Kings announce roster moves, trim training camp roster by 23 players

As expected, today is moving day for the LA Kings.

With the Ontario Reign set to begin their 2024 Training Camp tomorrow morning, today was a day that made a ton of sense for the Kings to make their expected larger-scale slate of roster moves. In total, the Kings condensed their camp roster by 23 players, leaving a total of 35 on the NHL roster as of today.

The following players are involved in today’s transactions –

Loaned to the Ontario Reign (AHL)
Angus Booth
Martin Chromiak
Jakub Dvorak
Aatu Jamsen
Kaleb Lawrence
Francesco Pinelli
Erik Portillo
Koehn Ziemmer

Placed on Waivers for the purpose of being assigned to the Ontario Reign
Glenn Gawdin
Joe Hicketts
Tyler Madden
Reilly Walsh

Released From Training Camp Try Outs
Parker Berge
Bryce Brodzinski
Jacob Doty
Shawn Element
Charles Hudon
Dru Krebs
Jack Millar
Patrick Moynihan
Quinn Olson
Luke Rowe
Jake Wise

The moves today included several buckets of players, including guys who remain with the NHL club. For those who have been removed from the NHL training-camp roster, those players fall into one of three buckets. Bucket 1 are players who are signed to NHL contracts and do not require waivers, who have been assigned to the Ontario Reign to attend AHL training camp. Players in this bucket are NHL prospects, younger players who are typically on entry-level contracts. No real surprises in this group, other than perhaps Erik Portillo. Not that he wasn’t expected to be with the group in Ontario to start the season, but the timing of his assignment. He’ll open camp with Ontario tomorrow and I’d assume he might get additional preseason action in their preseason game on Friday. The rest of this group are guys who are either beginning their NHL careers or entering a second/third season at the AHL level. Players like Francesco Pinelli are expected to take a step forward this season and assume a larger role in Ontario. Others like Angus Booth are set to begin their professional careers at the AHL level.

Bucket 2 are players who require waivers to be assigned to the AHL. At this time, the Kings have placed four players on waivers, listed above. Glenn Gawdin, Joe Hicketts, Tyler Madden and Reilly Walsh were placed on waivers earlier today and will be on waivers for 24 hours. Assuming all four players clear, they will likely be assigned to the Ontario Reign tomorrow morning and could skate with the AHL group during their first day on the ice. Not necessarily a surprise in there, but if there was one, I’d say it’s Joe Hicketts. With the injury to Drew Doughty, Hicketts was bumped up to the top group for one day of practice. Hicketts is a veteran with NHL experience and he has the ability to play on both sides of the blueline. He’s a potential letter-wearer in Ontario, but was also in the NHL mix this past week. Assuming he clears, he still could be in that picture if additional injuries occur.

The final group of players are those who attended NHL training camp on a try-out basis. For players like Charles Hudon and Jacob Doty, they are on AHL contracts with Ontario, veteran players who will be important pieces with the Reign this season. In total, eight players in this group are on AHL contracts and will join the AHL club for traiing camp. The other three players – Berge, Olson and Wise – will also attend AHL training camp on a try-out basis.

Today’s moves leave 35 players on the NHL roster. Included in that group are three players who have picked up injuries during the first 10 days of training camp. We know that Drew Doughty (fractured ankle) and Arthur Kaliyev (fractured clavicle) will be out on a month-to-month basis, while defenseman Cole Krygier has not skated since Day 1 of training camp with an undisclosed injury. Minus those three players, that leaves the following group with the NHL club –

Goaltenders (4) – Pheonix Copley, Darcy Kuemper, Dryden McKay, David Rittich

Defensemen (11) – Mikey Anderson, Kyle Burroughs, Brandt Clarke, Drew Doughty, Joel Edmundson, Andreas Englund, Vladislav Gavrikov, Caleb Jones, Cole Krygier, Jacob Moverare, Jordan Spence

Forwards (20) – Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault, Samuel Fagemo, Kevin Fiala, Warren Foegele, Samuel Helenius, Tanner Jeannot, Arthur Kaliyev, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Alex Laferriere, Andre Lee, Trevor Lewis, Jeff Malott, Trevor Moore, John Parker-Jones, Jack Studnicka, Akil Thomas, Alex Turcotte, Taylor Ward

The Kings play in Anaheim tomorrow evening in their final preseason game in Southern California. Would expect a good chunk of the NHL squad to dress in Anaheim, but also a lot of the guys who are on the bubble. The Kings likely will not take this many players to Quebec and that flight leaves on Tuesday morning. Therefore, would expect some additional roster moves to come, with tomorrow’s game in Anaheim potentially proving as a decision maker for the final spots with that group.