There’s been plenty of energy and excitement surrounding the Ontario Reign in recent weeks — from a mild three-game winning streak to the return of defenseman Jordan Spence, and the addition of newly acquired Kings prospect Cole Krygier. Now, on Friday night vs. the visiting Coachella Valley Firebirds, another Kings prospect will make his pro debut.
Enter 21-yeae-old forward Alex Laferriere.
Fresh off another productive season at Harvard, the New Jersey native recently decided to leave school and sign an Entry level Contract with the Kings. While, technically speaking, he hasn’t signed that contract just yet — he’s only officially agreed to an AHL Amateur Tryout Agreement — that’s simply a formality and done with an end goal in mind. It has to do with the rules surrounding burning a year off his contract, which is the next step. It’s all explained here:
Kings Sign Top Offensive Prospect to ELC; Here’s The Upcoming Plans for Him
Laferriere Will wear No. 28 for the Reign.
We’re expecting Cal Petersen back in net tonight. On defense, there will be an adjustment now that Toby Björnfot has been recalled to the Kings. That’s an emergency recall (due to Mikey Anderson leaving the game injured in Edmonton), so the Kings still have one recall remaining.
Updated Kings Roster Situation: Only One AHL Call-Up Remaining This Season
Exactly how coach Marco Sturm will align his forwards is bit more in question. With Laferriere likely sliding in on the third line, there could be a few moving pieces, like Tyler Madden sliding to LW2. It probably won’t be known for sure until warm-ups. There are still some decisions to make.
As a team, Ontario’s magic number still sits at 5, so a win would put them that much closer to a playoff spot.
ONTARIO REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS
Andersson – Tynan – Chromiak
Madden – Turcotte – Fagemo
Dudas – Quine – Laferriere
Lee – Schnarr – Ward
Krygier – Spence
Moverare – Grans
Nousiainen – Gaunce
Petersen
Villalta
Likely game scratches: Bisson, Goulbourne, Helenius, Pavlychev, Thompson
Recalled to NHL: Bjornfot, Kupari
Out long-term, injured: Thomas, Doty
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm PST tonight and the game can be viewed on AHL TV.
Lead photo by Daniel Stopani
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