Sad as it was at the time, the firing of Kings coach Andy Murray in the spring of 2006 did accomplish one thing: it opened the field for his son, eventual King Brady Murray, to win a job on his own merits. He’s done that this fall, slotting in as fourth-line center and acquitting himself admirably in three games thus far. Those familiar with his history will recall that Murray was drafted by the team in 2003, with their sixth pick, 152nd overall that year.

Now four years later, young Murray has won his job on his own strengths. But that doesn’t mean there are not some misconceptions about him that need to be cleared up. Let’s start with the easy one: how big is he?

Look around, and you’ll see numbers including 165 pounds, 180, 188, and even 195. Look at him on the ice, and he appears, at least from a distance, small. Not Ryan Shannon small, nor Paul Kariya small, but small. See him up close, and your impression changes. He’s solid, thicker than you imagine he might be, with a Dustin Brown-type upper body. And the number he pegs himself at? “185,” he says, not flinching. “That 165 was about four years ago.”

How about this one: How versatile is he? The Hockey News had him sixth on the Kings’ left-winger depth chart coming into the season. If all he is is an energy guy, a born fourth-liner, then he wouldn’t have made this team. There are lots of guys like that around, most more known quantities to the organization than Murray. Guiliano, Tukonen. Zeiler. But Murray offers more than one dimension.

After Saturday night’s game, his father explained. “He’s the kind of player that can play whatever position. He’s a skilled offensive player. The spot that was open on the team was as a fourth-line center, and he’s worked hard at doing that. I thought he was solid in that part tonight. We didn’t have any advantages when their line was on the ice tonight.”

Next, how experienced is he? You look at his bio, and it tells you that he played a couple of years at the University of North Dakota, then headed to the Swiss A-League for two seasons to play with Rapperswil-Jona. You imagine, incorrectly, that this might mean finesse hockey, no contact, or at least, not compared to the NHL.

What are the Swiss famous for? As Orson Wells said in the film version of Graham Greene’s The Third Man, “They had hundreds of years of relative peace, and they came up with the cuckoo clock.” Not exactly a bloodthirsty lot, these. But is their hockey somehow the poorer?

Both the Kings Murray and the Blues Murray are quick to say that the experience Murray brings to the NHL is first-rate. “The game in Europe is as fast. It’s just that the rink over here is smaller, so guys get to the puck quicker. That’s the only difference,” Brady says, but then adds, “The players are a lot bigger and a lot stronger.”

But if they’re bigger, so Murray is working on his size. “The team has a strength program. I’m working with the trainer they hired.” And as for his diet, “I’m staying in the hotel, and we eat out all the time. You try not to eat any bad food, but there’s no particular diet I’m on.”

As for the kid’s time in Europe, his dad says, “He’s played against men for a couple of years now, and I think that’s his advantage.”

Moving on, how smart is he? Actually, there’s no misconception here. His dad is known as an intellectual coach. Brady shows the same trait, being a thinking man’s player. His abilities reveal themselves like this: when he’s on the ice, the guy is constantly moving his head, as if he’s taking snapshot photos of what’s going on around him. Processing them in an instant, he compares the information to the collected data of situations he’s stored in prior games, and then uses it to make his decision on what to do next. This is what distinguishes him from, say, a Guiliano. Not that the latter doesn’t have hockey sense. But in the balance between energy and brains, he comes out on the side of buzz. Brady Murray seems to consider his decisions more carefully. It’s almost like he’s got a coach whispering in his ear at all times.

And finally, how important is it to be playing in front of his dad?

During media interviews this week, Murray the younger said that he would be concentrating on his own game, and Murray the older said likewise.

Yet despite saying before the game that he was going to be too busy to watch his son’s play, Andy Murray did, for an instant, seem to notice the Kings’ #15 on Saturday night. This when young Murray skated to the bench after his first shift. His father abandoned his familiar intense stare, and showed just the hint of something else. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it wasn’t a scowl either.

After, he admitted having noticed his son’s toils. “I noticed him a couple of times in a couple of face-offs. I know he won a big face-off for them in the third period.”

Earlier in the game, he was probably happy to see his son deftly move the puck through center, but more proud than anything at the way the kid had glided left to right along the Kings’ blueline, his stick on the ice ready for a pass, his legs in position for maximum balance in case he got the puck. Ready for anything, all contingencies accounted for. That’s the Murray way.

Andy Murray summed up their relationship this way: “He’s a quiet guy, and he would ask their coaches a question before he asked me, but he’s a smart guy. We talk, and we discuss things after games, but he’s his own player. If he asks me, I’ll tell him, but I’m one of the quieter hockey parents around.”

In total, Brady Murray logged just over eleven minutes on the ice. He started off in the deficit column in face-offs, but ended 5-4 (56%), and even saw some action penalty killing and on what might be called the third line alongside Patrick O’Sullivan and Michal Handzus in period two.

He didn’t figure in the scoring—nobody did except Ladislav Nagy (assist on goal three) and the three guys on the first line (Brown, Cammalleri, Kopitar). But once, Murray might have. In period three, he was in position in front of the net when a shot came in, but instead of bouncing to him, it went off the goaltender (by this time, Hannu Toivonen after starter Lagace had been removed with a tight knee) and out past Murray. It’s a shame, in a way. But in another way, it’s poetic. His dad can now enjoy his first goal, whenever that comes, without thinking about the effect it might have on his team, as he would have done had it been scored on them in this game.

Kings Notes

Multi-million dollar mistake Dan Cloutier toils in Manchester after the Kings sent him down. Their other goaltender, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, is on IR retroactive to September 26th with a groin injury. The two in uniform Saturday night were Jonathan Bernier and Jason LaBarbera. Early on, Bernier played beyond himself, at one point making a series of saves with the Kings up 3-1 that prevented what might have been a tie. But then his defense decided to head to the concession stands, and he eventually found himself down 4-3. The last goal was into an empty net, and the game ended 5-3.

Scott Thornton, a Kings alternate captain, was a healthy scratch, and he didn’t look altogether happy when shown on the scoreboard as he was introduced, sitting watching the opening ceremonies in a suit.

The Kings have introduced a mascot, a lion figure. He’s named “Bailey.” Fans will remember Kings player “Ace” Bailey, killed when he was a passenger on one of the planes hijacked on September 11, 2001.

Brian Kennedy’s new book, Growing Up Hockey, is available now from Amazon.com or by request at a bookstore near you. Look for a feature story at Inside Hockey soon.