Dozens of the Kings top prospects are descending upon Los Angeles as you read this. They’re flying in from all over North America in advance of this year’s Rookie Camp, which is set to kick off this weekend at their training facility in El Segundo.
While the official roster has not been released yet, below is the list of names expected to attend. A few players who won’t be attending include Nicolai Prokhorkin (he’s playing in the KHL again this year), as well as Alec Dillon and Steve Johnson (both attending college). The latter two players were selected in the later rounds of the 2014 NHL Draft, but they aren’t expected back in SoCal until Dev Camp next July. Ditto for standout Paul LaDue, who will be back at North Dakota for his sophomore campaign.
One more note on the goalie front, we would expect an invite or two, as J.F. Berube is going straight to main camp. Thus, the only netminder available at the moment is 2013 draftee Patrik Bartosak. At a very minimum, expect one additional guy to be added because they’ll need a back-up when the rookies travel to Phoenix for a pair of games vs. the Coyotes prospects next week. Jordan Cooke of the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) is one possibility to fill the slot. He was a camp invitee over the summer.
First draft of the names attending…
Forwards:
#58 – Mike Amadio – third round (90th overall) in 2014 – North Bay Battalion, OHL
#79 – Justin Auger – fourth round (103rd overall) in 2013
#47 – Taylor Burke – camp invitee (20-year-old, 6-foot-1 RW from Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL)
#60 – Holden Cook – camp invitee (19-year-old, 6-foot-1 RW from Owen Sound Attack, OHL)
#72 – Nic Dowd – seventh round (198th overall) in 2009
#54 – Ryan Horvat – free agent signing by Manchester (AHL) in August, 2014
#59 – Adrian Kempe [see note below] – first round (29th overall) in 2014 – Modo, Sweden
#48 – Maxim Kitsyn – sixth round (158th overall) in 2010 [update: headed straight to main camp]
#59 – Dominik Kubalik – seventh round (191st overall) in 2013 not attending
#78 – Jake Marchment – sixth round (157th overall) in 2014 – Belleville Bulls, OHL
#55 – Michael Mersch – fourth round (110th overall) in 2011
### – Connor McGlynn – Kingston Frontenacs, OHL
#80 – Matthew Mistele – sixth round (180th overall) in 2014 – Plymouth Whalers, OHL
#42 – Scott Sabourin – free agent signing by Manchester (AHL) in 2013
#76 – Nick Shore – third round (82nd overall) in 2011 [update: confirmed, scouting report here]
#51 – Spencer Watson – seventh round (209th overall) in 2014 – Kingston Frontenacs, OHL
#38 – Valentin Zykov – second round (37th overall) in 2013
Defensemen:
#40 – Nick Ebert – seventh round (211th overall) in 2012
#84 – Derek Forbort – first round (15th overall) [update: confirmed, scouting report here]
#54 – Kevin Gravel – fifth round (148 th overall) [update: confirmed, scouting report here]
#81 – Stephen Harper – camp invitee – Belleville Bulls, OHL
#62 – Zac Leslie – sixth round (178th overall) in 2013
#45 – Alex Lintuniemi – second round (60th overall) in 2014 – Ottawa 67’s, OHL
#56 – Kurtis MacDermid – free agent signing in 2012
#68 – Roland McKeown – second round (50th overall) in 2014 – Kingston Frontenacs, OHL
#82 – Jacob Middleton – seventh round (210st overall) in 2014 – Ottawa 67’s. OHL
#61 – Colin Miller – sixth round (151st overall) in 2012
#50 – Darren Raddysh – camp invitee – Erie Otters, OHL
#72 – Kevin Raine – camp invitee – Sudbury Wolves, OHL
#41 – Alex Roach – free agent signing in 2011
Goalies:
#65 – Patrik Bartosak – fifth round (146th overall) in 2013
#85 – Tony Capobianco – camp invitee (former NCAA player at Canisius)
[Update – it appears former Colorado Avalanche draft pick Brandon Maxwell (sixth round, 2009) has been invited to camp. He played his junior hockey in the OHL – with the Kitchener Rangers, Sarnia Sting, and Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors – before playing one season of Canadian college hockey. Last season he was in Sweden, where he was teammates with former King Andreas Lilja while suiting up as the starter for Rogle BK.]
It appears Kempe, one of the stars of Dev Camp, will be staying in Sweden this season and not attending camp.
Several of the above players will also stay in town for the Kings’ main Training Camp, which begins with on-ice activity on September 19. Who were the first eight players cut from that Camp last year? See here for the list.
To see our most recent rankings of the Kings’ Top Ten Prospects, click here. That list will be updated with all new rankings – including a new No. 1 – before main camp begins next week.
As for the Rookie Camp schedule, there are usually separate groups for the forwards, defensemen and goalies running from about 8:00-11:30am daily. Then, a full session with all prospects typically follows later in the afternoon, around 3:00pm. Expect the official schedule to be released in a few days.
MORE: Rob Blake and Mark Yannetti comments on prospects after the 2014 NHL Draft
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About John Hoven
No Mucho Roacho or is my iPhone screen too small?
Waiting for confirmation, most likely will be attending Rookie Camp.
UPDATE: He’s in.
With no Kempe or Prohorkin, looks like the offense is going to be a little thin in camp for the games against the Yotes. Defense looks pretty good though. I will be traveling to Phoenix to watch the games. Anyone else going?