Rookie Practice 9/15 – New Line Combinations, Possibilities For Tomorrow, Jared Woolley Interview

No games today, Insiders, but that doesn’t mean a day off for the LA Kings rookies.

The group took to the ice today for a practice day, skating for nearly an hour before heading off to the beach to enjoy the afternoon in the sun. The skate was’t anything groundbreaking. Legs got loose, some full-ice work with some different line combinations than we’ve seen in Games 1 and 2. Some smaller-area games towards the end and a couple of shootout situations for fun to end things off.

In terms of lines, we saw a few changes to what we’ve seen in Games 1 and 2. Here’s how the Kings lined up today –

Greentree – Pinelli – Jamsen
Ziemmer – Wise – Brodzinski
Olson – Woodworth – Lawrence
Parker-Jones – Caderoth – Tulk
Davis – Moynihan – Neutens

Dvorak – Clarke
Krygier – Vaughan
Woolley – Booth
Rowe – Millar
Berge – Mania

No particular order, especially with regards to the defensemen, but that’s the order they ran through during the first set of line-specific drills. I’m not expecting Brandt Clarke to play tomorrow, per say, but that should give a decent indication of what we’ll see. In talking with Marco Sturm after the skate, he did note that the Kings could see something different tomorrow with regards to the lines and pairings, so we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

In terms of the goaltenders, the Kings have five and four have seen time in this showcase to date. Sturm said we’ll “see two” of them tomorrow, but didn’t offer specifics. The likely candidates would be Samuel St-Hilaire and Carter George, when you look at how the minutes have been deployed to date. Not sure what order, or what split, but would certainly point to those guys getting an opportunity to play. Will have more from George specifically in tomorrow’s game preview article.

The team will have a skate tomorrow morning but I’d expect it to be lightly attended, likely just for the players who are not playing. The Kings host the Ducks at 3:30 PM at Toyota Sports Performance Center to conclude the Rookie Faceoff tomorrow evening.

Focusing in today on one player in particular, how about young defenseman Jared Woolley.

He’s young by age, as a 2024 draft pick, but he’s young on experience as well even for that group.

Woolley began last season playing Junior B hockey in Canada before he latched on with the OHL’s London Knights. Once he got there, he never left, establishing himself as a lineup regular with one of the best teams in the OHL, both from the standpoint of on-ice performance and player development.

The Kings actually liked Woolley as a prospect even before he reached the OHL. They were almost hoping he might have continued to fly under the radar but they still selected him 164th overall in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft in Vegas. Woolley attended development camp over the summer in El Segundo and he’s now skating in his first Rookie Faceoff. With that comes a step up in competition from the OHL to these games.

In speaking with Sturm this morning, he’s liked what he’s seen from Woolley. He knows that the runway is longer, that he’ll need some work along the way, but the first impression has been strong.

“There’s definitely something there,” Sturm said of Woolley. “He has that size, he can actually move, he has good reach, he had a good fight yesterday, so that really opened a lot of eyes, but there’s also a lot of stuff we have to teach as well. There’s definitely something to him. You can see it, you can feel it. With some of the kids, you can’t wait [to work with them] and he’s one of them.”

I see Woolley as a developmental prospect who the Kings are committed to working with. It’s not going to be an overnight thing, certainly, but there’s a lot to work with. The size and stature are there and you can’t teach those things. Woolley seems to be a player who is easy to work with and he’s one to keep in the back of your mind as he continues to develop in junior hockey over the next two seasons.

I spoke with Woolley after today’s practice session, sharing a few of his quotes below –

Jared Woolley Interview
On his first development camp and how he’s taking on the experience
It’s been pretty good. Obviously being the first one, it’s something new and something you kind of look forward to when you get drafted. So it’s been fun so far. I’m just taking it all in and enjoying it. It’s not going to be my last one of these, so I’m trying to make the most of it.

On the pace of these games, compared to what he’s played against in the OHL
I mean, it’s faster. You’re obviously playing with lot of good talent out there, but going from Junior B to the OHL last year, you know that it gets faster at each level, so you know it’s coming. I think I’ve handled the change in pace alright.

On the advice he’s gotten from the coaches and development staff over the last week or so
I think just trust myself. Sometimes, there’s plays that maybe you don’t think you can make it, but it’s just trust your abilities and do what you can do.

Kings versus Ducks tomorrow at 3:30 PM at Toyota Sports Performance Center. Josh Schaefer will have a feature story tonight on defenseman Angus Booth, with a game preview set to drop tomorrow morning to preview the tournament finale.