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“I wanted to get into something right away. I didn’t want to go to Europe to keep playing for a year or two. I like watching the game. I do it every night, figuring out a lot of the teams. It’s fun preparing for TV; it’s a totally different storyline with teams coming in. So many young, exciting players.”

Photo by DARRYL DYCK / Postmedia

Stoll does a lot of work with the Kings’ American Hockey League farm club, the Ontario Reign, paying special attention to face-offs — he’ll get the video camera out to show them what they’re missing.

“It’s nice to be around the young guys … on the development side, there are five or six of us. I’m not full-on yet, but I hope it gets to that. It’s fun to watch kids taking it all in, hoping they get to the NHL. I was that way once in Edmonton, when I had Billy Moores and Craig Simpson as coaches. They helped me a lot and MacT (Craig MacTavish) too.”

The Oilers didn’t have video when Stoll was their top face-off guy from the right-side.

“Oatsie (Adam Oates) would just keep saying ‘go backhand, go backhand,’” he said.

Photo by Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images

Stoll can’t fathom how NHLers can’t get better as face-off guys.

“I can’t fathom how they can’t improve their percentage, at least,” he said.

“Like one or two percent, like from 50 to 52. It’s so important to win draws. You have to work at it and practise. Some guys after practice work on things, but the way my mind was when I’d go in for a face-off was I had a checklist. It’s not just about going in, saying ‘I want to win the draw.’ It’s whether the other guy is a righty or a leftie, is the linesman right or left-handed? So many things I thought about; maybe these kids don’t.”

When asked about working colour on their TV broadcast a few times and whether wife-to-be Erin Andrews, who does NFL sideline work for Fox, gives him tips on his work, he laughed.

“Constructive criticism,” said Stoll. “We’ll (record) the games and we’ll get home afterwards and watch them. Good and bad comments. Just trying to get my foot in the door, get some reps,” he said.

E-mail: jmatheson@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @NHLbyMatty