Kings “would like to move down” in first round + Mark Yannetti previews 2025 NHL Draft

The LA Kings enter the week holding the 24th overall selection in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft.

As of this writing today, that’s where we’re at. Doesn’t mean that won’t be the case come Friday evening, however, when teams start to make their selections, beginning with the New York Islanders.

Mark Yannetti, the Kings Director of Amateur Scouting, made clear what his preferences are for this season. He’d like to move down in the draft and isn’t shy about disclosing that.

“I would like to move down,” Yannetti said. “If you look at movement scenarios, like moving from 24 to 25, you’re very limited in your movement scenarios at 24 it just there’s multiple things that don’t make sense. Ones that make sense might be San Jose and Philadelphia especially would make sense. You can have too many draft picks, people are starting to realize that I think. It used to be that more is better but you’re starting to see log jams, you’re starting to see it. The good news is, if you pick successfully and you pick the right players, well now they can’t all play and now you lose guys. It happened to us and we didn’t even have – you’re seeing teams with four first-round picks, three first-round picks, multiple years in a row. It doesn’t work in that you’re going to lose a lot of high-level players and you’re going to make wrong decisions on who to keep because of sample size. I think teams are starting to see that.”

Those two teams make a lot of sense, right?

San Jose has three picks (30, 33, 53) between the Kings’ current selection 24 and their second pick of the day at 88. Philadelphia actually has five picks (31, 36, 40, 48, 68) in that range and that’s after they traded pick 45 today to Anaheim. The Kings are without their second-round selection after they moved it at last year’s draft, as a part of the package that went towards acquiring forward Tanner Jeannot. As such, the Kings certainly wouldn’t mind adding an additional pick into the fold, especially if they believe that they can come out ahead. Whether that be trading down in Round 1 and acquiring a second-round pick, or perhaps two higher-level second-round picks, there is a desire to move down in Los Angeles.

Look no further than last season for a proof of concept.

The Kings entered the day with the 20th overall selection and wound up trading back six spots in Round 1, acquiring a second-round pick in the process. As a result, the Kings selected forward Liam Greentree at 26, who was a player from the tier they would have selected from at 20 as well. Step 1, success. The plan hinged, though, on goaltender Carter George being available with the newly acquired second-round selection and as things unfolded, he was.

The models the Kings have built and rely on internally gave Yannetti confidence that the Kings could get who they wanted in Round 1 while also reacquiring that second-round selection as well. That made that trade a win for the Kings. This season, it sounds like bit more of a give and take, but still something that could be a win for the Kings.

If they move down six to ten picks in this year’s draft, Yannetti admitted the Kings might drop down a tier on their own rankings, but they would also likely add a second pick in a much higher tier than they would have had otherwise. That creates value in itself.

“It makes sense for a team like Philly or San Jose to move and this is just me reading a situation, it doesn’t mean that they believe the same thing,
but it makes sense for me,” Yannetti. “I think there’s a tier [of drop off] there, some other teams might think there’s two tiers there, like it could be even worse and you could be even losing two tiers, but I think the majority of teams would say in eight picks, you know, 24 to 31 or 24 to 32 you’re losing a tier. So, while we’re giving up that tier potentially, if you’re taking a 40, 45, or 48, you’re making up for losing that tier with a much higher level guy than we’d get at 88.”

The Kings have seen their own prospect pool depleted a bit over the last few years, as the focus has shifted to winning at the NHL level. The Kings didn’t have a third-round pick last year and didn’t pick in the first round in 2022 or 2023. Without that trade, they wouldn’t have picked in the second round either. That does add up. The Kings have traded multiple draft picks, along with a couple of prospects to acquire veteran, NHL-caliber players. As such, beyond Liam Greentree and three very good goaltending prospects, the Kings have fewer skaters at that top level than say three years ago.

Therefore, adding two players instead of one from the first couple of rounds could go a long way towards restocking the cupboards and if the Kings can do so without sacrificing a ton of quality, they are certainly motivated to go in that direction.

Yannetti also confirmed that he’ll be the guy pulling the strings for the Kings this season. Ken Holland joined in May and he has communicated to Yannetti things he likes and values with prospects, but Holland’s focus is on getting the Kings further in the playoffs and ultimately pursuing a championship. If the Kings trade their first-round pick for an NHL-caliber player, it’ll be Holland making that call. If the Kings trade their first-round pick to move back, it’ll be Yannetti’s directive. Yannetti also indicated that he’s met with Tyler Wright, who helped run the draft under Holland in the past, but it will be Yannetti in charge of the draft, with Wright in the room supporting.

“Ken is here for a purpose,” Yannetti said.”He’s not working for the LA Kings for the long game he’s here to help us win a Stanley Cup, arguably, in the next few years, maybe, god willing, more. So his job is to come in here and turn an almost there team into a true contender, which means that the focus is for Kenny is not the amateur side. So, I’ve had some discussions with him, he was at the combine, he sat in on a bunch of players, more so the higher guys, just so he would understand who our potential pick would be.”

As it comes to actually making the picks, in looking at the week ahead, the work is basically done on the first round of the draft, whether the Kings trade the pick or not. If the Kings pick at 24, they know what their tiers look like. If they move to 31, same thing. Looking at the rest of the draft, Yannetti isn’t one to waste time, noting that scouting assignments for his staff continue through the end of the week, as the Kings finalize their draft board. He said that all information from the combine, both through interviews and through physical testing, has all been factored into the Kings list and their rankings. It’s last-minute things that could sway a player not by massive steps, but perhaps within a tier. That’s the level of detail with one week to go.

Full interview with Yannetti will be available below. Includes his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of this draft, the 2024 draft class 12 months in review and so much more. Really good conversation with a ton of information heading into a big weekend!