A few times each junior and college hockey season, Kings fans and management are treated to some #KingsOnKingsCrime — and so it begins on Saturday afternoon.
In a battle of two nationally ranked NCAA programs, No. 12 Northeastern is set to host No. 19 UMass Lowell. The higher ranked Huskies come in with 3-1-1 record and feature two Kings prospects in center Jack Hughes and defenseman Braden Doyle.
Taken with the Kings first selection (No. 51 overall) at the 2022 NHL Draft, Hughes had a busy summer prior to entering his sophomore season at Northeastern. First, he spent time in Los Angeles for the Kings annual Development Camp – where he earned quite a bit of praise from coach Mike Donnelly.
Mike Donnelly on Standouts at LA Kings Dev Camp and Other Impressions
Immediately following his time on the West Coast, Hughes flew to Team USA’s evaluation camp for the 2023 World Junior Championship. Although the final roster for this December’s tournament won’t be announced until mid-December, Hughes is expected be in heavy consideration for a spot on that team.
He also joined Kings Of The Podcast for an interview recently. That conversation can be heard here.
One of the Kings scouts primarily responsible for bringing Hughes into the LA pipeline, Tony Gasparini, later stopped by KOTP to share his thoughts on Hughes here.
A Massachusetts native and just 18-years-old for a few more weeks, Hughes typically centers the Huskies second line.
https://twitter.com/GoNUmhockey/status/1582542767925796865
Out on the Northeastern blueline, Doyle was drafted by LA back in 2019. He started his college career at Boston University in last season. However, he departed the team mid-year for more playing time and finished his campaign in the BCHL. Now, excited with a fresh start, Doyle already has three points in five games.
Ben Meehan: confirmed huge #hockeyguy #UnitedInBlue | #HockeyEast pic.twitter.com/Br9KR8LR2B
— UMass Lowell Hockey (@RiverHawkHockey) September 9, 2022
Opposing them will be fellow prospect, and junior defenseman, Ben Meehan. He put up 14 points in 33 games for the River Hawks last season. Like the aforementioned pair, Meehan also participated in Development Camp this past summer with the Kings.
The game will be available on NESN (DirectTV 628) with puck drop scheduled for 4pm PST.
BONUS COLLEGE HOCKEY NOTES
LA Kings pick at No. 103 is coming up soon.
Names to keep an eye on:
Kenny Connors
Jack Devine
Kirill Dolzhenkov
Simon Forsmark
Dominic James
Otto Salin
Matthew SeminoffMore info in article below… https://t.co/k7EpsnM1Zm
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) July 8, 2022
Another Kings college prospect, Kenny Connors, had a big night on Friday for UMass.
A true freshman for the No. 6 ranked Minutemen, he put up a three-point effort, including two goals.
https://twitter.com/UMassHockey/status/1583603818566074368
https://twitter.com/UMassHockey/status/1583627222832730114
Like Hughes, Connors was invited to the USA World Junior camp in August and is expected to compete for a roster spot at this winter’s tournament.
More on Connors here.
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Lead Photo of Hughes via Daniel Stopani
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