{"id":33994,"date":"2018-08-08T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T12:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=33994"},"modified":"2018-08-07T22:49:46","modified_gmt":"2018-08-08T02:49:46","slug":"los-angeles-kings-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/08\/08\/los-angeles-kings-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: Top Los Angeles Kings Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2018 Top Shelf Prospects series.\u00a0 As we go through the Summer of 2018 LWOH will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. We will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and\u00a0you can find all the articles here<\/a>.\u00a0 Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, we will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2018 draft, as there have been no games since then, and our reports on them will not have changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"What we will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2018-19 roster of the NHL team in question. We will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who we pick as our dark horse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn\u2019t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Los Angeles Kings Prospects<\/h1>\n

After missing the playoffs in 2016-17, the Los Angeles Kings<\/a> made a number of changes including naming a new general manager and head coach. Rob Blake<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and John Stevens<\/a><\/strong> would lead the Kings back to the playoffs in 2017-18, as they took the top wildcard spot. The Kings got a stellar season from Anze Kopitar<\/a><\/strong>, a resurgent campaign from Dustin Brown<\/a><\/strong>, another Norris finalist season from Drew Doughty<\/a><\/strong>, and a Jennings winning season from Jonathan Quick<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(with a huge assist to the entire team’s defensive play). However, the Kings would fall in four straight to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> in the first round of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Kings would try to address their biggest glaring deficiency, goal-scoring, in the off-season. Their big move is the signing<\/a> of Ilya Kovalchuk<\/a><\/strong>. The Kings hope that as the 35-year-old comes back from the KHL, he hasn’t lost any of his sniping ability. Los Angeles also made headlines by signing Doughty to a huge eight-year contract extension. The move keeps one of the best defencemen in the NHL in Los Angeles through the prime of his career. However, outside of the Kovalchuk move, the Kings haven’t made any other big additions, and so,\u00a0any other improvements will need to come from their prospects.<\/p>\n

2018 NHL Draft Picks:\u00a0Rasmus Kupari<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Akil Thomas<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Bulat Shafigullin<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0Aidan Dudas<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0David Hrenak<\/strong>,\u00a0Johan Sodergran<\/strong>,\u00a0Jacob Ingham
\n<\/strong>Graduations: Adrian Kempe<\/a><\/strong>, Jack Campbell<\/a> <\/strong>(age), Alex Iafallo<\/a><\/strong>, Oscar Fantenberg<\/a><\/strong> (age),<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Prospect: Gabriel Vilardi<\/h2>\n

Centre — shoots Right
\nBorn August\u00a016th, 1999 —\u00a0Kingston, Ontario
\nHeight 6’3″ — Weight 201 lbs [191 cm\/91 kg]
\nDrafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1st round, #11\u00a0overall at the 2017 NHL Draft<\/p>\n