July Notebook – WJSS Rolls On, Happy Trails Mo, Interviews To Come

July Notebook

Insiders!

As I sat around yesterday, racking my brain on something to write, I found myself coming up with very little. We’ve finally reached that point of the summer, where there simply is not a ton going on. Certain content feels out of place. I think that anything reflective back to last season is too far removed and anything looking forward to next season is too far away. A few other things kicking around just feel unimportant. There will be some content to follow, specifically with a look ahead towards next season. But it’ll be driven by actual interviews, not manufactured. In late-July, I don’t have a ton of manufacturing in me. But beginning next week, we will be back on track. We’re working on interviews with each of the team’s three new coaches under Peter Laviolette and I’m excited to present those throughout the course of the month. I think there’s a lot of insight to be shared there.

But that’s not for today. Next week will come with a bit more to offer, as I think most weeks throughout the month of August will. Just not this week.

World Juniors Summer Showcase Rolls On
The WJSS has reached the final few days, with four Kings prospects on the ice representing their countries and trying to impress, with eyes on competing in the World Junior Championships this winter. For the first time, LAKI does have boots on the ground and I am excited to introduce a new contributor with an eye on first-person prospect coverage here in the coming days/weeks.

Henry Brzustewicz (United States), Elton Hermansson (Sweden) and Vertti Svensk (Finland) have already begun their time on the ice, participating in games between those three countries. Jimmy Lombardi (Canada) works his way into the mix now, as Team Canada joins the event beginning today. The next four days will feature a round-robin style set of games between those four countries, with the Kings represented on all four squads. Brzustewicz and Svensk will square off this morning, confirmed with both players in the lineup, while Hermansson and Lombardi could meet in the second game, with those lineups yet to be released, though Lombardi is expected to play for Canada.

🇨🇦 morning skate lines

Belchetz – Cootes – Schmidt
Veilleux – Malhotra – Martin
Hopkins – Lombardi – Lawrence
Czata – Nesbitt – Lafreniere

Carels – Liske
Smith – Rudolph
Morrison – Lin

Ivankovic & Meloche

Play 🇸🇪 tonight at World Junior Summer Showcase@TSN_Sports pic.twitter.com/IZ1ifRnqNL

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) July 29, 2026

Hermansson collected an assist in his only game of the showcase event thus far, while Brzustewicz and Svensk did not get on the board to date. See what Lombardi provides today. Will provide a full tournament recap once things come to a close over the weekend and excited to share some feature content over the rest of the month once we get that in!

Happy Trails, Jacob Moverare
Cheers to one of the best people to come through the Kings organization and wishing Jacob Moverare the best of luck as he heads to Switzerland to continue his professional career.

One of the best people I've had the chance to work with in hockey. What a man! Best of luck Mo! https://t.co/sEmQxQePos

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) July 29, 2026

Ask anyone who covers the team on a daily basis – a small group, I know – and I think they’d all glow about the kind of person Moverare is. Just exceptional. He is one of those guys who I just wish the best for. If that’s in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe throughout his career then great. Perhaps his path comes back to the NHL or AHL at some point and if it does, an organization is getting a tremendous person and teammate. I think Moverare found himself in a tough position with the Kings last season, in that he did not offer a different skillset for the Kings on the backend. In a different season, maybe he plays a bit more, as he did in 2024-25. EV Zug got a good one.

What’s To Come
We are working on longer-form interviews with Phil Housley, Chris Hajt and Ray Whitney, which I am hopeful to share here over the next few weeks! It’s a cool request we haven’t been able to do a ton with until this point. We were able to land a couple of more exclusive sitdowns with Peter Laviolette and I felt that those lent us some good intel and information, to give us a sense of what could be different with the Kings this season.

Excited to present Housley’s interview first and then add in Hajt and Whitney.

That’s all I’ve got for you.

Any questions, I’ll pop around the comments and answer as best as I can!