The LA Kings rookies hit the ice tomorrow morning at 10 AM at Toyota Sports Performance Center. Hockey is just about back!
With that in mind, sharing 10 storylines or concepts I’ve got my eye on heading into rookie camp this week. There are certain players I’ll be trying to watch more than perhaps others. Same, even, with groups of people. Guys who might be in Ontario this season or highly-selected prospects, guys like that.
I’ll have a lot more in coming days, after getting the chance to speak with players and Head Coach Andrew Lord. That’ll come. But here’s where I’m at going in. Here are the players/storylines I’ve got my eye on heading into rookie camp and the Rookie Faceoff this weekend.
1. Green(tree) Day
Headlining the Kings roster at the 2025 Rookie Faceoff will be forward Liam Greentree, the organization’s top offensive prospect. Greentree is coming to training camp on a mission, even if it’s a longshot of a mission. As it pertains to the Kings roster picture at the NHL level, consider Greentree on the bubble. With a ton of veterans in place, I’m not counting on it. I’m also not counting a very impressive young player out of any equation. In a perfect world, Greentree would be playing professional hockey this season with the NHL and AHL both serving as options. Unfortunately, a rule that would allow that for him as a 19-year-old player is not likely to come into fruition until next fall, so it’ll be NHL or OHL for Greentree.
While Brandt Clarke’s 2022-23 season is the obvious comparable for a nine-game look, Alex Laferriere’s 2023-24 season goes to show just how impactful a really strong performance at the Rookie Faceoff can be on individual momentum. He was the best player for the Kings in that tournament and just kept on scoring and turning heads in main camp. Suddenly, a guy from off the radar dressed on Opening Night. The process starts for Greentree this week.
More from Greentree HERE on his ambitions heading into the 2025-26 season.
2. King George
I expect it to be Carter George leading the LA Kings on to the ice for at least one of the games this weekend.
The 2024 second-round pick was one of the best goaltenders in the OHL last season. He was Team Canada’s starting goaltender at the 2025 World Junior Championships and was the runner-up for the league’s goaltender of the year for the 2024-25 season. His surface-level numbers aren’t all that impressive until you factor in that he was under siege more than any goaltender in the OHL. Per SportLOGIQ, George saved more than 48 goals above expected, leading the league. Kid can play. Expect to see 70 in black and white in net this weekend.
3. Hammerin’ Hank
Joining OHL standouts Greentree and George will be 2025 first-round selection Henry Brzustewicz, who will play games in a Kings jersey for the first time on Saturday.
Brzustewicz fell to the Kings at 31st overall, after the team took a calculated risk in trading down seven spots in Round 1. They liked Brzustewicz at 24 but felt they could hopefully get him at 31 while amassing a future draft pick in the process. Brzustewicz played in more of a two-way role in the OHL last season but should be unleashed as the top dog in London on the right side starting this fall, with a couple of older players moving on to the professional ranks. Brzustewicz has more offense in his game than the numbers showed and looks the part of a smart and capable puck mover. Excited to see him on the ice this weekend.
More inside the Brzustewicz pick HERE.
4. Wool Over The Eyes
Alongside Brzustewicz on a pairing this weekend? Could be his London teammate Jared Woolley. The duo played together in London’s preseason opener and Woolley told me over the summer he expects them to play together a ton this season.
While Brzustewicz is very well known, Woolley is less so. Externally, that is. I haven’t seen the stock of a young player rise like I have with Woolley inside the organization. The Kings traded up to get him at the 2024 NHL Draft and he’s very highly thought of as a future NHL defenseman. It’s a long road to that point and there are no certainties. But of all the later-round selections, Woolley is definitely one of the most exciting in the Kings pipeline.
More on Woolley and his partnership with Brzustewicz HERE.
5. Make It Reign
The Kings have eight players expected to play in these games who played AHL games last season with the Ontario Reign.
Headlining that group is defenseman Angus Booth, who played in 50 AHL games last season as a rookie. He’s probably in the mix to captain the squad or at least wear a letter. Booth, a fourth-round selection by the Kings in 2022, is expected to be a key contributor on the backend in Ontario this season and could play his way into the call-up mix. Think Mikey Anderson style of player.
