Kings' prospects

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Sup guys, was wondering if you guys have been keeping up with some of the prospects and have any insight on who you expect to see make an impact for the Kings this upcoming season.

Last year, I was very impressed with Tyler Toffoli. Although I was very impressed with what he did in the NHL, I didn't expect him to have a roster spot open for the NHL season. Glad he found his niche on the team and I expect big things from him this season. Jake Muzzin also made some solid contributions last season and I expect him to be a mainstay on the roster this season as well. This year, some of the players who intrigue me are Linden Vey, Tanner Pearson, Brandon Kozoun, & Nick Deslauriers.

Linden Vey: I think Vey has been the top player on the Monarchs for a few years now, led the Monarchs in scoring last season, and deserves a chance in the NHL if a roster spot becomes available. Won't be an easy task seeing that the Kings are very deep when it comes to forwards. Still tho, opportunities will present themselves over the course of an 82 game schedule and maybe there will be an open door for Linden Vey this season.

Tanner Pearson: looked solid for the Manchester Monarchs in his rookie season. He brings good offensive and defensive skills to the ice. I think he's certainly capable of being one of the Kings' star players down the road but will probably need another year or 2 in the AHL to perfect his game.

Brandon Kozoun: I really like what Kozoun brings to the ice. Was the 2nd leading scorer for the Monarchs during the regular season, sort of faded during the playoffs, but showed a lot of talent.

Nick Deslauriers: at 230 lbs, Nick Deslauriers is a big body defenseman, but he also displayed good offensive skills, leading the Monarchs in scoring during the Calder Cup Playoffs. Hopefully his play gets noticed and he's given a chance this upcoming season. There isn't much opportunity for a prospective dmen on the Kings, but I think he's better than Jake Muzzin & if Jake Muzzin could make the roster last year, maybe there's hope for Deslauriers this year. Not sayin' Jake Muzzin is bad of course, he impressed me a great deal last season, just think Deslauriers has more upsides, mainly his size. What a beast!

Another player that intrigues me is Valentin Zykov. Didn't mention him on my list of prospects I'm looking to see make the team because he's young & inexperienced and it seems like the Kings prefer to see their prospects develop in the AHL before giving them a chance in the NHL. Still tho, from what I've seen, read, & heard, he has a lot of great offensive skills and the Kings got a steal picking him up in the early 2nd round.

Anyways, I'll admit I'm not well versed on the Kings prospect situation, but these were some players that impressed me with the Manchester Monarchs and thought they might have a chance to turn some heads this season. What players do you think I'm missing from my list? Who do you think I'm overrating? Who do you think will have a shot at making an impact for the Kings this season?

Preseason is just around the corner, can't wait for the season to start.

Peace.

 

[oxnardkingsfan]

Nice analysis Doobee. You probably have a better grasp on the Kings prospects than a lot of Kings fans. I'm not sure if there are any spots open for any forwards this season with the additions of Frattin and Carcillo who seem to be in line to take the spots open with the departure of Richardson and Penner. Everybody else is under contract. Looks to me like Toffoli will be the only youngster to make the final 23-man roster and he pretty much did that with his performance last season. There could be a spot on defense I suppose if Mitchell can't come back and play.

I too am really looking forward to seeing how things go. Hopefully the Kings can stay healthy.

Ox

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Nice analysis Doobee. You probably have a better grasp on the Kings prospects than a lot of Kings fans. I'm not sure if there are any spots open for any forwards this season with the additions of Frattin and Carcillo who seem to be in line to take the spots open with the departure of Richardson and Penner. Everybody else is under contract. Looks to me like Toffoli will be the only youngster to make the final 23-man roster and he pretty much did that with his performance last season. There could be a spot on defense I suppose if Mitchell can't come back and play.

I too am really looking forward to seeing how things go. Hopefully the Kings can stay healthy.

Ox

Thanks Ox, i appreciate it. Kings have good talent on the farm, probably hard for most King fans (who I assume are in Southern Cali) to track at team in New Hampshire. I try to live stream AHL games, follow the stats, and play AHL teams in the NHL series video games. It's sort of hard to track minor league activity unless someone gets called up, but if you got a roster that's generally set then you'll rarely ever hear about your minor league team.

Really hope the Kings at least find a way to play Toffoli, I think he proved to be one of the better players on the team right away, and he still has a lot more growing to do. There are at least 3 or 4 guys in the Kings roster that I think could turn some heads if they got a chance to play. Hopefully they'll have more opportunities now that we're returning to 82 games.

