Just a few years ago, the Los Angeles Kings prospect pool was the envy of the league. The Kings are widely regarded as one of the best pools in hockey, but have recently fallen to the bottom of the league in that category.
While not a huge step backward, the Kings did drop another spot in The Athletic’s Corey Pronman’s annual U-23 pipeline rankings after players like Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte graduated last season.
As this list includes all players under the age of 23, Quinton Byfield is still eligible and, along with Brandt Clarke, he will help push the Kings’ rankings up.
Unless they draft a potential star next summer or Liam Greentree emerges as one of them, they will drop even further next summer even with Clarke in the system.
However, I don’t want to focus on the top players in this article. There has been enough content about them this summer and I want to focus on the depth of this system and what Pronman thinks about it.
After Greentree, every Kings prospect falls into Pronman’s “chance to play NHL games” category. Essentially, he projects them as depth pieces at best.
It’s certainly an indication of the current lack of depth in the potential buyer pool, but I also think it’s a bit harsh in some areas.
Aatu Jamsen, Koehn Ziemmer and Francesco Pinelli:
These are the three names that stood out to me on the list. All three fall into the “has a chance to play” category, which was a surprise to me.
I would definitely put Aatu Jamsen in that category, but for Francesco Pinelli and Koehn Ziemmer it felt a bit harsh.
First of all, I wouldn’t put them in the same category. Maybe his rookie season in North America will change my perception, but I don’t really see a path for Jamsen, or at least not an equal path to Pinelli and Ziemmer.
Jamsen has some puck skills, and despite still being listed at 154 pounds (which I don’t think is an accurate weight), there’s some competitiveness and physicality there. Still, I don’t see him going to the NHL with that, especially with mediocre skating.
Compare that to Ziemmer and Pinelli, who both have real NHL attributes and similar qualities (though Pinelli could show that more consistently), and I don’t see them on the same level.
Ziemmer was very productive when healthy in the OHL and has real NHL puck skills, shooting and high-end compete. Skating and athleticism are an issue, but he has everything you need to be a bottom-middle six forward in the NHL.
Pinneli is a different player, but he also has legitimate NHL puck skills and creativity. He worked hard to play less on the perimeter last season and if getting inside becomes a regular part of his game, there’s no reason he can’t be a third-line winger in the NHL.
I think Pronman scores too high on Jamsen and too low on Ziemmer and Pinelli.
Jared Wright, Kenny Connors and Jack Hughes:
Three students then spoke, but only Kenny Connors made it into Pronman’s article.
Jack Hughes’ absence, just two years after being drafted in the second round, is an unfortunate but understandable omission.
Hughes hasn’t developed much in college and his NHL future looks iffy at best. Mark Yannetti has talked about a possible late-season physical development similar to what former Kings prospect Nic Dowd experienced, but that’s a lottery.
The big order is Jared Wright. Wright is by no means a future star, but he seems like a safe bet to play NHL games. He’s a big, physical winger who can absolutely fly and finish shots.
Those types of wingers often find roles in the NHL, and in a few years, Wright could be a regular in the Kings’ bottom six. He has all the tools you’d want from a bottom-six, penalty-killing winger.
Connors is a similar player, but he’s not as big or as fast and doesn’t have the same scoring drive. He has better puck skills and a slightly better hockey IQ, which could even things out.
Of this group, I’d be confident Wright will have an NHL career, but I can also understand why Pronman chose Connors.
Kings Prospect Pool in a tough spot:
It’s no secret that the Kings have been damaging their prospect pool in recent seasons in an effort to make the playoffs. This article is a reminder of that.
The Kings will soon run out of potentially impactful players under the age of 23 and have yet to develop a non-Byfield player from their once formidable pool of prospects.
Clarke could get there and he should, but it’s still a work in progress.
