The once-heralded prospect pool of the Los Angeles Kings has fallen into a bad spot as players have graduated or moved on without ever reaching the NHL level, as they haven’t had much luck in the development department.

They had a massive 2026 NHL draft class, selecting 11 players and adding several really intriguing prospects, which helps rebuild the pipeline.

With the NHL off-season in full swing, we have the perfect opportunity to look at each team’s prospect pool, going in alphabetical order, which means it’s Los Angeles’ turn.

In our annual series, Tony Ferrari will dig into each team’s top prospects, the strengths and weaknesses of the pipeline, a quick overview of their latest draft class, where each team's positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance.

When the Los Angeles Kings were building up their prospect pool six or seven years ago, they consistently drafted players whom public analysts and pundits loved. They were near the top of nearly every “Top Prospect Pool” list released over a few years, and the expectation was that the Kings would be a force to be reckoned with.

Unfortunately, that hasn’t panned out, and many of the players in that group have moved on or developed into players who are not quite at the level anyone expected. They developed some very good players, but the players they believed could be stars haven’t quite turned into them.

That’s not to say the Kings have nothing in the pipeline. They have a very good group of goalies in particular. Carter George is the top netminder in the system. He'll turn pro this fall and play in the AHL. George has been a fixture for Team Canada at various events over the last few years, consistently putting up excellent performances with the red maple leaf on his chest. George should split starts at the AHL level as a 20-year-old, looking to prove that he’s the future of the cage in LA.

If not George, the future may ultimately be Hampton Slukynsky. The Minnesota-born goalie has been a winner nearly everywhere over the last few years.

Slukynsky was named the 2023-24 Goalie of the Year in the USHL and was part of the American teams that won gold at the U-18s and the World Junior Championship. He helped Western Michigan win the NCAA National Championship. Even though he wasn’t the guy in all of those situations, his numbers in a supporting role were simply fantastic. Slukynsky will likely split the starts with George in the AHL this year as both look to form a dominant tandem as they work their way to the NHL.

On the back end, the Kings have a couple of really interesting players. After helping the London Knights to back-to-back OHL titles and a Memorial Cup, Henry Brzustewicz is turning pro this fall. The puck-moving defenseman has developed his two-way game while playing in the Knights system, which should help his transition to the pros. His game is always going to be pass-heavy and reliant on pushing the puck into the offensive zone, but he’s rounded his game out as well.

Entering his third season in the AHL, Jakub Dvorak is a player who could see NHL time this year if they need a defensive stopper on the back end. He plays a physical brand of hockey and a no-nonsense game with the puck on his stick, simply making the easy pass to alleviate pressure. He’s the kind of defenseman that every team needs to go on a deep run because of his defensive strength.

Francesco Pinelli is getting to the point where it’s do-or-die for his NHL future. He’s ever so slightly increased his production at the AHL level over the last three years, putting up a career-high 35 points in 65 games last year, but he was viewed as an offensive producer, and he hasn’t quite figured it out consistently at the pro level yet. He deserves some grace as a player who was greatly impacted by the pandemic in his draft year, but we can only use that excuse for so long. Pinelli is a highly intelligent and tactical player. He needs to start leveraging those traits more.

In his AHL rookie season, Koehn Ziemmer looked quite solid. He didn’t blow the doors off on the stat sheet, but that’s not his game. He’s always been a good shooter and a player who plays a physical brand of hockey, getting under his opponents' skin. Ziemmer looks like a player who will fit perfectly in the bottom six one day.

After spending the first half of the year in Czechia playing pro hockey, Vojtech Cihar moved to North America to play in the WHL, where he averaged a point per game over 31 games. Cihar plays with a never-ending motor and a willingness to chase down every puck. In many ways, he embodies ‘forecheck, backcheck, pay cheque’. He’s a crafty playmaker with the puck as well.

