Good morning, Insiders! Wednesday is the final on-ice day for the young players at LA Kings Rookie Camp, with the full main Training Camp set to open Thursday in El Segundo. It will be the third and final practice for the roster as a full group, after sessions on Thursday and Friday morning before the games got underway.
The Kings finished with a 1-1-1 record through three games and seemingly improved with each appearance, losing 2-0 to Vegas on Friday and 4-3 in overtime after a late two-goal comeback to force extra time against Utah on Saturday before Quinn Olson scored to defeat Anaheim 2-1 in overtime on Monday afternoon.
Below, is a look at five players who stood out in the trio of contests at this year’s event among front office and management personnel and scouts from all over the NHL.
Carter George
LA’s second-round selection from June’s NHL Draft came on in relief for the third period of Friday’s game and started in the crease on Monday. In both situations, he looked comfortable and composed, like he’d been there before. The reality is that he hadn’t.
George is an 18-year-old with only one season in the Ontario Hockey League under his belt, but the Kings identified him as someone who shines bright on the big stage. He gave them that impression with his performance for Team Canada at the Under-18 World Junior Championship. After posting a 2.33 GAA and .915 SV% to lead Canada to a 6-0-0 record and a gold medal, George was recognized as the best goaltender in the tournament.
He made his debut in a Kings sweater for the final 20 minutes against a Vegas team that finished 3-0-0 in the event, entering with LA trailing 1-0, and allowed a single goal on 10 shots. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native then started the team’s final game and was a big reason they came away with a win, turning out all 15 shots that came his way in 31:43 of game action.
After Monday’s win, George said he felt pretty good about his game. Part of that game is his puck handling, which also stood out and helped his defense in front of him break out of their own zone a little easier.
His 0.960 save percentage came from a small sample size, but it was nonetheless impressive. George was a most definitely one of the top highlights for the Kings this week and a big part of the host club’s best position at the Rookie Faceoff, goaltending. More on that later.
Francesco Pinelli
In his fourth career appearance participating in the event, Pinelli served as the Kings’ captain. While he was far from the oldest player on the roster, he was the most experienced, having also played rookie games in Arizona in 2021, San Jose in 2022 and in Vegas last year.
Along with fellow Reign teammates Brandt Clarke, Cole Krygier and Erik Portillo, Pinelli was one of four players for the Kings who recently completed their first full pro seasons in Ontario during 2023-24.
That experience, both from having played at the event so many times and his comfort level with the Reign coaching staff, who stood behind the bench for the Kings this week, allowed him to take on a leadership role. As a former second-round pick from 2021 who is looking to take a big jump in his development this season, it was great to see Pinelli stand out as one of the team’s most dependable forwards on a roster that had 10 invites up front. Other than Pinelli, only Liam Greentree, Aatu Jamsen, Kaleb Lawrence and Koehn Ziemmer were previous LA draft picks.
While he and the rest of his teammates were kept off the scoresheet in the Kings first outing on Friday, Pinelli delivered the opening goal in his only other contest less than five minutes into Monday’s game.
Krygier brought the puck from end-to-end before dishing it to Pinelli, who was open in a good scoring area on the inside of the right circle hash marks. A quick release put LA on top and set the tone for what ended up being a winning performance.
FRANKIE!!!!
1-0 LAK pic.twitter.com/yXdLGDZdsW
— LA Kings (@LAKings) September 16, 2024
Pinelli is slated to play a second season in Ontario with the Reign, but he’ll almost certainly see more opportunities there in the AHL with multiple centers ahead of him set to take on bigger roles with the Kings like Akil Thomas and Alex Turcotte. Another pivot, TJ Tynan, signed in Colorado. While there will be others on the roster that he’ll compete with for ice time, Pinelli’s performance this week has him primed to have a good start at Kings camp and a productive second professional season.
Liam Greentree
For many observers at the outset of the showcase, Greentree was always going to be one of the most intriguing players on the Kings roster after they selected him with their first first-round selection in three years.
He certainly showed why the team thinks highly of him, helping generate many of their chances in the offensive end while suiting up as the No. 1 left wing in the lineup for all three games. Greentree’s linemates changed each day, but his involvement was constant, officially finishing with 11 shots on goal which led the team.
