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LA Kings Weekly Prospect Tracker, Week Ending December 27, 2020

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The World Junior Championships have begun, and if you haven’t begun watching some of the best annual hockey yet, you’re missing out.

Due to the holidays and COVID, many players are not playing. So far, every prospect in the WJC has picked up at least a point.

Samuel Fagemo, Lias Andersson, Jacob Moverare and Johan Sodergran are being removed from the tracker, as they have returned to North America and begin focusing on training camp with the Kings.

WORLD JUNIORS

Tobias Björnfot: Defense, Sweden (1st round pick in 2019)

WJC: 0 goals, 2 assists, plus-3, 0 PIM in 1 game played

Bjornfot returned to the WJC with an ‘A’ on his sweater. He’s also supplemented his defensive play with a couple of helpers, including on the penalty kill.

Quinton Byfield, Forward, Canada (1st round pick in 2020)

WJC: 0 goals, 1 assist, plus-3, 2 PIM in 2 games played

Byfield added a helper en route to a 16-2 drubbing of Team Germany. However, he was held off the scoreboard against Slovakia. Our recap articles of those games can be found here and here.

Martin Chromiak, Forward, Slovakia (5th round pick in 2020)

WJC: 1 goal, 0 assists, minus-0, 0 PIM in 2 games played

Slovakia had a couple tough draws to start, yet Chromiak wired a laser that turned out to be the only puck to beat Canada in their 3-1 loss. Our recap article of that game can be found here.

Brock Faber: Defense, United States (2nd round pick in 2020)

WJC: 0 goals, 2 assists, plus-4, 0 PIM in 2 games played

One of the younger players on Team USA has quickly earned his way up the roster, cementing himself on the top pairing alongside Cam York. He rewarded the trust of the coach with a two-assist performance as the United States beat Austria 11-0. Our recap articles of those games can be found here and here – including post-game quotes from USA coach Nate Leaman on Faber.

Arthur Kaliyev: Forward, United States (2nd round pick in 2019)

WJC: 0 goals, 2 assists, plus 2, 2 PIM, in 2 games played

Kaliyev picked up a couple helpers in the 11-0 rout of Austria. One such assist was a rebound hammered in by Matthew Boldy. Our recap articles of those games can be found here and here.

Lukáš Pařík: Goalie, Czech Republic (3rd round pick in 2019)

WJC: 1-0-0, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 SV%, 1 Shutouts in 1 game played

With the cards stacked against the Czech Republic, the Czech-born goaltender made 30 saves as he stonewalled one of the tournament favorites, Russia. The shutout performance earned him recognition as player of the game.

https://twitter.com/mayorNHL/status/1343436346061279232

Kasper Simontaival: Forward, Finland (3rd round pick in 2020)

WJC: 1 goal, 2 assists, plus-3, 0 PIM in 2 games played

Simontaival was the first Kings prospect to score a goal, which extended Finland’s lead over Switzerland to 4-1. He has two helpers as well in the tournament.

Jordan Spence: Defense, Canada (4th round pick in 2019)

WJC: 1 goal, 0 assists, plus-1, 0 PIM in 1 game played

Spence knows how to make use of his limited time on the roster. He played only five minutes in one game, but he hammered home a rebound in the high slot to put Canada up 1-0 against Slovakia. Our recap articles of those games can be found here and here – the latter article includes post-game quotes from Spence.

Alex Turcotte: Forward, United States (1st round pick in 2019)

WJC: 0 goals, 3 assists, plus-0, 0 PIM in 2 games played

On the top line, Turcotte has generated a lot of chances for the United States. He hit a couple posts and was stonewalled. Our recap articles of those games can be found here and here.

EUROPE

Helge Grans: Defense, Malmö Redhawks, SHL (2nd round pick in 2020)

Regular season: 2 goals, 6 assists, minus-11, 0 PIM in 18 games played

Grans and the Redhawks have not played since December 17, in which Grans posted a helper.

Aatu Jämsen: Forward, Pelicans U20, U20 SM-sarja (7th round pick in 2020)

Regular season: 10 goals, 26 assists, plus-12, 28 PIM in 24 games played

The Finnish youth league remained shut down due to COVID. The Kings last pick of the 2020 draft has yet to play since November.

Juho Markkanen: Goalie, Ketterä, Mestis (4th round pick in 2020)

Regular season: 3-2-2, 2.66 GAA, .892 SV%, 1 SO in 7 games played

Unfortunately, COVID continues to be a thorn in the Finnish goaltender’s side. The virus made it impossible for him to partake in Finland’s training camp for the WJC, which left him off the roster. The virus also has Mestis shut down, which inhibits his ability to even play.

Kim Nousiainen: Defense, KalPa, Liiga (4th round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 4 goals, 4 assists, plus-8, 4 PIM in 17 games played

Liiga was shut down for almost a month, but Nousiainen returned to play on Sunday without skipping a beat. He added a couple helpers to his stats sheet as KalPa won 3-0.

Bulat Shafigullin: Forward, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, KHL (3rd round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 3 goals, 6 assists, minus-8, 31 PIM in 34 games played

With only three matches in the past two weeks, it’s arguably difficult to find a rhythm. Shafigullin has been blanked in those appearances.

NCAA + USHL

Braden Doyle: Defense, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL (6th round pick in 2019)

Regular season: 0 goals, 5 assists, minus-4, 8 PIM in 11 games played

Doyle’s riding a five-game scoreless streak. He last scored on December 10. He was scheduled to attend Harvard this season, but the Ivy League is shut down so he’ll remain in the USHL.

Dávid Hrenák: Goalie, St. Cloud State University Huskies, NCHC (5th round pick in 2018)

Regular season: 4-2-0, 2.68 GAA, .910 SV%, 0 Shutouts in 6 games played

As a senior, Hrenak has to yield some more time in net to his successor. However, he’s still been the go-to-guy for all of the Huskies big games, where he’s already backstopped wins over No. 1 North Dakota and No. 4 Denver. As such, St. Cloud continues to rise in the rankings, moving all way the up to No. 6 in the polls after starting the season unranked. Like most of college hockey, SCSU is currently on their holiday break.

Alex Laferriere: Forward, Des Moines Buccaneers, USHL (3rd round pick in 2020)

Regular season: 4 goals, 3 assists, minus-1, 19 PIM in 12 games played

Laferriere’s Jekyll-and-Hyde season has taken a more positive turn. He was blanked for his first five games, then he has scored in five of his last seven – including an ENG on Sunday.

Andre Lee: Forward, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Hockey East (7th round pick in 2019)

Regular Season: 0 goals, 0 assists, plus-0, 2 PIM in 2 games played

Lee, playin on Lowell’s top line, was blanked early last week as the River Hawks won 2-1. As he’s gaining more responsibility, the expectations for him to produce more are there. However, this has been an unusual year to say the least.

Ben Meehan: Defense, UMass-Lowell River Hawks, Hockey East (6th round pick in 2020)

Regular Season: 0 goals, 1 assist, plus-0, 0 PIM in 2 games played

Though he was blanked in his first appearance, the River Hawks freshman recently assisted on the game-winning goal.

NOTE: Author David Hofreiter can be found on Twitter @Davidenkness if you’re interested in talking more hockey with him or asking further questions about these players. Davis Green was the lead contributor in the gathering of information used in this article. You can find him on Twitter @davisgreen_.