Anderson-Dolan recalled

A roster move on Thursday afternoon:

LOS ANGELES – The LA Kings have recalled forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan from Ontario (AHL), according to Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake.

Anderson-Dolan is currently in his first full professional season since being selected in the second round (41st overall) by the Kings in the 2017 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut last season, posting one point (0-1=1) in five games before being assigned to his junior team in Spokane (WHL).

So far this season with the Reign, the Calgary, Alberta native has posted 19 points (5-14=19) in 36 games. At the time of his recall he ranks first on the team in assists and second in points.

The Kings start a five-game roadtrip tonight against the Vegas Golden Knights. The game starts at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on FOX Sports West, the FOX Sports App and the LA Kings Audio Network on iHeartRadio.

It’s natural to connect the dots and correlate this recall with the Blake Lizotte lower-body injury, but I’m going to wait for Todd McLellan to speak at 5:00 p.m. before wading into the Sea of Speculation. There’s no official word on the severity of Lizotte’s injury, though McLellan shared that he’d be evaluated today and would miss “the Vegas portion of this trip.”

I’ve obviously been away for the better part of the past month, but prior to Lizotte’s injury, I wasn’t expecting Jaret to be recalled this soon. There was the understanding that he could get a handful of games in the second half of the season, but the team is also mindful of keeping its AHL-level prospect group together for as long as beneficial in the interest of building chemistry that will bear fruit upon their more permanent graduation to the NHL. Of course, injuries have the potential to derail those best laid plans, and the Kings will need reinforcement on their trip through Vegas, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida and Philadelphia, so JAD is up and we’ll have better sense on Lizotte and the context of the talented forward’s recall from Todd in a few hours. The roster move brings the active roster to 23 players.

Anderson-Dolan’s last NHL game was on October 18, 2018, a 7-2 home loss to the New York Islanders. His assist last season came as the result of his trademark motor as he won a battle for a puck and centered it to Michael Amadio, who beat Carey Price in a 3-0 Los Angeles win in Montreal’s home opener.