Kristian Epperson played at the University of Denver last year, putting together a solid freshman season with 22 points in 40 games. Epperson loves to get in on opposing players on the forecheck. He makes life hard for opposing players as he is always around, looking to force turnovers in the offensive half of the ice. With likely a couple of years left in college, Epperson could be a very solid complementary player at the pro level.

None expected outside of an injury replacement call-up.

Round 1, 19th overall - Elton Hermansson, RW, MoDo (Swe.)

Round 2, 46th overall - Liam Lefebvre, C, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)

Round 2, 49th overall - Adam Goljer, D, Trencin (Svk.)

Round 3, 80th overall - Blake Zielinski, C, Des Moines (USHL)

Round 3, 89th overall - Yegor Rybkin, G, Nizhny Novgorod Jr. (Rus.)

Round 4, 103rd overall - Thomas Vandenberg, C, Ottawa (OHL)

Round 5, 145th overall - Vertti Svensk, D, SaiPa Jr. (Fin.)

Round 5, 153rd overall - Giorgos Pantelas, D, Brandon (WHL)

Round 6, 177th overall - Alex Kostov, RW, Flint (OHL)

Round 7, 209th overall - Tobias Krestan, RW, HV71 Jr. (Swe.)

Round 7, 223rd overall - Lucas Ambrosio, D, Erie (OHL)

The Kings made three picks in the top 50 and five in the top 100. It was exactly what this prospect pool needed, but some of their most intriguing picks were made outside of the top 100. Overall, this was a draft class with a wide array of skill sets.

The Kings snagged one of the draft’s most skilled players in Elton Hermansson. The Swedish winger is a human highlight reel. His game can be a bit inconsistent, but when he’s on his game, he is a true game-breaker. Hermansson has some slick hands and a wicked shot. His creativity is extremely fun to watch because he can do so much with the puck. Whether he’s attempting a lacrosse goal at the U-18 Worlds or passing the puck between his legs, he’s an inventive and creative player.

Their first of two second-round picks was Liam Lefebvre, a high-energy, heavy forward. He may not have the offensive upside to be more than a bottom-six option at the next level, but he plays a physical game in all three zones. He is a good secondary scorer who can find pockets to get his shot off. He is a bit of a simple player in terms of his skill, but he can be a very effective complementary player.

Adam Goljer is a Czech blueliner who is a strong defensive presence. He does a good job in space and along the wall. Goljer is a willing physical combatant, closing quickly and hammering guys along the wall. His stick work is solid, tracking and disrupting passing lanes with good reads. Goljer could be a really solid defenseman who allows an offensively-leaning player to push the pace.

Blake Zielinski is a forward with plenty of energy and a battle-ready mindset. He is always looking to hunt pucks down, regain possession, and funnel play to the middle of the ice. His tools are good but not great, and he must work on improving his skating a bit, but he has always found a way to make himself better than the sum of his parts.

With their final pick in the top 100, Los Angeles added to their loaded goalie pipeline by selecting 6-foot-7 Russian netminder Yegor Rybkin. He is a bit on the raw side, but his athleticism and flexibility for a player his size are enviable. Rybkin has so much room for growth, but after missing half of the year with an injury and not suiting up since late November, Rybkin also presents a bit of risk. If he is healthy and gets back to his high-level play next year, he might be the best goalie in the class.

Thomas Vandenberg provides the Kings with a smart, high-motor center who plays a sound two-way game. He understands what needs to be accomplished on every shift, connecting play and working to ensure that life isn’t easy for his opponents. Vandenberg is a crafty player at the net front, cleaning up rebounds and recovering pucks around the crease. He could end up as a bottom-six player with penalty-kill utility.

The Kings made one of the most intriguing selections in the entire draft, selecting Vertti Svensk. The Finnish defender played on the wing for parts of this season because of his strength as a skater. He might be one of the most mobile players in the draft, and when in his natural position, Svensk is a true gamer. He can absolutely rip it up around the ice, impacting transition and creating unique looks in the offensive zone. Svensk is a project, to say the least, but he has one of the most intriguing tool sets in the draft class and could easily turn into a real impact player at the next level if he develops well.

