Just a few years ago, the Los Angeles Kings‘ prospect pool was the envy of the league. Widely considered one of the best pools in hockey, the Kings have fallen into the back half of the league in this category recently.
While it wasn’t a big step back, after graduating players like Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte this last season, The Athletic’s Corey Pronman dropped the Kings another spot in his annual U-23 pipeline rankings.
Because this list includes all U-23 players, Quinton Byfield is still eligible and is really propping up the Kings’ ranking alongside Brandt Clarke.
Unless they draft a potential star next summer or Liam Greentree emerges as one, they’ll fall further next summer even with Clarke in the system.
However, I don’t want to focus on the top players in this article. There’s been plenty of content on them this summer and I want to shift focus onto the depth of this system and what Pronman thinks of it.
After Greentree, every Kings prospect falls into Pronman’s “has a chance to play NHL games” tier. Essentially, he projects them to be depth pieces at best.
It’s certainly an indication of the current lack of depth in the prospect pool, but I also think it’s a little harsh in some areas.
Aatu Jamsen, Koehn Ziemmer & Francesco Pinelli:
These are the three names that stuck out to me on the list. All three are in the “has a chance to play” tier and that was a surprise for me.
I’d definitely put Aatu Jamsen in that tier, but it felt a little harsh on Francesco Pinelli and Koehn Ziemmer.
Firstly, I wouldn’t have them in the same tier. Maybe his rookie season in North America changes my perception, but I don’t see much of a path for Jamsen, or at the very least, not an equal path as Pinelli and Ziemmer.
Jamsen’s got some puck skills, and despite still being listed at 154 pounds (which I’ve been told is not an accurate weight) there’s some compete and physicality there. Still, I don’t see any of it getting him to the NHL, especially with mediocre skating.
Contrast that with Ziemmer and Pinelli, who both have legit NHL traits and similar compete (although Pinelli could show it more consistently) and I don’t see them in the same tier.
Ziemmer was very productive when healthy in the OHL and has true NHL puck skills, shooting and high-end compete. Skating and athleticism are an issue, but he’s got everything you need to be a bottom-middle six forward in the NHL.
Pinneli is a different player but similarly has legit NHL puck skills and creativity. He’s worked hard…