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LA Kings Weekly Prospect Tracker, Week Ending March 21, 2021

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It’s time once again to take a lap around the globe and check in on all the LA Kings prospects playing in various leagues. The following updates are for games played through end of day Sunday, March 14, 2021:

AHL Ontario Reign

Historically, we don’t include the Kings pro prospects as part of the tracker. However, given the large number of LA prospects currently playing in the AHL, we will highlight a handful of select guys each week.

This past week, Ontario won three of four games, outscoring opponents 21-15.

Lias Andersson, Center (7th overall in 2017 by NYR)

2021 season: 1 goal, 6 assists, even plus-minus, 0 PIM in 5 games played.

Andersson rejoined the Reign late in the week, traveling with the team for their two-game set in Bakersfield. He recorded two assists on Saturday, including a beautiful dangle through his own legs to get around the defender and hit Sean Durzi sneaking in back door. On Sunday, Andersson picked up another two helpers in the game’s final minutes before helping down the Condors with a cheeky shootout winner.

Quinton Byfield, Center (2nd overall in 2019)

2021 season: 5 goals, 8 assists, minus-15, 14 PIM in 19 games played.

In Tuesday’s game, Byfield began what would turn out to be a four-game goal scoring streak. While on the penalty kill, he poked the puck past a defenseman at the blue-line and flew down the left side for the shot, burying it five-hole. Byfield would carry that momentum into the following three games, netting a goal in each of them. He’s currently third-overall in rookie scoring in the AHL and sits a point behind Kaliyev and Kupari for the team lead.

Aiden Dudas, Left-wing / Center (113th overall in 2018)

2021 season: 4 goals, 1 assist, minus-5, 6 PIM in 17 games played.

Dudas played in the first three games of the week, sitting out Sunday’s game as a healthy scratch. In the Reign’s 6-2 pounding of the Roadrunners, Dudas contributed a short-handed goal scored on a breakaway where he froze the goalie with a leg kick before going backhand at the last second.

Samuel Fagemo, Left/Right wing (50th overall in 2019)

2021 season: 7 goals, 5 assists, minus-5, 2 PIM in 19 games played.

Fagemo tied Saturday’s game early with a powerplay one-timer from the top of the left circle. He would also pick up a primary assist in that game.

Arthur Kaliyev, Right Wing (33rd overall in 2019)

2021 season: 7 goals, 7 assists, plus-1, 10 PIM in 19 games played.

Kaliyev was hot all week, putting up four goals and two assists. The 19-year-old is currently tied for second overall in AHL rookie scoring with 14 points and tied with Kupari for the team lead in points.

Rasmus Kupari, Center (20th overall in 2018)

2021 season: 3 goals, 11 assists, plus-3, 6 PIM in 14 games played.

Kupari picked up a goal and two assists this week. He continues to center Turcotte and Kaliyev, a trio that’s been fairly deadly since forming and is relied upon heavily by coach John Wroblewski. He’s tied with Kaliyev for the team lead in points.

Akil Thomas, Center/Right Wing (51st overall in 2018)

2021 season: 6 goals, 5 assists, minus-8, 8 PIM in 19 games played.

‘Mr. Clutch’ Akil Thomas was up to his old tricks this past week. After picking up an assist in each of the first three games, he saved his best work for Sunday. With the Reign down 4-1 and only 03:07 remaining in regulation, Thomas decided to put the team on his back. He scored a natural hat-trick (the first of his young professional career) in 2:47 to tie the game. He wouldn’t stop there, as he would go on to set the tone in the SO, rifling a shot past the goalie glove-side.

Thomas’ line of Quentin Byfield and Devante Smith-Pelly was the first all-black line to hit professional ice since 1941. The three would combine for six points on the night.

Alex Turcotte, Center/Left Wing (5th overall in 2019)

2021 season: 1 goal, 6 assists, even plus-minus, 6 PIM in 13 games played.

Since returning from injury, Turcotte has seven points in eight games . He recorded five assists this week, his most impressive helper being a nauseating behind-the-back pass through the legs of a defender to feed a point-blank Kaliyev one-timer.

