And just like that, LA Kings prospects were back on the ice in El Segundo.
On the first day of a three-day mini-camp of sorts, players were broken up by positions and put through drills.
Using our popular 10 Tidbits format, let’s take a look at some of the key storylines coming out of Toyota Sports Performance Center on Monday…
1. The Goalies
First off, there are a lot of them. Riffing off the old joke that somebody went to a fight and a hockey game broke out, one could say there is a Goalie Camp in LA this week and Dev Camp broke out.
Unlike past years, where there were usually just a few goalies at Dev Camp, seven different netminders are taking part in the action this time around — including five invitees. Of course, top rated amateur prospect Hampton Slukynsky led the way. Although the official schedule listed two sessions for the forwards, and two equal sessions for defensemen, it was the goalies who took to the ice first around 8:30am.
2. King George
The first of LA’s three 2024 Draft selections to be in camp and take the ice was last Saturday’s second round pick, Carter George. We have a full write up on him here, including some interesting thoughts from Mark Yannetti. Many scouts outside the organization we spoke with while in Las Vegas were raving about the 18-year-old. He’s expected to be invited to Canada’s upcoming World Junior summer evaluation camp soon too.
3. The Read on Reeder
Despite being assigned a number and listed on the 2024 Dev Camp roster, forward James Reeder is not in camp. As Mayor’s Manor first reported on Saturday, LA’s final selection from last weekend’s Draft has freshman obligations at Denver University this week. He’s the reigning USHL Scholar-Athlete of the Year and is now off to join the 2024 NCAA National Champions. Read more about him here.
4. Greentree Planted and Sprouting
Meanwhile, LA’s first-round selection, Liam Greentree, was on the ice and had a lot of eyes on him throughout Day 1. Selected No. 26 overall, the 18-year-old OHL forward has been to Los Angeles before and even skated at TSPC during camps put on his agency. Although he prefers to wear No. 66, he’s wearing 64 this week. More on Greentree can be found here, including comments about his style of play and multi-faceted toolbox.
5. Woolley, Woolley
The other of LA’s trio of draftees taking part in this year’s Dev Camp is 6-foot-4 defenseman Jared Woolley. A member of the OHL Champion London Knights, Woolley was a player we discussed in our pre-Draft predictions article here. He’s also another candidate for Canada’s upcoming WJC camp.
6. From Russia, With Love
It’s been a long time coming, but Kirill Kirsanov has finally landed in SoCal. From the Kings ‘quality over quantity’ Draft class of 2021, the 21-year-old Russian has one more year remaining on his KHL contract. LA will make a push to get him signed and over to North America after that, something Yannetti spoke about here. Adding the uber talented left-shot defender to LA’s prospect pool would immediately raise the talent meter of AHL Ontario should he join the Reign next summer. Unfortunately, Kirsanov suffered an off-season training injury recently, so he’s not able to participate in any on-ice activates this week. Still, getting him to Camp was a long time coming and the organization remains hopeful it’s a positive step forward in his ultimate journey.
7. Matty Mania Building, Not Running Wild Yet
At the other end of the Kirsanov-like spectrum is Matthew Mania. After being selected by the Kings at last summer’s NHL Draft, he was not able to skate during Camp due to recovering from surgery. This year, he was front and center on Day 1. The OHL blueliner had a breakout campaign with the Sudbury Wolves in 2023-24, leading to an invite to Team USA’s upcoming WJC summer camp. He’ll be somebody to watch during scrimmages later this week.
8. Max’d Out on Camp Invitees
Like the goalies mentioned above, there are a plethora of invitees in camp this year. Two of them have fathers that longtime Kings fans would know well, Ben Lacroix (son of Eric) and Max Smolinski (son of Brian). We’ll have an article up later this week on the three invitees most likely under consideration for potential contracts.
9. Jerseys, helmets, and gloves – Oh, my!
Dr. Frankenstein would be proud. With the NHL in a transition phase between Adidas and the new Fanatics uniforms, things are a little awkward at Dev Camp when it comes to the uniforms being worn. For starters, the new black helmets for 2024-25 are slightly on display, just with a glossy finish, instead of the matte black and without the sponsor logos. When it comes to the jerseys, they’re a bit of a hodge podge. Considering teams can’t get their hands on enough practice jerseys just yet, Kings equipment staff had to make do with what they could. Campers are wearing the old Adidas practice jerseys with a the just released, new Kings crown.
10. One Day of Prep, That’s It
Unlike years past, Monday will serve as the only prep day before scrimmages get underway. Day 1 featured two on-ice sessions for both forwards and defenseman, with one in the morning and a follow-up session later in the afternoon. Tuesday and Wednesday will both feature the traditional Black vs. White scrimmages. As noted by Yannetti during his recent visit to Kings Of The Podcast, a lot of eyes will be on Jack Hughes to see if he can show well. Akil Thomas and Franky Pinelli before him rebounded from disappointing earlier Dev Camps to later show well when the returned. This is a big camp for Hughes, with Kings brass wanting to see more from the Boston University forward. Tuesday’s scrimmage should be telling, one way or the other.
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