With a land of opportunity, Alex Turcotte and Akil Thomas are ready to stake their claim

It’s the land of opportunity.

For Akil Thomas and Alex Turcotte it is, anyways.

For those two players, this training camp is different. It’s the first time they’ve come into camp off of any kind of extended action in the NHL. It’s also the first time they’ve come into camp not just trying to make the NHL roster, but expecting to do so. It’s fair to say it’s the most confident that either player has been coming into camp. Funny what a little experience, and a little opportunity, can do for a younger player.

“You get more comfortable with experience,” Turcotte said. “Being around the guys all the time, becoming friends with them and get to know them personally, I think that goes a long way. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable.”

Thomas was inclined to agree, though perhaps in a different way.

For him, it was less about the comfort and more about the confidence to go out there and play his game. He proved to a lot of people, including himself, that he can hang at this level late last season. Now, he’s taking that proof and that confidence into training camp, with expectations greater than they’ve ever been.

“I think if you ask anyone, they’re a kid in the minors for a couple years, they’re having success, then they’re kind of wondering, as soon as they start having success, ‘oh, but can I play in the NHL?,’” Thomas said. “So obviously I was very happy to get that opportunity, and not only to get the opportunity, but actually to kind of feel like I belonged.”

For more reasons than one, Turcotte and Thomas have been grouped together here this fall. And it’s not just because they have played on the same line for a large portion of training camp.

Both players were highly touted as draft picks, with Turcotte taken fifth overall in 2019 and Thomas a second-round selection the year before, with a game-winning goal in the World Juniors coming shortly after. Both players began in the AHL but struggled with injury problems, as Turcotte overcame numerous issues while Thomas overcame a pair of shoulder injuries.

Last season, both established themselves as impact players in the AHL, as the Ontario Reign won a pair of playoff series and advanced into Round 3 for the first time since 2016. The combination of an AHL playoff run and a more extended look in the NHL for the first time made Thomas and Turcotte as confident as they’ve been as professional players. Now, both are expected to take the next step, together.

The Kings are counting on both players to fill roles with the big club. It’ll likely be on the fourth line to start, but the hope is that the pair can be the internal competition the team needs up front, pushing those above them for minutes and responsibility. Doing those things together, on the same line to start camp, is something that both Thomas and Turcotte have appreciated.

Thomas, On Turcotte – Yeah, I love playing with Turc. I think he makes me a better player and I think we have good chemistry, so yeah, I’m thankful to still have him with me. Hopefully we can maybe play together and have some success doing it.

Turcotte, On Thomas – It’s awesome. Obviously, we had a lot of success, and I thought we played really well together in Ontario. I think he’s a really smart player, really good two-way, super easy to play with and we’re obviously really tight off the ice, so to be with him at this level is awesome. And I think keep going off, gonna play our game and and I think a lot of success, t

REAL DEAL AKIL MAKES IT 3-0 pic.twitter.com/Y1g11ssb6L

— LA Kings (@LAKings) October 1, 2024

For the part of the coaching staff, Jim Hiller watched the pair play last season in the NHL. He watched them in Ontario as well during the playoffs, including a game in person at Toyota Arena.

It was players like Turcotte and Thomas who had the eye of Hiller and his staff. They knew at that time the Kings wanted to, and needed to, inject some youth into the lineup. Internally, those were two guys up front that had a good outlook coming into the following season and everyone was looking for a strong playoff performance to drive the point home that they were ready for bigger things. That’s what both players delivered, in Hiller’s eyes.

“They both had good seasons,” Hiller said. “To me, there’s a couple things. They had good seasons in the American League and both got a chance to come up and play with us when we really needed them. We were really banged up, obviously, in a playoff race and they both contributed a real positive way. So, they did the job there to catch our eye, help us, and then they went on to go back down with the Reign and sometimes you worry about a player going down, now they’re not in the NHL, but they went down with good attitudes, played hard and helped that Reign team really have a great finish to the end of the season.”

Now, with that run in the past, all eyes are set forward for both younger players.

As we’ve seen throughout the first 12 days of training camp, both players have their sights set on the NHL roster. The Kings certainly seem to envision both being everyday players this season. What’s more important, though, is that is how the players see themselves.

“Obviously my goal is to still make a team, but I think this year I want to be like an everyday guy, I want to play every game and that’s my goal,” Turcotte said. “I want to be effective, so that’s kind of what my mindset is going into this season. I don’t think I really had that in years past, I don’t know, you’re a little young and immature, and you’ve kind of got to go through the process and experience it. So, I think my goal this year is to be an everyday player and be effective every day.”

For Thomas, that self-belief is key.

He’s dealt with early-season injuries in two of his three most recent professional seasons and it really took him until this past season to find consistency in the AHL. It really took until last season to establish consistency at the AHL level, getting the NHL experience to boot. It’s clear in speaking with him how much last season did for his confidence. Thomas believes he belongs in the mix and that’s exactly what the Kings need from him.

“I don’t think it’s a different mentality, I think just I’m more confident, I believe in myself to make play and I just feel more kind of established,” Thomas said. “I played the seven games last year and getting into the team environment is good for me to kind of come out here and feel like not only that I belong, but like I can contribute and kind of help the team win.”

Still a week, and change, left in camp here to finalize the answers to the ultimate question of where Turcotte and Thomas slot in. If it’s together, on the fourth line, they’ll bring with them the chemistry they developed playing together last season in the AHL. If they’re split up, it’s likely because one of them has earned the chance to play higher in the lineup. Armed with confidence and a summer of full health for both players, the time is now for both players to cement themselves as NHL regulars.

TURC TIES IT!

2-2 pic.twitter.com/5oAjgoUDHz

— LA Kings (@LAKings) September 24, 2024