Sean Durzi, RH Defenseman (52nd overall in 2018)

2021 season: 2 goals, 8 assists, even plus-minus, 16 PIM in 19 games played.

Durzi contributed the most points from Ontario’s defensive group this week, putting up a goal and three assists.

Cole Hults, LH Defenseman (134th overall in 2017)

2021 season: 1 goal, 2 assists, plus-1, 5 PIM in 12 games played.

Hults smacked a puck down the ice as the PK expired for Byfield to find fresh out of the box, who would then score Sunday’s opening tally.

Jacob Moverare, LH Defenseman (112th overall in 2016)

2021 season Ontario Reign: 0 goals, 1 assist, minus-3, 0 PIM in 5 games played.

Moverare returned to the Reign lineup Wednesday after not playing for over a month with an injury. He had the primary assist on Dudas’ shorthanded goal that night and played the rest of the week.

Jacob Ingham, Goalie (175th overall in 2018)

2021 season:
AHL-Ontario: 1 win, 2.00 GAA, .944 SV% in 1 game played.
ECHL-Greenville Swamp Rabbits: 3.72 GAA, .873 SV% in 6 games played.

Ingham played his first game of the year for the Reign, winning 6-2 against the Roadrunners. He would stop 36 of 34 shots and earn the third star of the game.

Matt Villalta, Goalie (72 overall in 2017)

2021 season: 2 wins, 3.46 GAA, .876 SV% in 7 games played.

Villalta would step in for the backside of the Bakersfield series, stopping 31 of 35 shots and shutting down both Condor shootout attempts to win 5-4.

Reign players not tracked this week include: Tyler Madden, Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, Markus Phillips, Austin Strand, and Johan Södergran

EUROPE

Martin Chromiak, Slovak Extraliga-HK Dukla Trencin, Left wing( 128th overall in 2020)

2021 season: 7 goals, 12 assists, plus-6, 0 PIM in 32 games played.

Chromiak played in two games this week, registering an assist.

Aatu Jämsen, U20 SM-sarja-Pelicans U20, Right Wing (190th overall in 2020)

2021 season: 18 goals, 38 assists, plus-23, 40 PIM in 36 games.

Jämsen played twice this week, scoring two goals in his first game and four assists in the second game. He sits four points back of the league scoring leader despite playing three fewer games.

Kasper Simontaival, Finland, Center (66th overall in 2020)

2021 season:
Ligga-Tappara: 2 goals, 3 assists, plus-3, 8 PIM in 28 games played.
Mestis-TUTO Hockey: 3 goals, 4 assists, plus-1, 4 PIM in 5 games played.

Simontaival played in one game for Tappara this week, having 10:14 of ice time and posting a minus-one in a 4-2 loss to TPS Turku.

Helge Grans, SHL-Malmö Redhawks, RH Defenseman (35th overall in 2020)

2021 season: 3 goals, 8 assists, minus-16, 0 PIM in 37 games played.

Malmö played once this week, but Helge sat out as a healthy scratch.

Kim Nousiainen, Liiga-KalPa, LH Defenseman (119th overall in 2019)

2021 season: 8 goals, 14 assists, plus-15, 10 PIM in 46 games played.

KalPa played once this week, a 3-2 OT loss to Karpat. The 20-year-old led his team with 21:39 of ice time and was an even plus-minus.

Juho Markkanen, Finland, Goalie (112th overall in 2020)

2021 season:
Ligga-SaiPa: 2.04 GAA, .917 SV% 5 in 1 game played.
U20 SM-sarja-SaiPa U20: .916 SV% in 10 games played.
Mestis Ketterä: 4 wins, 3.14 GAA, .876 SV% in 8 games played.
U20 Mestis-Ketter U20: 5.00 GAA, .814 SV% in 1 game played.

Markkanen did not play this week.

Alexander Dergachyov, KHL- Vitayz Podolsk, Center (74th overall in 2015)

2021 season: 11 goals, 12 assists, minus-22, 22 PIM in 53 games played.

Dergachyov is enjoying his off-season as his team missed out on the playoffs.

Bulat Shafigullin, KHL-Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, Forward (82nd overall in 2018)

2021 season: 7 goals, 7 assists, minus-23, 41 PIM in 56 games played.