Good luck to you guys this upcoming season, just a little bit less than a month until the season starts

 

[kings90272]

It looks good for Mitchell. I saw him skating with a good portion of the team yesterday. He looked like he was having a lot of fun out there.

 

[davnlaguna]

The prospects are praying for injuries/trades/miracles. Right now the Kings are going to have to expose a couple of guys how played last year in the NHL to waivers in order to cut the rooster size.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

The prospects are praying for injuries/trades/miracles. Right now the Kings are going to have to expose a couple of guys how played last year in the NHL to waivers in order to cut the rooster size.

I would just like to see Deslauriers get a few call ups. He's got the body for the NHL, could see him becoming quite a force.

 

[pete6835]

Rookie roster announced:

34 Brian O’Neill RW
37 Nick Shore C
38 Valentin Zykov RW
39 Marcus McIvor^ D
40 Nick Ebert D
41 Alex Roach D
42 Scott Sabourin RW
48 Maxim Kitsyn LW
51 Brandon Kozun RW
53 Robert Czarnik C
56 Kurtis MacDermid D
57 Linden Vey RW
58 Matthew Campagna^ C
59 Dominik Kubalik LW
60 Jordan Weal C
61 Colin Miller D
62 Zachary Leslie D
64 Andy Andreoff LW
70 Tanner Pearson LW
73 Tyler Toffoli C
78 Cameron Maclise^ RW
79 Justin Auger RW
80 Nicolas Deslauriers D
84 Derek Forbort D

35 J.F. Berube G
65 Patrik Bartosak G
75 Mathias Niederberger G

^ On tryout

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Rookie roster announced:

34 Brian O’Neill RW
37 Nick Shore C
38 Valentin Zykov RW
39 Marcus McIvor^ D
40 Nick Ebert D
41 Alex Roach D
42 Scott Sabourin RW
48 Maxim Kitsyn LW
51 Brandon Kozun RW
53 Robert Czarnik C
56 Kurtis MacDermid D
57 Linden Vey RW
58 Matthew Campagna^ C
59 Dominik Kubalik LW
60 Jordan Weal C
61 Colin Miller D
62 Zachary Leslie D
64 Andy Andreoff LW
70 Tanner Pearson LW
73 Tyler Toffoli C
78 Cameron Maclise^ RW
79 Justin Auger RW
80 Nicolas Deslauriers D
84 Derek Forbort D

35 J.F. Berube G
65 Patrik Bartosak G
75 Mathias Niederberger G

^ On tryout

I think Toffoli has to make the team this year. I don't know about the rest of you guys, you probably watched a lot more King games than I did, but I felt that Toffoli was a great addition to the team, outperformed many roster guys, & the Kings were a much better offensive team when he was playing.

 

[Psych3man]

Yes, Doobee, all Kings fans are excited about Toffoli and know he's basically a lock to make the team. In fact, a lot of us salivate at the idea of him playing alongside Richards-Carter though that may not work with Sutter's system. The kid is hungry and talented, and appears to be an important part of the foundation for our building what we hope can be a dynasty.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Yes, Doobee, all Kings fans are excited about Toffoli and know he's basically a lock to make the team. In fact, a lot of us salivate at the idea of him playing alongside Richards-Carter though that may not work with Sutter's system. The kid is hungry and talented, and appears to be an important part of the foundation for our building what we hope can be a dynasty.

Yeah, I think he has the talent to be a top 6 forward on the team as well, but realistically expect him to be a 3rd liner.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I would just like to see Deslauriers get a few call ups. He's got the body for the NHL, could see him becoming quite a force.

Probably not going to happen this season unless an injury occurs.

Currently the Kings have 9 defenders under contract on the NHL level, and they won't go into the season like that. I expect 1 or 2 D and 1 F to be moved because they sit at 27 right now. That could be trade or waivers prior to the season. I expect 7D/14F/2G.

Unless someone absolutely blows the staff away, or a slew of same-time injuries occurs, we won't be seeing too many of the prospects the next few years.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Probably not going to happen this season unless an injury occurs.

Currently the Kings have 9 defenders under contract on the NHL level, and they won't go into the season like that. I expect 1 D and 1 F to be moved because they sit at 25 right now.

