JASON KING isn't often mentioned with the elite group of young pros forced to play in the AHL this year due to the NHL player lockout, but that will most likely change in a hurry.

More often it's Jason Spezza or Jay Bouwmeester that are mentioned in this vein but the Manitoba Moose left winger is proving with his play this league might not be enough to hold him.

King has galloped to the top of the league's scoring list with seven goals in just four games and was named the AHL player of the week yesterday.

The native of Cornerbrook, Nfld., spent a large portion of last year with the Vancouver Canucks after a surprising training camp that forced the big club to hold on to him while the likes of Fedor Fedorov and Brandon Reid were returned to Winnipeg.

The 23-year-old scored 12 goals and collected nine assists in 47 games with the Canucks and was named the NHL's rookie of the month for November.

King faded after Christmas and was demoted to the Moose but immediately regained his scoring touch and finished with 12 goals and 11 assists in 29 AHL games.

There's little doubt he would have started this season in Vancouver but the NHL's work stoppage is definitely a boon for the Moose.

"Not too bad, eh. It's great to get off to a good start," said King, who has a pair of assists to go with his seven goals. "I've got quite a bit of confidence right now. I had a good (prospects) camp in Vancouver and then carried it over to camp here."

Things have changed rapidly for King in the last few years. He arrived in Winnipeg without a contract prior to the 2002 season and was most likely headed for the East Coast Hockey League before a trip to Thunder Bay that had the entire Canucks organization blinking.

The soft-spoken rookie banged in three goals in Manitoba's first exhibition game that weekend and added a single the next night. The Canucks had his name on a contract the following Monday, and King would make the jump to Vancouver for his first NHL game and goal before the season was out.

Two seasons later he's the centrepiece of Manitoba's offence and wears an A on his jersey. Fedorov is still Canuck property but not under contract and Reid is AWOL playing in Europe. To say King has been crowned as the club's top prospect would be an understatement but he doesn't want to get caught up in a comparisons with the rest of the NHL's young turks working in the AHL.

"Those guys are all great players and for me to try and play and perform at the same level as them will be good for my game," said King, whose early play is a big reason the Moose have burst out to a 3-1 start. "If I can keep playing like this and things get worked out up top, hopefully I can make the jump again. But the big thing is to worry about my own game and try and make sure I'm happy with the way I'm playing. You can't worry about anyone else."

King says one benefit to the lockout for the Moose is the increased team feeling in the dressing room. Players aren't competing for a spot with the big club so the focus is winning in Winnipeg.

"There's less pressure and more of a team atmosphere," said King, who still has a tinge of Newfoundland in his accent. "We have a good group for that. This group could win a lot of games and that's what we're trying to do here."

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca