Kings Recall Tobias Bjornfot on Emergency Basis

A short note here this morning, Insiders, as the team has touched ground in Seattle.

The Kings have recalled defenseman Tobias Bjornfot from the AHL’s Ontario Reign on an emergency basis. Bjornfot will join the team here in the Pacific Northwest, where the Kings are preparing to take on the Seattle Kraken tomorrow evening at Climate Pledge Arena.

More to come on the overall landscape as it pertains to injured players later in the day today, but for now, Bjornfot has played in eight games this season, tallying one assist. He’s significantly more experienced than that, however, and has played in 114 games with the Kings since he was drafted in 2019. Despite spending the bulk of this season at the AHL level, Bjornfot is one of 14 players from his draft class with 100+ games played at the NHL level.

At his best, Bjornfot is a smooth skater, capable of contributing at both ends of the ice by using his legs both to defend and to activate offensively. Bjornfot’s best evaluations typically have come after games when he’s used his skating ability to his advantage, to assert himself and his style of play on the game. That word “assertive” has been key and it’s something that Todd McLellan has mentioned frequently when evaluating Bjornfot. Thouugh he’s never been a huge point producer, especially in the NHL, Bjornfot does has the ability to contribute at that end of the ice. He’s comfortable and familiar with a wide array of the team’s right-handed shooting defensemen (500+ minuts at 5-on-5 with both Matt Roy and Sean Durzi since entering the NHL) so he would be a seamless slot in from that perspective.

Bjornfot’s recall comes after Mikey Anderson sustained an injury during last night’s game against Edmonton, after he was boarded from behind by Oilers forward Connor McDavid. Remains to be seen if Bjornfot will check into the lineup tomorrow and we’ll likely get a better sense for that come the morning. Remains to be seen what the extent of Anderson’s injury is, with no update available following the game. As noted above, will dive a bit deeper into the options the Kings have, should Anderson be unable to go, which will drop later on this afternoon.

More to follow today, Insiders. The Kings won’t hold a full-team practice today in Seattle, but back in California it’s an Ontario Reign game day, which could also entail Alex Laferriere’s professional debut. More to follow on both fronts!