Development Camp begins next week

The Los Angeles Kings will hold their annual Development Camp at Toyota Sports Center next-week, with on-ice workouts beginning on Monday, July 7. This will be your first opportunity to see the newest Kings prospects in person, including 2014 first round draft pick Adrian Kempe. Because this is Development Camp, and not Rookie Camp or Training Camp, the Kings’ college-based prospects are able to attend without losing their amateur status.

Defensemen:
STEPHEN HARPER: Belleville (OHL) / Camp Invite
ZAC LESLIE: Guelph (OHL): 6th round (178th overall), 2013
ALEX LINTUNIEMI: Ottawa (OHL) / 2nd round (60th overall), 2014
ROLAND MCKEOWN: Kingston (OHL) / 2nd round (50th overall), 2014
JACOB MIDDLETON: Ottawa (OHL) / 7th round (210th overall), 2014
KENNEY MORRISON: Western Michigan (NCHC) / Camp Invite
DARREN RADDYSH: Erie (OHL) / Camp Invite
KEVIN RAINE: Sudbury (OHL) / Camp Invite

Forwards:
MICHAEL AMADIO: North Bay (OHL) / 3rd round (90th overall), 2014
JUSTIN AUGER: Guelph (OHL) / 4th round (103rd overall), 2013
JOHNNY BRODZINSKI: St. Cloud State (NCHC) / 5th round (148th overall), 2013
TAYLOR BURKE: Gatineau (QMJHL) / Camp Invite
HOLDEN COOK: Owen Sound (OHL) / Camp Invite
ADRIAN KEMPE: MODO (SHL) / 1st round (29th overall), 2014
JOEL LOWRY: Cornell (ECAC) / 5th round (140th overall), 2011
JAKE MARCHMENT: Belleville (OHL) / 6th round (157th overall), 2014
CONOR MCGLYNN: Kingston (OHL) / Camp Invite
MATTHEW MISTELE: Plymouth (OHL) / 6th round (180th overall), 2014
PATRICK NEWELL: Indiana (USHL) / Camp Invite
SPENCER WATSON: Kingston (OHL) / 7th round (209th overall), 2014
VALENTIN ZYKOV: Baie Comeau (QMJHL) / 2nd round (37th overall), 2013

Goalies
PATRIK BARTOSAK: Red Deer (WHL) / 5th round (146th overall), 2013
JORDON COOKE: Kelowna (WHL) / Camp Invite
ALEC DILLON: Victoria (BCHL) / 5th round (150th overall), 2014
-Players are listed alphabetically by position; jersey numbers are not available at this time

Several observations of the camp invites:

-Stephen Harper is a converted defenseman who was previously a first round pick by Erie in the OHL priority selection and put up 24 goals and 35 points as a 16-year-old rookie in 2011-12. He also has the same name as the Canadian Prime Minister, so good luck Googling him.

-Taylor Burke has captained Gatineau in each of the last two seasons; considering he’s eligible to return to the Olympiques for his overage season, it’s not a stretch to expect that he’ll become a three-time captain this coming year.

-Another captain: Kevin Raine. Raine played out his OHL eligibility as Sudbury’s overage captain this past year before joining AHL-Portland for five games and recording one assist.

-Holden Cook had some of the more impressive stats of the camp invites, having more than doubled his 2012-13 point total with 28 goals and 57 points with Owen Sound last year. He’s listed at 6’1, 190 pounds by Elite Prospects.

-Patrick Newell played for the now-dormant Indiana Ice team that won the most recent USHL Championship. He’ll spend the upcoming year with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm before heading to St. Cloud State in the fall of 2015.

-With Newell reinforcing the St. Cloud pipeline (as an invite), the Kings are beginning to build a new pipeline in the province of Ontario. Defenseman Roland McKeown and forward Spencer Watson were drafted out of Kingston, so Conor McGlynn, a 6’2, 200-pound center who posted 12 goals and 20 points, will become the third Frontenac at this year’s camp.

-Jordon Cooke used to kill us while I was in Everett (and probably continued to do so after I left). The undersized goaltender who ran out of eligibility following a successful four-year run with Kelowna (where Kings Goaltender Development Kim Dillabaugh serves as an assistant coach), Cooke was 39-7-0-4 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .922 save percentage for a Rockets team that advanced as far as the 2014 Western Conference Final. His 2.28 GAA ranked second best amongst qualifying WHL goaltenders.