Kings sign forward Drake Rymsha to entry-level contract

The LA Kings announced today that they have signed forward Drake Rymsha to a three-year, entry-level contract.

From the team’s press release:

The 20-year-old Rymsha (born on Aug. 6, 1998) is a 6-0, 187-pound prospect from Huntington Woods, Mich. He appeared in 68 regular season games last season for Sarnia (OHL), where he posted 73 points (31-42=73), a plus-11 rating and 70 penalty minutes. Among team-leaders, he ranked second in points, third in goals, and fourth in assists and power play goals (9). He tallied nine points (3-6=9) and 10 penalty minutes in 12 postseason games.

In total, Rymsha has compiled 156 points (74-82-156) from 227 career games at the OHL level with London, Ottawa and Sarnia. After he went undrafted in his original draft year in 2016, Rymsha had his breakout season during the 2016-17 campaign as he totaled 62 points from 65 games split between Ottawa and Sarnia, leading to his selection in the fifth round by the Kings.

From Kings Director of Amateur Scouting Mark Yannetti after the Rymsha selection in 2017 –

Rymsha, he’s a kid who burns to play hockey and has that higher end speed. Those higher end picks, you need a special intangible to play in the NHL, and his compete is probably only second to his speed, and then you throw in the fact that at one point this year when he was traded to Sarnia he had [20 goals in 28 games], and while you don’t expect that, it’s certainly not a bad attribute to have. Again, if you see something in these later round picks that stands out, that stands out. His worst-case scenario is if the offensive doesn’t materialize if it did in a short period of time, he’s a wide-bodied, heavy kid with complete skating. That’s one of those later round picks where I think he’s safe. In the late rounds, I think you can look for safe, but there’s that glimpse that maybe that offense that showed up in a small time frame becomes a more consistent part of his game.

For the 2018-19 season, Rymsha is eligible to begin his professional career or return to juniors for an overage season, similar to Austin Wagner’s situation a season ago. Unlike his other mates from the 2017 draft class, Rymsha is AHL eligible and could spend the full season with Ontario if that is the plan set forth for him.