In just a few short days, not only will NHL prospects be skating on the ice at Toyota Sports Performance Center, but LA Kings fans will also be in the building watching. That’s a first in about 18 months.
When some future Kings players kick off LA’s annual Development Camp on Monday, August 23, it will have a slightly different look and feel — like so many things in life these days.
As in past years, the roster is expected to largely be comprised of players acquired over the previous two years. Thus, third-year pros like Kale Clague are typically excluded from the activities. However, some of the first-year pros from LA’s 2018 Draft class are expected to participate.
In a perfect scenario, the organization would have liked to have all NHL Draft picks from 2020 and 2021 attend this year’s Dev Camp, as the team didn’t hold one last year due to the pandemic. However, due to the timing of the event — with it being moved to late August this time around, rather than the typical late June / early July window — many prospects can’t travel to LA due to having commitments with their college programs and/or European teams at this point in the summer. That list of players unable to attend includes: Brock Faber, Samuel Helenius, Kirill Kirsanov, Juho Markkanen, and Kim Nousiainen.
Nevertheless, the team is forging on.
Glen Murray, who heads up the Kings development efforts, is currently putting the finishing touches on this year’s roster. He’s also planning out the full schedule with his staff of guys, including Mike Donnelly, Matt Greene, Sean O’Donnell, and Jarret Stoll.
So, which prospects will be attending?
We’ve put together a rough draft of the likely attendees:
Forwards
Quinton Byfield – Ontario Reign
Martin Chromiak – Kingston Frontenacs
Aidan Dudas – Ontario Reign
Sammy Fagemo – Ontario Reign
Arthur Kaliyev – Ontario Reign
Bret Kemp – free agent signing, Ontario Reign
Alex Laferriere – USHL, transitioning to Harvard
Andre Lee – UMass Lowell
Tyler Madden – Ontario Reign
Nikita Pavlychev – free agent signing, Ontario Reign
Francesco Pinelli – Kitchener Rangers
Johan Sodergran – Ontario Reign
Akil Thomas – note: switching to No. 41 for camp, will do off-ice only after shoulder surgery
Alex Turcotte – Ontario Reign
Defensemen
Brandt Clarke – Barrie Colts
Braden Doyle – USHL, transitioning to Boston University
Helge Grans – Malmo, transitioning to Ontario Reign
Ben Meehan – UMass Lowell
Jordan Spence – QMJHL, transitioning to Ontario Reign
Goalies
Jacob Ingham – 2019 NHL Draft pick
John Lethemon – free agent signing, Ontario Reign
Lukas Parik – USHL, transitioning to Ontario Reign
Camp Invitees
Lorenzo Canonica – a 17-year-old forward from QMJHL via Switzerland
Isaac Enright – right shot defenseman, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
Brett Hyland – forward, Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Landon Kosior – right shot defenseman, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Cade McNelly – left shot defenseman, 6-foot-3, Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL)
Logan Morrison – center, former Kaliyev teammate with Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
Dylan Robinson – left shot defenseman, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
For those unfamiliar, invitees aren’t actually property of the team. Typically, these players fall into three categories – undrafted players who are committed to attend college the following season, players who are there as a favor to somebody in the organization, and Canadian junior players who somehow slipped through the NHL Draft. While they’re technically free agents in most cases, that’s often only true for a very short period of time. If they’re still Draft eligible, they need to be signed by a specific date in October or they’ll go back into next year’s NHL Draft. Usually, the players invited to Dev Camp are asked to return for Rookie Camp in September. In the past, LA has even signed a few such players after impressive performance at camp – most notably, goalie Martin Jones.
Scouting reports on each of this year’s invitees can be found in our previous article here.
A full schedule will be released in the next few days, including mention of a 4-on-4 scrimmage that we hear is likely taking place near the end of next week. More details on Development Camp are expected to be released tomorrow, including ticket information. As a reminder, tickets for Dev Camp will be free. However, fans will need to register and secure them in advance. Walk-ups won’t be allowed due to various safety protocols being put in place at TSPC.
At the conclusion of Dev Camp, a new showcase event will take place at Staples Center on Saturday, August 28. More on that can be found at the link below.
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