It’s also our first look at this tournament for Jared Wright. Wright is an absolute burner of a skater and the way he plays will endear him to coaches. Of all the players on the roster, I think he might be the closest to playing NHL games. The Kings love him internally. He’ll start in the AHL but I certainly wouldn’t be shocked if he found his way onto an NHL rink this season.
6. Lord Of The Rings
New Ontario Reign Head Coach Andrew Lord will be behind the bench, coaching the Kings rookies across these two games. Lord was previously the Head Coach of the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the ECHL affiliate of the Kings, and has attended several Kings rookie camps in the past in a hockey operations role. But it was Marco Sturm’s bench, with the rest of the Reign coaching staff alongside him. Now it’s Lord’s turn to lead the squad.
Will hear from Lord a lot over the next handful of days. Embedding a Lord interview below from over the summer, for some content, but this event is a bit different. It’s more about individual prospects than the team and Lord will be a good voice for a status update on where he sees certain players being within the Kings system.
7. We’ve Got A First Timer Here
On top of Brzustewicz and Wright, this is our first look at several Kings prospects at this event. While this entire group attended development camp over the summer, this is a bit more like real hockey, with actual games against other teams in a tournament-style format.
Making their Kings Rookie Faceoff debuts are the following nine draft picks –
Forwards: Jan Chovan, Kenny Connors, Jack Hughes, Jimmy Lombardi, Jared Wright
Defensemen: Henry Brzustewicz, Kirill Kirsanov, Otto Salin, Will Sharpe
Chovan, Lombardi, Brzustewicz and Sharpe were 2025 draft selections. Connors, Hughes and Wright played NCAA hockey while Kirsanov and Salin played in Europe. Lots of different players in very different stages in their respective careers. Expecting a couple of standouts from this group in the games this weekend.
8. Absentee Ballots
So who won’t you see this weekend?
Players playing college hockey are not eligible to play in the rookie tournament with school in session. That likely deprives us of seeing Hampton Slukynsky in goal for one of the two games. It also means that players like Kristian Epperson and Ryan Conmy won’t be able to play, as they prepare for their respective collegiate seasons. In total, the Kings have seven college prospects in their ranks and those players will not be in attendance this weekend.
For a guy like Slukynsky, I think the Kings would love to get him signed after the 2025-26 season so perhaps we could see him at this event 12 months from now.
Additionally, 2025 selection Vojtech Cihar and Petteri Rimpinen will not be at the event either. Both players are playing professionally in Europe this season and disrupting their preseason prep doesn’t exactly set them up for success with their current teams. It’s been done before – Aatu Jamsen in 2023 – but it’s rare. More often than not, we see players remain with their European clubs at this time of the year, to give them the best chance at establishing themselves in larger roles. That’s the case with those two players specifically and likely what’s best for their development.
9. What To Expect
The rookie tournament will look a bit different this season. Gone are the Colorado Avalanche, Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights. Gone is a three-game schedule and, accordingly, an oversized roster filled will tryout players. There’s obviously value in having those players out, no question, but the new look tournament featuring only the Kings, Ducks and Sharks is expected to be very heavy on drafted prospects in all three games.
The Kings have just two goaltenders, eight defensemen and 14 forwards and the word on the street is that the bulk of the prospects of interest will play in both games. That means the guys we want a look at we should get our look at. While the three-game format was nice to get another repetition early in the season, a more condensed format has its benefits as well.
I think that also means that younger players could stand out more than perhaps they did in years past. While 18-year-old players are often the players we want to see most, they also don’t always shine at events like this. Up against players in their 20’s, that’s a substantial age gap and even top-end prospects sometimes aren’t the standout performers. With more of a prospect-heavy focus, they might be.
10. Cmon Down!
This isn’t a Kings hosted event but it would be great to see some Insiders and Kings fans there!
Right down the road in Irvine. $15 per game, general admission. The rink has 2,500+ seats and standing room around the top rows. It’s a great place to host an event like this. While it was cool having the games at home last season, the Kings don’t have a new rink like that that can seat as many fans as this one does, which gives more fans the opportunity to watch.
Tickets are available for both games HERE. If you make your way down, let me know and perhaps we can say hi!
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