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Looking to the Future

Martin Chromiak preparing to take another step forward after strong finish to 2024-25

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Martin Chromiak has started his summer off on the right foot. After setting new career-highs in multiple scoring categories with the Ontario Reign in his third AHL campaign, Chromiak extended his season for a few weeks longer than his teammates when he joined Slovakia at the 2025 IIHF World Championships last month.

The winger appeared in seven games at the international event, the second time he’s been chosen to participate by Slovakia at the senior level. LA’s fifth-round pick in 2020 then signed a new contract extension earlier this month, locking him in with the organization for another year on a two-way pact.

“I was extremely excited that I can be back for another year, and I can’t wait to be back in LA,” Chromiak said via phone from Slovakia this week. “That was my goal after the season, to re-sign and come back. I’m very happy that I’m not going anywhere.”

The Kings made the speedy scorer a priority early in the offseason, with his place in the pecking order indicating his importance. Chromiak, who will turn 23 in August ahead of the upcoming 2025-26 year, finished with the fifth-most goals of any skater on Ontario’s roster with 18, behind Samuel Fagemo who is the club’s all-time goalscoring leader with 132 in 268 games, and three older veteran forwards in Glenn Gawdin, Jeff Malott and Charles Hudon.

Other than center Francesco Pinelli, 22, who posted 15 goals for Ontario in his second pro season, Chromiak is one of the Kings’ only prospects with high-end skill in his age range. Now, as he prepares for his fourth pro year, he’s looking to continue showing he can be a go-to guy with Ontario and position himself for his first NHL call-up. All begins with a strong summer.

“I just want to do the same thing as I always do in the summer,” said Chromiak at the conclusion of the AHL season. “As I get older, I just want to gain strength and speed and be prepared for next season as best as I can.”

A spot in the Reign lineup’s top-6 opened for Chromiak when Malott joined the Kings on March 26 after an injury to veteran Tanner Jeannot. The Ilava, Slovakia native earned that opportunity after posting a four-point weekend just prior to Malott’s recall via a pair of road games in Iowa, scoring a goal and three assists. Including that performance, Chromiak racked up 13 points in the final 13 games of the regular season and nine points on five goals and four assists while playing alongside Gawdin and Hudon on the Reign’s top line in the last 11 contests.

“I think at the end of the season, when I was playing with those older guys and the best players on our team, that helped me a lot and I gained a lot of confidence being in that spot,” said Chromiak. “So that’s my goal for next year, to be one of them, one of the leaders on our team.”

Although he only found the back of the net once in regulation and scored one shootout goal during the seven games he appeared in at the World Championships, Chromiak had an opportunity to play against plenty of NHL regulars, as Slovakia saw matchups against traditional hockey powers like Sweden, Canada and Finland. Just a small sampling of names he saw up close included Filip Forsberg, Mika Zibanejad, Jacob Markstrom, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan O’Reilly.

“It was unreal,” Chromiak said of his experience, which was hosted by two countries, Sweden and Denmark. “Playing against Sidney Crosby or those types of guys like MacKinnon, it was crazy being on the ice against them. I think everyone enjoyed it, and we tried our best.”

This also wasn’t the first time Chromiak was chosen for Slovakia’s squad. He previously showcased himself during the 2023 event, which was held in Finland and Latvia. After finishing his rookie AHL season with 15 goals and 28 points as a member of Ontario, the 6-foot, 190-pound attacker scored the first goal of the tournament against Czechia.

“It’s always great playing for my country and being with all my friends, we grew up together,” Chromiak said. “It was a great time. Unfortunately, we didn’t do as good as we wanted to, but we had a very young team and all the teams in our group were really good, so we were a little disappointed that it didn’t go further, but still a great experience and I’m always proud to represent my country.”

He even received a visit from Fagemo and Andre Lee, two of his European Reign teammates whom Chromiak has gotten to know well over the last three years. The pair attended Slovakia’s opening game against Sweden, their home country, which was played in Stockholm.

But when the trio reunited before the game got underway, Chromiak made sure there wasn’t any confusion about who they would be rooting for.

“They told me this is the only time they will be cheering for me and not Sweden,” Chromiak said with a chuckle. “They were sitting with our families and my parents in the Slovakian seats, so they had to cheer for us.”

Now, after a few weeks of rest, Chromiak’s offseason training program has begun. He’ll be with LA for the start of the team’s training camp in September, but if he isn’t able to secure a spot on the opening night roster, he’s focused on making an even bigger impact with the Reign.

The first task would be proving himself to whoever is selected as Ontario’s new bench boss, an opening that still has to be filled after Marco Sturm was hired as the head coach of the Boston Bruins last week. It took some time for Sturm to trust Chromiak, but the two developed a good relationship, which eventually saw the scorer at his best down the stretch. Whoever takes over will make it a priority to unlock Chromiak’s speed and skill and utilize his best assets.

“I think it will be different, for sure, but it was the same when I first came to LA and I didn’t know Marco,” Chromiak said. “I had to earn his trust. I think it’ll be a little different, but I’ve been with the team and I’ve played a lot of games. I plan to show the coach from the first day who I am as a player.”

Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images

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