A few picks after the wild child Svensk, the Kings took a steady defensive blueliner in Giorgos Pantelas. The WHL defenseman isn’t flashy, and he isn’t going to win any awards for his puck-moving, but he’s capable with the puck on his stick. His best assets are his defensive reads and his willingness to engage. He plays a very in-your-face style of game, and that is going to get him pretty far because he plays so fearlessly.

The Kings are taking a chance on a 20-year-old Alex Kostov. The winger had a very solid year in Flint, scoring at well over a point-per-game clip in the OHL for the first time in his career. His biggest drawback has always been his skating, and while that remains true, he used his 6-foot-4 frame more effectively to mitigate his skating deficiencies. Kostov is going to be a really interesting development case.

German forward Tobias Krestan, who plays in Sweden, hasn’t ever been a dominant player, but he has always found a way to put the puck in the net. It’s an interesting flyer late in the draft on a player who has plenty of development to go and a raw profile.

Capping their draft off, the Kings added OHL defender Lucas Ambrosio to the mix. He’s big and can skate, giving him a somewhat safe floor defensively, but he is a bit of a liability with the puck at times.

The Kings have done a very good job of drafting goaltenders over the last few years, building up a solid group of netminders. George and Slykynsky are two of the best goalie prospects in the NHL, and they will both be at the AHL level with the Ontario Reign. Petteri Rimpinen has been excellent at the Liiga level, playing a starter's workload with great results over the last two years. Even their draft pick from this year, Yegor Rybkin, is a goalie who has a ton of potential.

Los Angeles has drafted plenty of centers over the years that haven’t quite worked out. Quinton Byfield is a very good player, and he still has room to become a true star, but he might never reach the level once hoped for. Alex Turcotte sustained several injuries that derailed his development. Players like Martin Chromiak, Akil Thomas and Jack Hughes (the other one) just didn’t seem to work out.

Now, they are looking at Pinelli as their top center, and he’s right about being at the point of needing to figure out if he’s an NHLer or just a good AHLer. They don’t have much in terms of high-end prospects down the middle, so they are going to need to look to add to the middle in their next draft classes.

With George and Slukynsky heading to the AHL this year, Rimpinen will likely be the goalie in the system that gets forgotten a bit, as he will be playing in the Liiga once again. This year, he won’t even be at the World Junior Championship, arguably the event that put him on the map as he helped lead Finland to back-to-back runs to the medal rounds. Rimpinen is a really sound netminder who thrives because of his athleticism and play-reading ability. He has a chance to be a contender for the Goalie of the Year in the Liiga this year, only boosting his stock even further.

It’s been a few years now since Pinelli was drafted. After three solid seasons in the AHL, he has been good enough, but he hasn’t really progressed. Now 23, Pinelli is still very much the same player stylistically as he was in junior. He relies on his intelligence, plays a very tactical game, and is a true dual-threat offensive player. He just hasn’t seemed to find the extra gear he needs to this point. If he gets a shot at the NHL level, it’s likely to be in the bottom six, and he is going to have to find a way to leverage his intelligence.

LW: Vojtech Cihar, Kristian Epperson, Brendan McMorrow, Jimmy Lombardi

C: Francesco Pinelli, Liam Lefebvre, Jan Chovan, Thomas Vandenberg

RW: Elton Hermansson, Koehn Ziemmer, Blake Zielinski, James Reeder, Alex Kostov, Tobias Krestan

LD: Jakub Dvorak, Vertti Svensk, Angus Booth, Lucas Ambrosio, Will Sharpe, Jared Woolley

RD: Adam Goljer, Henry Brzustewicz, Giorgos Pantelas, Otto Salin

G: Carter George, Hampton Slukynsky, Petteri Rimpinen, Yegor Rybkin

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of the Hockey News print edition! 

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