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Looking to the Future

Kings prospects Laferriere, Faber, Lee honored for NCAA performance

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Good Morning, Insiders!

With the majority of the attention on the Ontario Reign personnel when it comes to the Kings’ deep prospect pool, many of the younger Kings prospects outside of the AHL have continued to have impressive seasons at their respective levels.

Following the conclusion of the NCAA regular season, three Kings prospects earned nominations and awards for their noteworthy and eye-catching campaigns, standing out amongst the top players in their respective conferences.

Brock Faber, University of Minnesota
All Big Ten 1st Team, Big Ten Defensive Player Of The Year

Hopefully Brock Faber has a sky miles card because he has taken his talent over the world this season and has thrived while doing so. The sophomore defenseman from Maple Grove, Minnesota was drafted by the Kings in the second round of the 2020 Draft when GM Rob Blake, Director of Scouting Mark Yannetti and company traded up for the two-way, lockdown defenseman to get him with the 45th overall pick.

This season, not only has Faber been a standout for the No. 2 nationally-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, but he has also represented the United States at the 2022 World Junior Championships and at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, leading the team in time on ice in the latter. Back at Minnesota, Faber appeared in 27 games and recorded 12 points (2-10-12). Faber was nominated for Big 10 defenseman of the year alongside the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2021 Draft and University of Michigan Wolverine Owen Power and Ohio State University blueliner Mason Lohrei.

Additionally, Faber was selected to the All Big Ten First Team, adding to an already growing slate of awards. As a freshman during the 2020-21 season, Faber was a Big Ten All-Freshman Team selection, Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and a finalist for Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He was also selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team prior to the 2021-22 season.

Alex Laferriere, University of Harvard
ECAC Freshman of the Year, Third Team All-ECAC and ECAC All-Rookie Team

In his first year at Harvard University, Laferriere, a 2020 Kings third-round draft pick (83rd overall) led a very young Harvard Crimson team in goals (14) and points (27) in 29 games this season. In route to a 17-9-3 record, Laferriere has helped the Crimson to the ECAC Tournament semifinals as they will face off against Clarkston University at 4:30 pm on Friday, March 18th.

“He’s having an outstanding season,” Kings Director, Player Personnel Nelson Emerson said. “He works, he competes, he skates, he’s the kind of player you pull for, because he wasn’t a high draft pick, but he does all the right things. If you watch the way we play, the way Todd wants us to play, this kid will fit right into that.”

I spoke with Laferriere earlier this season about his year and journey up to this point, see here.

The right-handed New Jersey native has earned the ECAC Freshman of the Year Award, Third Team All-ECAC and All-Rookie Team honors. A first-year collegiate player from Des Moines of the USHL, Laferriere was selected as the Buccaneers’ Team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, prior to joining Harvard this past fall.

Andre Lee, UMASS Lowell
Third Team All-Hockey East

The Kings seventh-round selection in the 2019 Draft has been nothing short of a force to be reckoned with this season. Standing at 6’4″ and 204 LBS, the Karlstad, Sweden native led the No. 14 nationally ranked River Hawks in goals with 16 and was tied for first on the team with 26 points. With the help of Lee’s contributions, UMass-Lowell placed second in the Hockey East Conference ahead of their interstate blue blood rivals Boston College and Boston University.

Lee has earned Third Team All-Hockey East honors, as he ranked fourth in the conference in goals scored this season in Hockey East play. Previously in his collegiate career, Lee won G. Harvey Chandler Award, presented annually to the team’s top scorer.

Faber and Lee appear to be looking at the upcoming NCAA Tournament, while Laferriere’s Harvard would need to win the ECAC’s Automatic Bid. All three players are set to play in their conference tournaments this weekend. Lee and fellow Kings draft pick Ben Meehan are set to take on Jonathan Quick’s alma mater, Massachusetts, on Friday evening, with Laferriere and Harvard will face Clarkson in the ECAC semifinals on the same day. Faber and Minnesota will square off against Michigan in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday.

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