Kings trim roster by three + Day 7 groupings/lines & a lookahead to Frozen Fury

Good Morning, Insiders!

With the first two games of the exhibition season behind us, we now look ahead to the back-to-back against Vegas, beginning with Frozen Fury in Salt Lake City tomorrow evening.

First things first though, the Kings announced a few roster moves today, with three players heading to their respective junior teams, in advance of the start to the CHL season.

The Kings have assigned forwards Martin Chromiak (Kingston) and Francesco Pinelli (Kitchener) to their respective OHL teams, while the organization has released defenseman Cade McNelly from his training-camp tryout, with the 19-year-old blueliner returning to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants.

All three players made their NHL preseason debuts over the last 48 hours, with Chromiak and McNelly skating in Arizona, and Pinelli playing last night in San Jose. Chromiak departs camp having upped his standing in the eyes on many, with an impressive performance during the Rookie Faceoff in Arizona, carrying into main camp. Pinelli showcased some of why he was selected by the Kings in the early second round this past draft, while the tough, physical McNelly tallied an assist and a fight in his preseason debut.

The Kings training camp roster now sits at 56 players.

Speaking of the camp roster…..we’re down to two groups per day, with Group B scheduled to begin the day today at 11:30 AM at Toyota Sports Performance Center, followed by Group A at 1 PM. Here’s how the Kings are slated to align today –

Group A
Viktor Arvidsson – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Vladimir Tkachev – Phillip Danault – Alex Iafallo
Adrian Kempe – Gabe Vilardi – Lias Andersson
Trevor Moore – Quinton Byfield – Austin Wagner
Brendan Lemieux – Blake Lizotte – Carl Grundstrom
Rasmus Kupari

Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Tobias Bjornfot – Matt Roy
Alex Edler – Sean Walker
Olli Maatta – Kale Clague

Jonathan Quick
Cal Petersen

Group B
Tyler Madden – Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Samuel Fagemo
Arthur Kaliyev – Alex Turcotte – Martin Frk
Johan Sodergran – TJ Tynan – Adam Johnson
Nikita Pavlychev – Aidan Dudas – Jacob Doty
Brayden Burke – Brett Sutter – Brett Kemp

Christian Wolanin – Austin Strand
Jacob Moverare – Jordan Spence
Cameron Gaunce – Sean Durzi
Markus Phillips – Helge Grans

Garret Sparks
Matt Villalta
Jacob Ingham
Lukas Parik
John Lethemon

Frozen Fury Lies Ahead
After today’s practice day, the Kings return to their exhibition schedule, with games on consecutive dates against the Vegas Golden Knights. The two teams will square off in Salt Lake City, Utah tomorrow evening at 7 PM Pacific for the return of Frozen Fury, followed by a Friday-night faceoff at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.

Todd McLellan indicated earlier this week that he does not plan to bring a roster of 50 players with him on this trip, so expect to see further roster moves made, or a group of players to remain in Southern California on this trip. With the AHL’s Ontario Reign set to open training camp on Sunday, expect to see a larger series of roster moves announced at some point between now and then.

The game tomorrow evening in Salt Lake City is exciting because it will be the first game in front of a large crowd in an NHL-sized building since before the pandemic. With a large turnout expected, it will be cool to see the game played as we fondly remember it.

The game will also be the first televised game of the preseason (comment section rejoice). The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT, as a part of a preseason doubleheader that also includes Bruins – Flyers at 4:30 PM. The Kings – Golden Knights game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM Pacific time. As previously noted, all remaining postseason games will be broadcasted locally, including Friday’s game on NHL Network. Bally Sports West will carry the Kings two home games on October 5 and October 9, while Bally Sports SoCal will carry the game in Anaheim on October 6.

As a part of the trip to Utah, the Kings are scheduled to hold youth hockey clinics over the next two days, as well as a Fan Fest tomorrow in advance of the game. Fan Fest is scheduled to be held from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM, with a beer garden, merchandise stands, food trucks, photo ops, etc. More information on Frozen Fury can be found here.

More to come following today’s skate!

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