Bulat’s season is over as his team missed the playoffs.

NCAA College Hockey

Brock Faber, Univ. of Minnesota, RH Defenseman (45th overall in 2020)

2021 season: 1 goal, 6 assists, plus-16, 14PIM in 25 games played.

Despite a scary fall into the boards during the Big 10 Hockey Tournament, Faber returned the very next game for the Gopher’s 3-2 overtime victory over Michigan. He was also on the ice for all three of his team’s goals. The next day, Faber became a Big Ten Champion with Minnesota’s 6-4 defeat of Cole Caufield’s Wisconsin Badgers.

David Hrenak, St. Cloud State, Goalie (144th overall in 2018)

2021 season: 2.60 GAA, .906 SV% in 23 games played.

Hrenak’s Huskies defeated Minnesota Duluth 3-2 in the semi-finals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff tournament. He would stop 22 of 24 shots, leading his team to their third consecutive appearance in the finals. Unfortunately, the University of North Dakota downed them 5-3. Hrenak stopped 26 of 30 shots.

Andre Lee, UMass-Lowell, LW/C (188th overall in 2019)

2021 season: 7 goals, 9 assists, plus-7, 18 PIM in 20 games played.

One of the biggest upsets in recent college hockey history took place last Wednesday night. The unranked Riverhawks took down No. 1 ranked Boston College 6-5 in a double-overtime thriller. The Hawks never led in the game and came back from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game. Boston would score again, but the underdogs refused to quit, scoring with 1:26 remaining to send it to overtime.

Lee was vital to UMass-Lowell’s comeback and eventual victory over Boston College. He rocketed a wrister from the top of the circles to beat World Junior champion Spencer Knight, drawing the Riverhawks within one goal of tying things up. Later, Lee would get the primary assist on UML’s game-tying goal. He would eventually finish the game with a plus-3 rating.

Unfortunately, the Riverhawks’ Cinderella run met its end in the Hockey East Tournament final against the University of Massachusetts. Lee had two shots on goal and was a minus-1 in the final.

Ben Meehan, UMass-Lowell, LH Defenseman (140th overall in 2020)

2021 season: 0 goals, 8 assists, minus-2, 27 PIM in 17 games played.

Meehan drew in as an extra defenseman against Boston College, registering one shot on goal and had an even plus-minus.

USHL

Brayden Doyle, Dubuque Fighting Saints, LH Defenseman (157th overall in 2019)

2021 season: 4 goals, 15 assists, even plus-minus, 16 PIM in 37 games played.

The Saints played four games this week. Doyle registered a primary assist in their last match, a 5-2 win over the Green Bay Gamblers.

Alex Laferriere, Des Moines Buccaneers, Right Wing (83rd overall in 2020)

2021 season: 20 goals, 17 assists, plus-6, 33 PIM in 38 games played.

Laferriere continued to show just how impactful of a player he can be. When the Bucs needed a goal with 15 minutes left in regulation, Laferriere was able to break free for a breakaway and slip a backhander in to tie the game against the Omaha Lancers. Currently, he leads Des Moines in points and sits at 14th overall in league scoring. He played in one other game this week, recording no points.

Lukas Parik, Dubuque Fighting Saints, Goalie (87th overall in 2019)

2021 season: 7 wins, 3.33 GAA, .862 SV% in 14 games played.

Parik celebrated his 20th birthday this week and played in the Saints 5-2 win over the Gamblers, stopping 24 of 26 shots. This came after he missed the team’s three previous games.

QMJHL

Jordan Spence, Val-dOr Foreurs, RH Defenseman (95th overall in 2019)

2021 season:
Moncton Wildcats: 5 goals, 11 assists, minus-4, 14 PIM in 13 games played.
Foreurs: 4 goals, 12 assists, plus-6, 0 PIM in 15 games played.

Spence played an impactful game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. His first point came as a primary helper when he moved in on net like he was going to shoot, then unexpectedly sent a no-look pass to his teammate in the slot, who scored with a one-timer. Spence’s other point was a secondary assist on the overtime winning goal.


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