How sweet it is to have the 2019-20 NHL season begin. While the Kings are just getting warmed up, several players in the pipeline have been well underway, with a sparse few still chomping at the bit.
EUROPE
Alexander Dergachyov: Forward, SKA St. Petersburg, KHL (3rd round pick in 2015)
Regular season: 0 goals, 2 assists, plus-2, 0 PIM in 10 games played
Despite the fact his average time on ice has remained consistently in the 14 minutes range, the question of development permeates as he has yet to pick up a point in seven straight contests.
Samuel Fagemo: Forward, Frölunda HC, SHL (2nd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 1 goals, 2 assists, plus-2, 0 PIM in 4 games played
The Swedish speedster cooled off this week after a strong start to his regular season. He was scoreless in both games this week. In his defense, his mean ice time is 12:54 – tenth among the Indians forwards.
Jacob Moverare: Defense, Frölunda HC, SHL (4th round pick in 2016)
Regular season: 0 goals, 1 assist, plus-0, 4 PIM in 7 games played
One of the common trends this week for European prospects is a lack of production. Along with Fagemo, Moverare did not contribute to the scoresheet for the Indians since our last update. He’s at least answering our question last week with regard to the coach’s trust as far as getting top four ice time.
Kim Nousiainen: Defense, KalPa, Liiga (4th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 1 goal, 1 assist, plus-1, 2 PIM in 9 games played
Three games and zero points later, Mayor’s Manor continues to monitor the overall maturation of Nousiainen’s. He’s third overall in playing time on a team sitting on the bottom half of the league.
Bulat Shafigullin: Forward, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, KHL (3rd round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 0 goals, 0 assists, plus-0, 0 PIM in 0 games played
He is still yet to play in the KHL or MHL this season. However, if the projected timeline from Mayor’s Manor editor John Hoven holds true, we hope to have further updates on him within the next couple weeks.
NCAA + USHL
Braden Doyle: Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL (6th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 0 goals, 2 assist, plus-0, 0 PIM in 3 games played
Doyle hasn’t seen much action, but he at least produced in the little game action he’s had. He and his cohorts must be doing something right, as they are currently undefeated and among the top defensive teams in the league.
Dávid Hrenák: Goalie, St. Cloud State University Huskies, NCHC (5th round pick in 2018)
Some patience will have to be exercised before hearing more about this junior goaltender. While St. Cloud played an exhibition match over the weekend, Hrenák sat. Game one of the season begins on Friday.
Cole Hults: Defense, Penn State Nittany Lions, Big Ten (5th round pick in 2017)
No stats to discuss at this time. Penn State, like St. Cloud, had an exhibition game. Hults did participate, but he did not register any points. Look for him to step on the ice in an official capacity on October 11.
Andre Lee: Forward, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Hockey East (7th round pick in 2019)
Regular Season: 2 goal, 0 assists, plus-1, 0 PIM in 2 games played
Lee started his freshman year on the right foot (and on the left wing), scoring a goal in each of the tilts against Alabama-Huntsville. As you can see in the tweet below, he’s already utilizing his size wisely to generate offense in front of the net.
Alex Turcotte: Forward, Wisconsin Badgers, Big Ten (1st round pick in 2019)
Kings fans will have to wait another week before seeing how Turcotte fares at this level. He will debut on October 11th. With K’Andre Miller suspended a game by Wisconsin, Turcotte’s two-way play will be leveraged to help keep the puck out of the net.
First college hockey rankings of the season are now out, Kings prospects included here …
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) September 30, 2019
6. St. Cloud (Hrenak)
13. Penn State (Hults)
16. Wisconsin (Turcotte)
19. UMass Lowell (Lee)
Full Rankings https://t.co/mWwlFMaTjN
CHL
Aidan Dudas: Forward, Owen Sound Attack, OHL (4th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 2 goal, 8 assists, plus-5, 4 PIM in 6 games played
Captain Dudas’ ten points lead the Attack, further reinforcing his leadership and presence with the team. He tallied one goal and three assists this week. Here’s a highlight of his effort and beautiful feed to a teammate.
Jacob Ingham: Goalie, Kitchener Rangers, OHL (6th round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 3-1-1, 3.55 GAA, .903 SV%, 0 SO in 5 games played
Ingham continues to hover around .900 SV% and well over 3.00 GAA, and he has been since 2017-18. While the puck has passed him more than he’d like so far, he found himself on the scoreboard with a secondary assist. A pair of wins this week has polished up his record a bit.
Arthur Kaliyev: Forward, Hamilton Bulldogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 4 goals, 7 assists, minus-5, 4 PIM in 7 games played
The #allhedoesisscore trend originally assigned to Jeff Carter can be prescribed to Kaliyev, who has points in all but one of the seven contests, having mutually beneficial chemistry with Jan Jenik. It may still be a long season for Hamilton, whose only two victories so far came across the two winless teams in the league while allowing a league-worst 34 goals.
Lukáš Pařík: Goalie, Spokane Chiefs, WHL (3rd round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 2-1-0, 2.38 GAA, .908 SV%, 0 Shutouts in 2 games played
A single contest with a lot of goal support in a 7-1 win on Saturday was a nice break compared to the 57 collective shots he faced prior. His shutout was spoiled with 5:07 left to play. Before that, he shut the door for 71 minutes and 43 seconds.
Jordan Spence: Defense, Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL (4th round pick in 2019)
Regular season: 0 goals, 3 assists, minus-1, 4 PIM in 7 games played
A pedestrian start to his 2019-20 campaign has seemingly been quickly erased by scoring three points in his last four games. The bump in production also coincides with Moncton’s three game-winning streak, reflecting Spence’s impact to the team.
Akil Thomas: Forward, Niagara IceDogs, OHL (2nd round pick in 2018)
Regular season: 1 goal, 7 assists, plus-3, 2 PIM in 4 games played
Thomas took some extra time to adjust to the gap in skill between the OHL and NHL training camp. After he reacclimated himself, he exploded for his first five assist night of his junior career. Said feat ties an IceDogs franchise record. As an aggregate, he tallied seven points this week, which tops the Kings prospects.
Keep in mind, this weekly tracker only covers prospects not playing professional hockey in North America. In essence, the report serves to provide updates on all players in the pipeline — signed or unsigned — excluding those in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL.
Kopitar Out, Can Watch His Son Against Arizona
Per recent tradition, it will be the Kings and Coyotes in a pair of split-squad games to open up preseason on Tuesday night. LA captain Anze Kopitar will not suit up, but he will get a chance to watch his son … [Read More...]