LA Kings: Opportunity knocks for young players

With the recent trades of Sean Walker, Sean Durzi, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Rasmus Kupari, the opportunity is now for a number of young players in the LA Kings organization to make an impact in the NHL.

For years we have talked at length about the LA Kings having too many bodies and not enough spots for all of them. That is starting to change as several players have been traded, and Alex Edler is not expected to return. Be it upfront or on the blueline, there are young players who will knock on the door of the LA Kings roster.

With as tight to the salary cap ceiling as the team will be, it is imperative that young (read: cheap) players fill impactful roles down the lineup. All of these players will come in below $1M AAV; if the Kings can get production from this group, that will go a long way.

Forwards

Arthur Kaliyev

22-year-old sniper Arthur Kaliyev has been, for the most part, a regular with the Kings over the past two seasons. That said, his role has mainly been on the fourth line, but he is getting chances on the second power play unit. In 136 games in 2021-22 and 2022-23, Kaliyev has scored 28 goals and registered 28 assists. There is likely to be an opening in the middle six that Kaliyev could conceivably slide into. His inconsistent play has held him back, including being scratched in the playoffs against Edmonton after some costly mistakes.

The ceiling is still very high for Kaliyev, and if he can find a consistent role, he could be a significant contributor to the team.

Samuel Fagemo

Fagemo has registered back-to-back 20-goal seasons in the AHL the past two seasons, netting 27 goals in 63 games in 2021-22 and 23 goals in 56 games last season. He did appear in nine games with the Kings in 2022-23, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist. Not unlike Kaliyev, Fagemo is a shoot-first winger who can find the back of the net with frequency. The loss of Kupari at the bottom of the lineup could open up a spot for Fagemo to slide into that role. He’s also capable of playing higher in the lineup, and it wouldn’t be too surprising to see him get an opportunity with the newly acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois in training camp.

Jaret Anderson-Dolan

A jack-of-all-trades type of player, Jaret Anderson-Dolan’s versatility should make him a valuable depth player for Todd McLellan. The 23-year-old Calgary native isn’t going to light up the scoresheet, but he also isn’t going to be asked to do that. If he can play a role similar to Blake Lizotte on the fourth line and be a hard-working forward responsible in his defensive zone while sustaining some pressure in the offensive zone, that will be a success.

Despite notching just 12 points in 46 games last season, Anderson-Dolan is capable of providing a little bit of offense. During the 2021-22 AHL season, Anderson-Dolan tallied 12 power play goals, good for second on the team behind only Martin Frk. He isn’t likely to see power play time in Los Angeles, but his ability to play center and wing should prove useful.

Alex Turcotte

Yes, Alex Turcotte is still here. It has been an unfortunate start to the former fifth-overall pick’s professional career as he’s battled injuries throughout. He has played just 91 games over the past three seasons, peaking at 32 in the 2020-21 and 2022-23 seasons. In those 91 games, he’s scored 18 goals and 56 points (0.62 points per game). When healthy, he’s an impact player in the middle six, aggressive on the forecheck with a constant motor. The problem has simply been his health. This upcoming season is Turcotte’s best chance to get some NHL time, and the only thing that could hold him back is injury.

Others of note: Martin Chromiak, Alex Laferriere, Akil Thomas

Defensemen

Tobias Bjornfot

It has been an up-and-down career for 2019 first-round pick Tobias Bjornfot. After spending the early part of his career in the NHL, Bjornfot spent the bulk of 2022-23 with the Ontario Reign of the AHL. Since being drafted, Bjornfot has appeared in 116 games, compiling 15 points over parts of four seasons.

The biggest question around Bjornfot is who is he, exactly? He hasn’t shown to be the type of player to bring much offense to the Kings’ blueline, but he sure hasn’t been a very good defensive defenseman, either. Right now, he is the third left-shot defenseman in the organization, so, in theory, this gives him a leg up to play regularly on the bottom pair.

Jordan Spence

I don’t know what else Jordan Spence has left to prove in the AHL. In 102 games with the Ontario Reign, the young defenseman has 79 assists and 87 points. He’s been an instrumental part of the Reign power play during that time and has demonstrated he is ready for the next step in his career. In addition, he has gotten his feet wet in the NHL. Over the past two seasons, Spence has played in 30 NHL games, picking up nine points. He has also appeared in three playoff games with the Kings during the 2021-22 season.

There’s a possibility Spence could be asked to play his off-side if the team decides to go with two right-shot defensemen on their bottom pair. With the very high ceiling of Spence and top prospect Brandt Clarke, that could be more likely than not.

Brandt Clarke

Speaking of Clarke, his time appears to have finally come. Speaking to the media after the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, Rob Blake noted that Clarke would be among the young defensemen vying for a spot on the bottom pair.

“You’ve got Bjornfot, you’ve got Spence, you’ve got Clarke in that mix there now,” said Blake. “How it shakes out, in the end, will kind of be up to Todd (McLellan).”

After a nine-game stint in the NHL at the start of last season, Clarke played five games in the AHL before heading back to Barrie of the OHL. The former eighth-overall pick of the LA Kings scored 23 goals and 61 points in 31 games with the Colts—a dominant performance from the 20-year-old defenseman.

Jacob Moverare

Given the lack of depth on the left side of the LA Kings’ defense corps, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Jacob Moverare. As steady as they come, Moverare is NHL-ready for a bottom-pair role. Should any of the young players above falter or become injured, Moverare is a capable option ready to step in. In the meantime, the 24-year-old will log heavy minutes with the Ontario Reign in the AHL.

(Main photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea / USA Today)