Dubois enjoying bonding with new Kings teammates ahead of Global Series

MELBOURNE, Australia -- If Pierre-Luc Dubois seems jittery about joining the Los Angeles Kings, he's not. It's just that the center started training camp in Melbourne, Australia, a city famous for its coffee.

"I've had more caffeine in three days than I've had in probably three weeks back home," Dubois said. "I'm bouncing off the walls here."

This is a unique, and perhaps ideal, way for Dubois to break in after the Winnipeg Jets traded him to the Kings and he signed an eight-year, $68 million ($8.5 million average annual value) contract June 27.

The Kings and Arizona Coyotes will play two preseason games at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday and Sunday in the 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne, the first NHL event in the Southern Hemisphere.

The games will start at 12 a.m. ET and air on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States; Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ in Canada; and 9Go, 9Now, ESPN and the ESPN App in Australia.

"I've always wanted to go to Australia, and I kind of accepted the fact that it was probably going to be when I retired that I was going to go, when I had a lot of time," Dubois said. "So, to be able to get to go now is really exciting."

Dubois, who set an NHL career high with 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) in 73 games for the Jets last season, skated with many of his new teammates in Los Angeles for about a month before the trip.

But this is the first time he has skated with the full squad and the coaches in real practices, and this is the first time he has been on the road with the boys.

The first priority is hockey. The Kings worked on forechecking and zone entries in practice at O'Brien Icehouse on Tuesday, and they worked on backchecking, breakouts and battles there Wednesday. Dubois picked up everything quickly.

"Very much as we expected," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "Very intelligent player. He understands the game. He anticipates well. He's got some size (6-foot-4, 214 pounds), obviously, and is able to use that.

"I think for us, the big thing is getting to know him as an individual, the types of questions he asks, how he interacts with teammates and us. Situational stuff is important, and the quicker we can make it comfortable for him around everybody, the better it'll be."

Dubois centered a line with forwards Kevin Fiala and Arthur Kaliyev.

"Kevin is hard to play against," Dubois said. "He's so shifty out there. He can make plays happen out of nothing, so to be able to play with a player like that's going to be really exciting. Obviously, it's fun in practice and when we do these drills, but it'll be even better in a game."

The feeling is mutual.

"He's obviously a good player, a very good player," Fiala said of Dubois. "A very good person too. We have a good chemistry on and off the ice it feels like, so it's been very exciting days and very exciting for the near future here."

Away from the rink, Dubois has embraced the chance to bond with his teammates and experience new things in Melbourne.

"It's simple sometimes," Dubois said. "It's just on the plane coming here. It's 15 hours just with the guys, whether it's playing cards, talking. At dinners, breakfast, walking around, even in the dressing room, it seems like a great group of guys, and they've been extremely welcoming since I've been here. It's been really great because of them."

Hours after the Kings landed Monday, Dubois got a haircut and spent half the conversation with the barber asking questions about Aussie rules football. First of all, he learned the Aussies just call it football or "footy."

Dubois could have done anything early Wednesday afternoon. But when teammate Drew Doughty played tennis with Australian star Thanasi Kokkinakis, Dubois not only tagged along, but he grabbed a camera and snapped images as if he were a photographer.

A couple of hours later, he got to meet Mason Cox, a star from the Collingwood Magpies of the Australian Football League, and he learned how to drop punt at the team's training ground.

Dubois and his teammates were going to play golf on their day off Thursday.

After an open practice at Rod Laver Arena on Friday, the Kings and Coyotes will see the Magpies play the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the AFL Preliminary Finals, the equivalent of the NHL conference finals, before about 95,000 fans at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

"Those guys are warriors," Dubois said. "They play with no equipment on. It's crazy. So, yeah, it'll be a really good experience."

It should pay off when the Kings return to Los Angeles on Monday and continue preparing for the regular season.

"I've been working out and skating with him for the last month now, so I've gotten to know him pretty well," Kings forward Adrian Kempe said. "Great guy. Obviously nice to have him on the team. Really good player. Excited to see what he can bring to our team."