Kings sign defenseman Angus Booth to three-year, entry-level contract (AAV: $852,500)

A bit of news for you here on this Friday morning.

The LA Kings have signed defenseman Angus Booth to a three-year, entry-level contract, carrying an average annual value (AAV) of $852,500 per season. Booth, a fourth-round selection of the Kings in 2022, is currently playing his fourth season of major-junior hockey in the QNMJHL with the Shawinigan Cataractes. Booth has served as a team captain in each of the last two seasons and played every game on his team’s run to the QMJHL’s President’s Cup Finals in 2022.

Instant Analysis
When the Kings selected Angus Booth in 2022, he was coming off a deep playoff run, where he played in a depth role on a really strong Shawinigan squad. The reports on him were all very similar.

Projects as a two-way player, strong skater, solid defender with a good first pass. All-in-all, a relable defenseman. Reports didn’t seem to have that dagger of a trait, or a dagger of a flaw. A lot of really good things that, when moulded together, formed a pretty exciting draft pick where the Kings selected him. Sometimes players like that can fall under the radar. Without that eye-popping trait, it raises questions of how well a solid overall game can translate to higher levels. With Booth, perhaps that’s why the Kings were able to get a player they liked with a mid-round pick.

Take it no further than a loose comparison Mark Yannetti made when we spoke with him after the 2022 NHL Draft, when the Kings selected Booth. While it was not like to like, Yannetti used Mikey Anderson as a comparable as it pertains to the inner-drive the players have.

“Mikey has an inner burn and a drive. [Booth] has it as well. Mikey has it in spade, Booth still needs to develop it more… There are some similarities. Mikey [at that age] defended a shade better, but Booth is a much better skater.”

Anderson was also a fourth-round selection by the Kings. Come to think of it, so were Alec Martinez, Jordan Spence and Jacob Moverare. Not a bad crop.

When speaking with Booth at development camp over the summer, he was focused on adding strength to his frame, which will be needed as he eventually makes the jump from junior hockey to professional hockey. Booth added both weight and muscle over the offseason, which certainly helps him in the here and now, but has longer-term goals in mind. In signing his first professional contract, Booth will be expected to maket he jump into the professional ranks – likely at the AHL level first – where he’ll encounter bigger and stronger players. As a defenseman, he’ll need to be able to handle that.

“They just wanted me to get stronger and I think I did that,” he said over the summer. “I’m still doing that this summer too. I think it’s a really important summer for me just putting on weight and muscle because when you get to the main camp [in September] and it’s all adults the there all man sized, it’s a different game for sure.”

Add in the fact that he’s captained his team in two, consecutive seasons coming out of the draft and there’s a lot to like when it comes to Booth. Good for the young man to earn his contract and good for the Kings in adding a nice piece to the puzzle.

In looking at the pipeline on the left side, the Kings have their NHL group locked up for next season, with four players who have played NHL games here in 2023 under contract at least through the end of the 2024-25 campaign. Beyond that, the Kings have defenseman Jakub Dvorak who will likely have three years remaining on his own entry-level contract, plus blueliners Cole Krygier and Kim Nousiainen, who each have one year left. That’s a crowded group, but among younger players, the Kings have only Brandt Clarke as a right-shot in the pipeline. Lots of opportunity when you look at the overall picture and Booth will be keen to seize it.

As a 19-year-old player, Booth will likely finish out his season in the QMJHL, where he’ll look to lead Shawinigan on another postseason run. Though his team’s season hasn’t gone quite as well as the 2021-22 group, the bulk of the league qualifies for postseason play. Should he conclude his junior season before the NHL or AHL seasons end, Booth would be eligible to join the Kings or Reign, including the latter on a try out basis, to preserve the first year of his contract. Down the road though. A nice moment for Booth, who’s ocked in now for the Kings as one for the future.

From the team’s official release –
The LA Kings have signed defenseman Angus Booth to a three-year, entry-level contract worth an average annual value (AAV) of $852,500.

Booth, 19, has tallied two goals and 12 assists for 14 points (2-12=14) in 29 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) this season, his fourth campaign with the club. Named captain in his third season with Shawinigan, the 6-1, 176-pound defenseman posted 19 points (3-16=19) in 62 appearances with the Cataractes last year and added five points (1-4=5) in five playoff contests.

Selected by the Kings in the fourth round (116th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Booth’s best junior season came in the 2021-22 campaign where he collected a career-high 23 points (1-22=23) in 42 games, and four points (2-2=4) in 16 playoff outings to help the Cataractes capture the QMJHL Gilles-Courteau Trophy as the playoff champions. The Montreal, Quebec native has accumulated 59 points (6-53=59) in 166 career QMJHL games and nine points (3-6=9) in 26 career playoff games.