With Day 1 of the NHL Draft now complete, things will really begin to heat up for the LA Kings. They’ll enter Day 2 action with five selections:
Round 2 – No. 54
Round 3 – No. 78 (from Pittsburgh)
Round 4 – No. 118
Round 5 – No. 160
Round 6 – No. 182
Round 7 – N/A
SETTING THE TABLE
This is the fourth and final article in our 2023 NHL Entry Draft series. Previously, we published:
2023 NHL Draft Preview: 10 Goalies for the LA Kings to Focus On
2023 NHL Draft Preview: 10 Players the Kings Might Select with Their First Pick
Round 2 Predictions: LA Kings Selections at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft
The above articles have plenty of details on the players mentioned, here we’ll tighten things up and just share some names in more of a list form:
ROUND 2
LIKELY GONE
Andrew Cristall, Kelowna Rockets, Canada
Forward, 5-foot-10, 165 lbs, Shoots: L
Lukas Dragicevic, Tri-City Americans, Canada
Defense, 6-foot-2, 181 lbs, Shoots: R
Lenni Hameenaho, Ässät, Finland
Forward, 6-feet-0, 174 lbs, Shoots: Right
Etienne Morin, Moncton Wildcats, Canada
Defense, 6-foot-0, 183 lbs, Shoots: L
Koehn Ziemmer, Prince George Cougars, Canada
Forward, 6-foot-0, 194 lbs, Shoots: R
MORE REALISTIC
Hunter Brzustewicz, Kitchener Rangers, USA
Defense, 6-foot-0, 187 lbs
Jakub Dvorak, Bílí Tygři Liberec, Czechia
Defense, 6-foot-5, 209 lbs
Riley Heidt, Prince George Cougars, Canada
Forward, 5-foot-11, 179 lbs
Shoots: L
Jesse Kiiskinen, Pelicans U20, Finland
Forward, 6-feet-0, 187 lbs
Gracyn Sawchyn, Seattle Thunderbirds, Canada
Forward, 5-foot-11, 165 lbs
ROUNDS 3 AND LATER
Here are some players to keep an eye on when it’s time for the Kings to make a selection in the mid-late rounds:
Denver Barkey, London Knights, Canada
Forward, 5-foot-9, 154 lbs, Shoots: L
OHL: 61 GP, 22 G, 37 A, 59 P, 34 PIM, Plus-18
OHL-Playoffs: 20 GP, 11 G, 13 A, 24 P, 18 PIM, Plus-12
Hlinka Gretzky Cup: 5 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, 4 PIM
Nearly quadrupled his production compared to last season (from 15 points to 59), and exceeded a point-per-game in the playoffs. His 24 points (11 G, 13 A) in 20 postseason games put him tied for second on the team.
Felix Unger Sorum, Leksands IF, Sweden
Forward, 5-foot-11, 172 lbs, Shoots: R
J20 Nationell: 42 GP, 10 G, 36 A, 46 P, 4 PIM, Plus-25
J20 Nationell-Playoffs: 7 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 P, 2 PIM, Plus-5
SHL: 7 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM, Plus-0
U18 WJC: 7 GP, 2 G, 8 A, 10 P, 4 PIM, Plus-9
Youngest player in the draft – if he was born a day later, he’d be in the 2024 draft.
Ethan Miedima, Kingston Frontenacs, Canada
Forward, 6-foot-4, 207 lbs, Shoots: L
OHL: 68 GP, 20 G, 32 A, 52 P, 42 PIM, Minus-8
Was part of a major package that was sent back to Kingston for Shane Wright. It was a three-player, eight-pick trade. His 52 points would have led the team in scoring if he spent all season with them.
Beau Akey, Barrie Colts, Canada
Defense, 6-foot-0, 170 lbs, Shoots: R
OHL: 66 GP, 11 G, 36 A, 47 P, 39 PIM, Minus-4
OHL-Playoffs: 13 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, 2 PIM, Minus-7
Teammate of Brandt Clarke – was second after Clarke on team scoring from the blueline.
Andrew Strathmann, Youngstown Phantoms, USA
Defense, 5-foot-11, 190 lbs, Shoots: L
USHL: 56 GP, 3 G, 35 A, 38 P, 102 PIM, Plus-11
USHL-Playoffs: 9 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, 8 PIM, Plus-6
Hlinka Gretzky Cup: 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, 6 PIM
Was the top scoring blueliner on his team, which went on to win the USHL Championship.
Luca Pinelli, Ottawa 67s, Canada
Forward, 5-foot-9, 161 lbs, Shoots: L
OHL: 67 GP, 29 G, 34 A, 63 P, 60 PIM, Plus-30
OHL-Playoffs: 11 GP, 7 G, 11 A, 18 P, 6 PIM, Plus-10
Younger brother of Kings prospect Francesco Pinelli.
Sawyer Mynio, Seattle Thunderbirds, Canada
Defense, 6-foot-1, 172 lbs, Shoots: L
WHL: 68 GP, 5 G, 26 A, 31 P, 40 PIM, Plus-50
WHL-Playoffs: 19 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, 6 PIM, Plus-7
Memorial Cup: 5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM, Plus-0
Won the WHL championship with Seattle this year.
Rasmus Kumpulainen, Pelicans, Finland
Forward, 6-foot-2, 196 lbs, Shoots: L
U20 SM-sarja: 41 GP, 11 G, 23 A, 34 P, 26 PIM, Minus-9
U18 WJC: 5 GP, 3 GP, 2 A, 5 P, 2 PIM, Plus-5
Hlinka Gretzky Cup: 5 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, 0 PIM
Was teammates of Kings prospect Aatu Jamsen last year on the U20 Pelicans team.
Emil Pieniniemi, Karpat, Finland
Defense, 6-foot-2, 170 lbs, Shoots: L
U20 SM-sarja: 31 GP, 1 G, 12 A, 13 P, 18 PIM, Minus-1
U18 SM-sarja: 3 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, 2 PIM
U18 WJC: 5 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, 2 PIM, Plus-1
Hlinka Gretzky Cup: 5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 2 PIM
Won bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky tournament at the start of the year, and then a championship at the U18 SM-sarja level at the end of the year.
Juraj Pekarcik, HK Nitra, Slovakia
Forward, 6-foot-2, 183 lbs, Shoots: L
Slovakia: 30 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, 27 PIM, Minus-2
Slovakia U20: 16 GP, 9 G, 11 A, 20 P, 6 PIM, Plus-5
U18 WJC: 7 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 P, 6 PIM, Minus-2
Hlinka Gretzky Cup: 4 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 P, 0 PIM
Numbers suffered in top Slovakian league, as he was only getting about 8 minutes a night as a 17-year-old. His numbers went up as he faced more responsibility in lower leagues. If he was born three days later, he would have been eligible for the 2024 draft.
Other players to consider: Brad Gardiner, Jesse Nurmi, Axel Landen, Matthew Mania, Matt Mayich, and Matteo Mann.
After each selection, we’ll have a quick recap with scouting notes on each player posted via separate articles.
RELATED CONTENT:
2023 NHL Draft Preview: 10 Goalies for the LA Kings to Focus On
2023 NHL Draft Preview: 10 Players the Kings Might Select with Their First Pick
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