Minnesota Wild -- and neither player disappointed.

Kopitar and O'Sullivan performed well enough that Lombardi traded veteran center Eric Belanger to Carolina and exposed forward George Parros to waivers. He was claimed by Colorado on Tuesday.

``If you're going to keep (rookies),'' Crawford said, ``you have to make sure you're going to be able to play them 12 or 15 minutes (per game). I think we can give them that kind of opportunity.''

There is far more experience on defense, with Rob Blake (age 36), Norstrom (34) and Aaron Miller (35) joining an underrated Lubomir Visnovsky to form a solid top-four set at the blue line.

The Kings will carry eight defensemen on the active roster to start the season, as 25-year-old Kevin Dallman played well enough in the preseason to earn a roster spot.

In goal, Dan Cloutier inherited the No. 1 spot the day he arrived via trade from Vancouver. He will be backed up by Mathieu Garon, who had a 3.22 goals-against average in 61 starts last season. Jason LaBarbera cleared waivers Tuesday and was assigned to the American Hockey League.

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CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 5 boxes

Photo:

(1) Dan Cloutier, left, acquired from Vancouver, is expected to be the Kings' No. 1 goaltender.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

(2 -- color) New Kings coach Marc Crawford will preside over a team that has just one forward - Craig Conroy - with more than three years' experience.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

(3 -- color) PATRICK O'SULLIVAN

(4 -- color) ANZE KOPITAR

Box:

(1) SCHEDULE

(2) JUST DUCKY

(3) STATE OF THE GAME

(4) KINGS' ROSTER

(5) 2006-07 NHL PREVIEW

- Luke DeCock, Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer