Three Kings Prospects Set To Compete in Frozen Four with Denver Pioneers

LA Kings prospects Kristian Epperson, Brendan McMorrow and James Reeder are set to continue their quest for an NCAA National Championship, with the 2026 Frozen Four set to begin on Thursday, April 9 in Las Vegas.

The three players and their Denver Pioneers squad skated to a pair of convincing victories in the first two rounds of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, including a win in the Elite Eight over fellow Kings prospect Hampton Slukynsky and Western Michigan. Denver first defeated Cornell by a 5-0 final, leading to a 6-2 victory over Western Michigan two days later. With the pair of victories, Denver has advanced to the second weekend of the tournament and will take on the top seeded Michigan Wolverines in the national semifinals. The winner of the Denver/Michigan game will meeting the winner of the game played between North Dakota and Wisconsin.

2026 Frozen Four Schedule
National Semifinal – Denver vs. Michigan – Thursday, April 9 @ 5:30 PM Pacific on ESPN2
National Championship – Saturday, April 11 @ 2:30 PM Pacific on ESPN

All three Kings prospects have played a role at Denver this season, in varying capacities. As a team, entering tomorrow’s action, Denver has won 11 consecutive games, dating back into February, and a 15-game unbeaten streak, dating back into January. About as much momentum as you could possibly have at this time of the year.

For Epperson and McMorrow, both players are in their freshman seasons and have never played at this level before. Reeder is in his second collegiate season and was a part of the Denver team in 2025 that reached the semifinals, but fell in double-overtime against Slukynsky and Western Michigan. Also on that team was current Kings forward Jared Wright, who has showcased just how quickly a player can go from playing in the Frozen Four to playing in the NHL. Wright was a junior, so one year ahead of Reeder and two ahead of both Epperson and McMorrow, but has showcased the pathway that playing at Denver can provide a player in his development path.

A look below at all three Kings prospects and where they might line up for tonight’s game against Michigan –

James Reeder
Among the three Kings prospects playing at Denver University this season, Reeder has been the most productive offensively. Reeder was a seventh-round selection at the 2025 NHL Draft and has become one of the top-scoring forwards on one of college hockey’s top teams as a sophomore. Reeder led the Pioneers with 22 assists this season and he was was fourth on his team in overall scoring with 32 points (10-22-32) from 40 games played. He has 19 points over his last 19 games played, with five multi-point efforts over that span.

In his tournament opener, Reeder was the only Kings prospect to get on the scoresheet, as he collected an assist in a 5-0 win over Cornell. He added another assist in the win over Western Michigan. Reeder has skated on the top forward line for the Pioneers in both tournament games, as he’s taken a big step forward this season, and is expected to play in that role again during the Frozen Four. Reeder has NHL skill and sense, but is an undersized player, which is really the only reason he was available in Round 7. He’s one to keep an eye on during the Frozen Four and beyond, with the potential for a huge offensive campaign to come in 2026-27.

Brendan McMorrow
McMorrow should be a familiar name for Kings fans after he played for the United States at the 2026 World Junior Championships a few months ago. McMorrow is a spark plug kind of player with high energy and terrific intangibles, someone who can be successful in multiple spots in the lineup. He was a bottom-six player for Team USA during the tournament and was one of their standouts at the World Juniors, playing on an effective energy line, though the team was not able to replicate a gold-medal performance from a year prior. At Denver, McMorrow has played fewer games than his teammates this season because of the time he spent playing internationally. He had eight points (2-6-8) in 24 games played prior to the tournament, while he collected four points (1-3-4) in five games played with Team USA.

McMorrow picked up a goal and an assist against Western Michigan in the second round as his multi-point performance helped push Denver into the Frozen Four. McMorrow lined up on the third line in both tournament games and would be in line to retain that spot heading into the Frozen Four in two weeks’ time.

Kristian Epperson
The Kings selected Epperson in the third round of the most recent NHL Draft, focusing in on his combination of compete and skill as an overaged player and in a draft that they focused on players with an additional year of experience. He was someone the Kings had their eye on coming in around that range and wound up taking at the end of Round 3. Epperson had a nice freshman season, as he buried 11 goals with Denver, good for the fourth-most on the Pioneers. He scored in each of his last two games in the regular season, wins over Minnesota Duluth and Arizona State, to push him into double figures for the 2025-26 season as a whole.

Epperson picked up his first point of the NCAA Tournament in the victory over Western Michigan, assisting on the game’s first goal, adding onto the 18 points he tallied during the 2025-26 regular season. Epperson is on Denver’s second line as a freshman, which is no easy feat on a team that dressed nine drafted forwards versus the Broncos. A player who with the ability to make some noise in the Frozen Four and who should return to Denver in more of a standout role next season.

The semifinals on April 9 will both be broadcast live on ESPN2, with the National Championship game airing live on ESPN on Saturday. See if the Kings can make it three seasons running with an NCAA National Champion within their prospect ranks.