As hinted at several times over the past few months, we’re happy to announce the return of our annual LA Kings Prospect Rankings. Since we’re re-launching this a little later in the hockey calendar than usual, the plan for this year’s series of articles is to break things up into four easy-to-read segments. We’ll start out with the below Honorable Mentions. Next up will be the five players ranked Nos. 11-15, followed by the Top 10 — which will be split over two articles.
For those new to our player ranking series, since its inception roughly 15 years ago, this has become some of the most popular content published on Mayor’s Manor each season. The reports provided have come to serve as a vital source of player information, as nobody outside the Kings organization talks to more coaches, scouts, and general managers about LA’s top prospects on a regular basis than the team at MM. Endless hours go into evaluating players in the pipeline and preparing our write-ups. Additionally, the final slotting of players is influenced by hundreds of hours of game action and debating the team’s prospects with a myriad of well-respected hockey people, including our key sources inside the Kings organization.
In an attempt to answer a few of the questions that come up when preparing this information, let’s clarify who doesn’t qualify this year. Looking back at the 2025 Rankings, only Liam Greentree has really been removed (via a trade with the Rangers). This makes the current rankings even tougher, as the 2025 NHL Draft class has now joined the pipeline, without a lot of offsetting players graduating to the NHL or even simply aging out.
The second biggest question surrounds future upside. One of the common mistakes when looking at a list of prospects is assuming all players are created equally when it comes to stats. A player ranked near the upper end of a top-10 list doesn’t always mean they’ll play first-unit power play or that they’re projected to score 40 goals in the NHL. The Kings roster is typically comprised of 12 forwards and six defensemen. While a third-line player may not help your fantasy hockey team much, they’re still very valuable in the real world. Ditto with a second-pair defenseman.
Therefore, our rankings typically start with a simple question, ‘How likely is this player to reach the NHL and play at least 50 games?’ (aka the industry standard for evaluating draft pick performance / efficiency). From there, we delve into impact in the NHL and then timing, i.e. how quickly is said player expected to become a full-time pro with the Kings and so on.
With all of that ground now covered, let’s really get into things.
Prospect Rankings: 2026 Honorable Mentions
NOTE: Each section is in alphabetical order, not ranked
Forwards
Martin Chromiak – Ontario Reign
5th round pick in 2020
2025-26 Stats: 28 goals, 28 assists, plus-1, 14 PIM in 71 games played
With Chromiak recently signed to a one-year contract extension, both sides are quickly approaching the proverbial fish-or-cut-bait moment. At 23 years old, there may not be much more growth in his game, having already completed four years of AHL action. However, this past season did see a significant jump in his offensive output, equating to a nearly 50% increase in goals and assists. He earned an NHL callup, it just never came. Will he be given a real opportunity to earn a spot in training camp?
Ryan Conmy – Boston College
6th round pick in 2023
2025-26 Stats: 9 goals, 18 assists, minus-1, 10 PIM in 35 games played
This coming season will be Conmy’s senior season of college, meaning it’s a critical campaign. If he’s not signed next summer, the Florida-born winger will become an unrestricted free agent. Conmy has been one of the true head-turners each of the past few summers at Development Camp (and he’s expected to be on this year’s roster, as well). After battling a few injuries this past season, we’re expecting Conmy to put together a big year in 2026-27. He wants that entry-level contract badly and knows what he needs to do to earn it.
Kristian Epperson – Denver University
3rd round pick in 2025
2025-26 Stats: 11 goals, 8 assists, plus-8, 14 PIM in 38 games played
After quietly putting together a nice freshman year during Denver’s regular season, LA’s 2025 draftee may have just been saving his best work for the playoffs. Epperson notched the game-winner in the 2026 NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship and assisted on the game-winning goal in this year’s NCAA championship game — in overtime, no less. Expect plenty of eyes to be on the Wisconsin native at Dev Camp later this month.
Kaleb Lawrence – Rochester Americans
7th round pick in 2022
2025-26 Stats: 0 goals, 3 assists, plus-2, 11 PIM in 16 games played
Lawrence was loaned, not traded, to the Rochester Americans at the end of the season in a swap for defenseman Nikita Novikov. He is still a Kings prospect, and an intriguing one at that. Standing tall at 6-foot-5, he played at a .69 points-per-game pace in his last three years in the OHL and, before injury, showed flashes of being an effective pro player in the AHL. If he can stay healthy next season, he is worth watching.
James Reeder – Denver University
7th round pick in 2024
2025-26 Stats: 10 goals, 23 assists, plus-18, 4 PIM in 41 games played
On a stacked national championship-winning roster, Reeder was one of the most trusted players on the team. He averaged the most ice time of any forward during the regular season, had the highest shooting percentage, and improved on his freshman campaign with 12 more points. He far outplayed his seventh-round draft status, and when discussing the promising young players in the Kings system, he should not be overlooked. Seeing him at LA’s upcoming Development Camp should also provide a gauge on how he stacks up to his peers in the Kings pipeline.
Defensemen
Caeden Herrington – Univ. of Vermont
4th round pick in 2025
2025-26 Stats: 1 goal, 7 assists, minus-14, 16 PIM in 34 games played
After scoring in his college debut, Herrington had a steady freshman year at Vermont — finishing with eight points in 34 games, averaging 18:25 of ice time, and ranking second on the team in shots among defensemen. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound offensive defenseman held his own against older, stronger competition all season, and he’ll look to take the next step in his development after transferring to Penn State for his sophomore campaign. Moving to a top-tier program should aid his ongoing development.
Otto Salin – Ontario Reign
5th round pick in 2022
2025-26 Stats: 3 goals, 2 assists, minus-3, 22 PIM in 41 games played
Salin had limited opportunities to show off his skillset this year while often playing on the third pair in Ontario. That said, he has the resume to warrant a good look in pro hockey. In his final season overseas in Liiga, he was a half-point-per-game player scoring 28 points in 56 games. With a full training camp and a shot at regular minutes, the upside is easy to see.
Goaltender
Petteri Rimpinen – Kiekko-Espoo/Liiga
5th round pick in 2025
2025-26 Stats: 2.31 GAA, .908 SV%, 5 SO, 2 assists, 15 wins in 40 games played
Rimpinen had a season that went well beyond his Liiga numbers. He started every game for Finland at the World Junior Championship, was voted Best Goaltender at the tournament, and now owns two of the top five spots in WJC history for most ice time by a netminder in a single tournament — including the all-time record, which he set the previous year. Despite being slightly undersized at six feet, he is quietly making the case for being one of the steals of the 2025 draft. If any ‘smaller’ goalie is going to make it through to the NHL, it’s Rimpinen.
We’ll be back soon with article two in the series, featuring five players who slot in at Nos. 11-15 on this year’s Prospect Rankings.
UPDATE — Prospect Rankings: Players No. 11-15
Epperson photo by Chris Swann
MORE LA KINGS NEWS:
Rankings Recap: Kings Top 10 Prospects for 2023, 2024, and 2025
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Love this series, thanks for bringing it back. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the list!
Cheers to the whole MM Team. Glad these are back after the hiatus the last few yrs.