In the way that beefy linemen are sometimes nicknamed "Tiny," center William Karlsson has been dubbed "Wild Bill" by his Ducks teammates.
"I don't know why," line mate Andrew Cogliano said. "He doesn't talk much."
The 21-year-old Swede, a 2011 second-round draft pick, is trying to make a statement during training camp and win an NHL job. His performance Sunday was among the consolations the Ducks drew from a 4-2 exhibition loss to the Kings at the Honda Center, as Karlsson set up Emerson Etem for the team's second goal and barely missed scoring a goal when his hard shot beat Martin Jones but struck the post during the first period.
"He's pretty skilled and he gets a lot of speed through the neutral zone with the puck and he makes good plays. It's unlucky, he hits the post and then they go down and score," Cogliano said of the play on which Karlsson hit metal and the Kings quickly counterattacked, taking a 2-0 lead on the first of Jeff Carter's three goals.
"I thought he played pretty good. I thought Etem played pretty good. I thought our line had some chances and Etem got a big goal for himself."
Karlsson left home last season to play for the Ducks' American Hockey League farm team in Norfolk, Va. He had two goals and nine points in nine regular-season games and a goal and three points in eight playoff contests.
That experience accelerated his adjustment to North American rinks, which are 15 feet narrower than in Europe.
"That helped me a lot actually," he said. "Helped me adjust to the way they play here. The rink is smaller and goes much faster and it's more physical."
The Ducks (2-3-1 in preseason) don't play again until their exhibition finale Saturday against San Jose. That gives Coach Bruce Boudreau time to figure where Karlsson might fit.
"I thought tonight was his best game of the preseason, so we'll have to sit back and evaluate how that's going on," Boudreau said. "That's another thing you do all week long, is evaluate what we have and see if there's anything needed."
Boudreau also can use the time to analyze why the Ducks' power play was 0 for 6 Sunday, including two five-on-three advantages.
"That's where we've got to focus a little bit on getting a lot better," he said. "It was our Achilles' heel last season and so far in preseason it's been our Achilles' heel."
It's a vulnerability he believes can be fixed. "You're not sitting here before the season starts and saying, 'Whoa, what's going on with the Ducks?'" he said. "We're fine."
Still, he didn't like losing to the Kings for the second time in four days — even exhibition games. "This has been a bad week in that respect," he said. "No, you never do."
helene.elliott@latimes.com
Twitter: @helenenothelen
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