Russell Morgan 
Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina/South Bend Tribune-USA TODAY NETWORK
7. Martin Chromiak – 19 y/o – F – 2020 Round 5 #128 overall
Previous ranking: 10
I can’t tell you how happy I was for LA Kings fans to finally get a look at Martin Chromiak during development camp and the Rookie Faceoff. Since being drafted in the fifth round of the 2020 entry draft, Chromiak has been one of my favorites among the recent LA draft picks. In terms of raw talent, he’s top three among the Kings prospect pool.
Chromiak displayed some good development in his second season playing for HK Dukla Trencin in the Slovakian pro league, finishing with 19 points in 32 games played. LA management was impressed and signed the young forward to an amateur tryout to bring him over to the Ontario Reign for two games in the AHL.
Corey Pronman The Athletic
“Yeah, I didn’t really like him last year. He actually had a far better camp than I thought he would after watching him last season. I think you appreciate that there is a skilled hockey sense and a scoring ability in his game. He can make and finish plays. I think the thing with me is he is not the biggest guy, not the fastest guy, not the most overly physical guy.
So with Chromiak to be an NHL player, he’s going to need to go down and really have an amazing OHL season and go the world juniors and take a Slovakia team that may not be the deepest team and maybe help them be a little bit more competitive than they have been in recent years at the U-20 level. I think for a late-round pick, realistically, he’s not an NHL player, but to be on the radar, you’re going to need to kind of what we see from Jordan Spence does. Where the last couple of years he’s kept elevating and showing that he could be a top player at the junior level.”
HockeyProspecting.com Comparisons
Throughout the development camp, Chromiak made play after play. He utilized his speed to be in on the forecheck and disrupt plays in the offensive zone to create loose pucks that would lead to high danger chances. The strong week for the young Slovakian led to him being placed on the top line in the first game of the Rookie Faceoff with Quinton Byfield and Arthur Kaliyev. And he did not look out of place.
In the first game of the Rookie Faceoff, the placement of Chromiak on the top line paid off, scoring less than two minutes in the game off an excellent passing play between his linemates.
Quinton Byfield ➡️ Arthur Kaliyev ➡️ Martin Chromiak 🚨 #LAKings pic.twitter.com/dPBEvDwHZa
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) September 17, 2021
The impact on the box score would not be short-lived as he would continue to be an offensive threat for the LA Kings team scoring four points in three games over the weekend.
Chromiak will head back to the OHL and play alongside the top 2022 draft prospect, Shane Wright, for the Kingston Fronteacs. It would not surprise me whatsoever if he put up at least 40 goals in what could be a stellar junior season.