Unless someone absolutely blows the staff away, or a slew of same-time injuries occurs, we won't be seeing too many of the prospects the next few years.

Yeah, it appears they're set at the blue line for now. Still tho, if Muzzin broke thru last season, I think Deslauriers might have a shot. His size is what really intrigues me, and he showed some good offensive skills in the AHL last season.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Yeah, it appears they're set at the blue line for now. Still tho, if Muzzin broke thru last season, I think Deslauriers might have a shot. His size is what really intrigues me, and he showed some good offensive skills in the AHL last season.

Muzzin is a pile of crap. He was so exposed in the POs it's not even funny. He had a really good stretch of play in the RS, but when the pressure was put on him his experience really showed. Plus for being 6'3"/220, he played super soft, he should have been leveling people with that body size.

The poor decisions and turnovers were alarming, they gradually increased as the season went along. He didn't have a good stretch of play at all after April 1 all the way to the end of the playoffs.

I call him the North American Jaroslav Modry (or J-Blow as I coined him in the early 2000s on our board) - big, soft, more offensive than defensive, couldn't cover a 3 day old turd with a 20 foot tarp. He isn't young either, he's almost 26 (maybe 25?) so he is approaching his ceiling. Based on what I've seen so far...not impressed.

But on the flip side, sometimes guys find that "thing" within that turns them into solid players later than others. Based on his short experience in the NHL, my personal limit is this season - if he repeats 2012-13 or worse, regresses, I'll know my initial assessment was correct: overrated.

And I agree the AHL is an indicator of what a player might have as potential but AHL doesn't equate to NHL as you know, Mr. Steve Kelly.

=)~~

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I think Muzzin had his ups & downs which should be expected from a rookie dman. I think Deslauriers is actually better than Muzzin, at least when it comes to physical abilities. I don't doubt that he'll struggle at times, but I think he'll dish out some nice hits and a big guy who could play offense tends to have some talent and skills. Don't know if anyone watched the Calder Cup playoffs, but I thought Deslauriers was the best player for the Manchester Monarchs during their brief playoff run.

 

[pete6835]

Still tho, if Muzzin broke thru last season, I think Deslauriers might have a shot. His size is what really intrigues me, and he showed some good offensive skills in the AHL last season.

The only reason Muzzin got a chance was the Mitchell & Greene injuries. I hope Deslauriers doesn't get a the same chance.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

The only reason Muzzin got a chance was the Mitchell & Greene injuries. I hope Deslauriers doesn't get a the same chance.

I think you'll like Deslauriers better than Muzzin. Deslauriers brings more to the ice IMO, mainly his size and overall abilities. I think the only reason Muzzin got the call over Deslauriers is because Muzzin is 2 years older and they figured he would be more ready for the NHL game at that stage of his career.

 

[CaptHowdy00]

I personally would like to see Tanner Pearson make the team or at least get a call up. From what I have read he is a solid wing that likes to park in front of the net. And right now other that brown and Richardson we really have no other power forwards.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I personally would like to see Tanner Pearson make the team or at least get a call up. From what I have read he is a solid wing that likes to park in front of the net. And right now other that brown and Richardson we really have no other power forwards.

Yeah, the forwards probably have a better chance than the dmen. I would call up either Linden Vey, Tanner Pearson, or Brandon Kozoun. Pearson is probably the most talented of the 3 but also the least experienced. Hard to say which one of the 3 would have the best shot at making the roster.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

I personally would like to see Tanner Pearson make the team or at least get a call up. From what I have read he is a solid wing that likes to park in front of the net. And right now other that brown and Richardson we really have no other power forwards.

Richardturd is gone - thank God. He signed with the Canucks and should fit in quite well, I wasn't a fan of his hit and run style of game much like I'm not a fan of Brown doing that. I'm not saying fight every time you are confronted but you can't run every time either and have someone else step up for you. Both Brown and Richardson are/were very guilty of this.

The Canucks are a bunch of bitches so Richardson is right where he belongs. Add in that the Kings blew a 2nd round pick on him 5-6 years ago and he really didn't do much and I couldn't wait to see him leave. I can count "Brad Richardson Impact Moments" on one hand over the last 5 years.

The Kings have some big bodies in King and Nolan who will go to the net but neither have really good hands. We haven't see a true "power forward" apart from Brown since Deadmarsh.

 

[Psych3man]

Oh, Deadmarsh... [sigh] mancrush