Others on the roster remarked at the way the puck comes flying off Greentree’s stick on his release, saying that it isn’t your average shot. That release point, power and velocity were showcased both in practice and in competition against the other participating clubs.
The Oshawa, Ontario native had a goal and an assist along with a plus-2 rating at the event, with his tally coming late in the third period to kickstart Saturday’s comeback against Utah.
Liam!
3-2 UTA pic.twitter.com/1gfVMJgjZs
— LA Kings (@LAKings) September 15, 2024
Greentree’s assist directly led to LA’s victory on Monday, which saw him win a battle on the wall in the offensive zone to keep the puck alive during 3-on-3 overtime. That chance eventually led to Quinn Olson’s game-winner.
The big 6-foot-2 power forward got experience playing in all situations, with a regular shift in 5-on-5 play and roles on both special teams units during games that included plenty of man-advantage time on both sides.
Like George, Greentree is getting critical experience playing against professionals that he can take back to juniors with him when he returns to his club, the Windsor Spitfires this season. The forward is looking to improve on a 90-point campaign in his third year playing in the OHL. In the long run, he’s expected to play an important role for the Kings, but right now the team is keeping the expectations contained for the talented sharpshooter.
Angus Booth
He doesn’t have the flash that someone like Brandt Clarke possesses on the back end, but Angus Booth stood out as one of LA’s most trustworthy defenders this week. The first part of being dependable is being available and Booth was just that, appearing in all three Kings games. He played on the left side with Matthew Mania and Parker Berge on Friday and Saturday, before switching to his off-side on the right alongside 2024 sixth-round pick Jared Wooley on Monday afternoon.
The 20-year-old’s only point from the three games came on the final play of the event when an attempted shot of his got blocked and found its way onto the stick of Olson, who slipped it home to give the Kings a victory.
KINGS WIN!!!!!
Quinn Olson scores off a feed from Liam Greentree to wrap up the Rookie Faceoff!
FINAL:
2-1 LAK pic.twitter.com/MZoXGa9Jy2— LA Kings (@LAKings) September 17, 2024
Marco Sturm pointed to Booth as someone he felt comfortable counting on in all situations, which is a good sign for another player who’s expected to compete for minutes in Ontario during what will be his first pro season. Sturm also mentioned that in his opinion, Booth is a very good skater who trusts his ability and has good gaps when defending.
The fourth-round selection from 2022 was also one of the most experienced on the roster with the event, having previously represented the Kings in 2022 and 2023.
Next up for Booth will be main camp with the Kings and an ability to show what he learned from his final year in junior which ended with a 17-game QMJHL playoff run after he was dealt to Baie-Comeau in January.
Erik Portillo
What a difference a year makes. The Kings goaltending prospect that is closest to reaching the NHL level certainly stood out in his two appearances, allowing just one goal in each during a combined span of just under 75 minutes in net.
It was a stark contrast to what he showed the year prior in Vegas, when self-admittedly, Portillo didn’t perform up to his own expectations. That is now a distant memory, however, after a stellar first professional season in the AHL with the Reign.
His play this week reinforced what many saw in Ontario last season, that Portillo has the look and confidence level of a netminder who is very tough to get a puck past.
In his first game, Friday night’s loss to Vegas, Portillo stopped multiple grade-A chances in the opening minutes of the first, a period which was controlled by the Golden Knights, on both a 2-on-1 and a breakaway. But after allowing a goal at the 11-minute mark, the former Michigan Wolverine shut the door for the remainder of his time in the crease to keep the Kings in the game.
Monday was no different, which included multiple quality stops and a save on a penalty shot by talented Anaheim defender Tyson Hinds in the third period. Portillo also added a save in overtime before Olson’s eventual winner.
The next step for Portillo, who is beginning his second professional season, is to continue looking as impressive as he did in the Rookie Faceoff this week when the Kings open main training camp. It’s expected that he’ll see action in NHL preseason games, an opportunity for him to start to earn the trust of the team’s management and coaching staff.
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