The Los Angeles Kings have selected Francesco Pinelli at No. 42 overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. More information to come.
LA Kings trading up here (thanks to Ottawa)
Has to be Francesco Pinelli
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) July 24, 2021
From a trusted OHL scout on Pinelli…
Had a phenomenal rookie year before the pandemic. Has more offense than some people think. Strong on the puck. Plays better in big games. Needs to improve his willingness to go into dirty areas. Good value at that spot. Had him going RD1.
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) July 24, 2021
LA just keeps on getting richer.
Pinelli is a high-end player who needs to figure out the skating and pace but there's top-six juice there
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) July 24, 2021
Pinelli was teammates with Kings eighth overall pick Brandt Clarke on Canada's U-18 team. His 11 points tied him third on team scoring, tied with Ducks third overall pick Mason McTavish.
— The Armchair Scout (@Davidenkness) July 24, 2021
Played for Kopi's Jesenice past season
— Jožko Rutar (@JozkoRutar) July 24, 2021
KEY NUMBERS AND NOTES
Vitals
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 185 lbs
Shoots: Left
Team: HDD Jesenice
League: AlpsHL
Position: Forward
Statistics
Regular Season: 13 GP, 5 G, 6 A, 11 Pts
U-18: 7 GP, 4 G, 7 A, 11 Pts
Awards for 2020-21 Season
Slovenian Champion
U18 WJC Gold Medal
SCOUTING REPORTS
From Future Considerations:
Pinelli is a creative and dynamic offensive player. His use of deceptive edgeworks and his vision allow him to constantly apply pressure to the opponent. He’ll need to develop his processing and defensive reliability
From HockeyProspect:
Francesco Pinelli is a rare, yet very useful player type, that we refer to as a power playmaker, who can use his versatile playmaking ability to breakdown opposing defenses. Modern day examples of a power playmaker include Blake Wheeler and more recently Jack Dugan, and although we wouldn’t label Francesco quite as tenacious as they are, or who displays the same level as grit as they do, he’s held enough in terms of his effort level and willingness to use his frame to still get the coveted label that we rarely give out. To contrast further, they look to attack north south by taking more direct skating routes, at a higher rate. They are also willing to drop their shoulder and drive into traffic more often, they also play a much more physical brand of hockey overall, but the development curve of Pinelli has been impressive if you took his initial seven games, and then compared it to his last ten in terms of becoming a multi dimensional player who has started to understand how to use his frame better than he previously was.
From The Draft Analyst:
Pinelli is one of the most unselfish and versatile prospects available in the draft as he can play any forward position, provide effective play on special teams, and put out small fires for his coaching staff. Although he wasn’t given a critical role for Kitchener or with Canada at the U18’s, Pinelli showed flashes of his potential as a line driver while playing overseas against adults. For whatever reason, his shots seemed labelled and passes of all kinds were usually right on the money. But no matter where he has played, Pinelli has shown excellent anticipation and reaction timing while off the puck to quickly wrestle possession away from the opposition.
HIGHLIGHTS
We’ll update this article throughout the evening with additional information.
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