After being shutout in their opening game of the 2024 NHL Rookie Faceoff on Friday, LA forced overtime in Game 2 before eventually losing 4-3 to Utah. While the Kings at least scored some goals this time around, their pressure really didn’t come until the third period, so they’ll need a much better effort from the start on Monday to avoid being swept on home ice.
As was the case in Game 1, there was still plenty to talk about following Saturday night’s performance. Thoughts below are not ranked in any particular order; they’re just more a collection of notes we jotted down before, during, and after Game 2.
10 Tidbits from Game 2
1. More From the Crease
We started with the goalies on Friday, so let’s begin their again. For Game 2, coach Marco Sturm turned to a pair of camp invitees.
Kolby Hay started things off. He’s 6-foot-4, but a sub-.900 save percentage each of his three years with WHL Edmonton would help provide some insight on why he was never drafted by an NHL club. On this night, though, he stopped 22 of 24 shots faced and did what he had to do to make several key saves.
Just after crossing the midpoint of regulation, a whistle allowed Jackson Parsons to enter the game. He’s 19 years old and is from OHL Kitchener, where he played with Kings prospect Franky Pinelli. He was perfect 5-on-5 after taking over in relief, with his only regulation goal allowed coming on the power play. He also was tagged with the game winning goal, which came in overtime.
2. Looking Ahead in Net
Kings 2024 draftee Carter George played the third period of Friday’s game. So, we’re expecting him to start Monday’s game vs. Anaheim. He’s a goalie that scouts repeatedly have talked about having an ‘it factor’ when he plays. Mark Yannetti spoke quite a bit about LA’s newest high-end goalie prospect here.
We would also expect QMJHL goalie Samuel St-Hilaire, to action in at least the third period of that game against the Ducks. He was impressive during July’s Development Camp and was one of the few invitees still believed to be under consideration for a possible contract. Last season, St-Hilaire accumulated a .915 save percentage (fourth-best in the league) and had the third-best goals against average (2.41), while also tying for the third most shutouts (5).
3. Flow, What Flow?
There were 13 penalties in the game, including eight by the Kings — taken by seven different players. Holding, slashing, cross-checking, high-sticking, etc. It was a full smorgasbord of infractions.
Rookie defenseman Jared Woolley was the lone Kings player involved in a fight, coming late in the second period. More on him a little bit later in this article.
4. Getting the Ugly Out of the Way
We came into the weekend thinking that forward Koehn Ziemmer would likely be headed back to the WHL when all was said and done, whereas defenseman Jakub Dvorak would join AHL Ontario. Neither Yannetti nor AGM Nelson Emerson were ready tip their hands when asked about each player’s upcoming WHL vs. AHL decision for the 2024-25 season. Both wanted to let camp play out before weighing in on what might be the better path for either guy.
Well, after Game 2, Dvorak will likely need to be much, much better to earn a spot in the AHL this year. At 6-foot-4, and a left shot, there obviously is a hope that he can quickly develop into being NHL ready given the organization’s lack of depth on that side of the blueline. Sure, he’s played against men in Europe. However, the WHL proved to be a bit of an adjustment last season. After playing largely mistake free hockey for most of the night, Dvorak had a rough overtime. First, he took a penalty in the offensive zone while the Kings had possession of the puck. While some saw it as a rather cheap infraction by an overzealous official, there was no excuse for the way he backed in on the game winning goal. He needs to play harder, even in a rookie game. Coaches will also look for him to be more physical and involved if he’s lucky enough to draw into one of the preseason games.
5. Clarke Weighs In
Brandt Clarke, who sat out Saturday’s game and is not expected to play in Monday’s event finale, was paired with Dvorak in Game 1. He offered Mayor’s Manor his evaluation of that experience:
“We were good,” said the young blueliner. “I had to talk to [Dvorak] a lot. I told him before the game, ‘Hey, let’s have a lot of communication [and] let’s just be in the right spots for each other.’ He was making good plays on the blueline, throwing it over to me and I was getting it to the net. So, he was in the right spot. He’s strong on the walls and then I can kind of come in and fish the puck out. We broke it out a couple times. He’s a good player; really solid defensively and just always in the right spot.”
6. Those Mania Sticks
Following up on yesterday’s notes regarding Matthew Mania’s new sticks, here are some pics to support those previous words:
stick | Mathew Mania
(see yesterday's tweets) pic.twitter.com/DIZd3SdshD
— The Mayor | Team MM (@mayorNHL) September 15, 2024
7. Statistically Speaking
Aatu Jamsen scored the Kings first goal of the tournament, coming at 4:54 of the first period. He picked up another point later in the evening, adding an assist on the team’s second goal. Fellow prospect Kaleb Lawrence assisted on that goal, then also helped set up the game-tying goal by 2024 first rounder Liam Greetree late in regulation.
“That’s my game, to make those goals,” said Jamsen when asked about putting the Kings up 1-0 early.
Sturm also reminded everybody to set the expectations accordingly, while Jamsen continues to adjust to the smaller ice size in North America this season — “He likes a little bit of freedom because of his skill. … It’s probably going to take him a little bit of time to [adjust]. … t’s definitely going to be a challenge right at the start.”
While the consistency will hopefully come over time, Jamsen remains a player worth watching nearly every shift, as you just might see something rather spectacular.
8. Three Other Standouts
As we usually note during these games, it’s more about the standouts rather than a ranked three stars. In Game 2, Greentree, Booth and Wooley made noticeable impressions.
After recording just one shot on goal in Game 1, Greentree led all players in the game on Saturday with seven SOG.
Wooley had the fight noted above, but he also looked solid defensively, especially for a first-year player. That’s something Emerson mentioned during his recent Kings Of The Podcast appearance; sometimes prospects don’t look like their real selves the first time they play in this tournament. Neither Wooley nor Greentree seemed to fall into that category.
And Booth? At 6-foot-1, he may not be the ‘big’ left shot defenseman the organization needs, but don’t sleep on this QMJHL product. He is silky smooth and should be a welcome addition to AHL Ontario this year.
9. From Z to A
Circling back to Ziemmer, thus far he’s done exactly what he said he was going to do. He’s come in and tried to get Kings management to forget about the fact he missed most of last season with an injury.
Now, the question becomes, can the 19-year-old take those flashes of brilliance he’s shown over the two games and elevate to another level as camp continues? He’s been fine with his peer group, but will still need to show more. He’ll need to become ‘the guy’ by driving plays more and putting in consistent shifts every game to perhaps earn a spot in the AHL this season instead of being sent back to the WHL for one more year.
Either way, Greentree has enjoyed playing with Ziemmer and the two have bonded off the ice by playing cards quite a bit.
“Obviously. he’s a great player and getting to play with him is really cool,” Greentree told Mayor’s Manor. “I think we’ve connected a lot off the ice as much as on the ice so far. And I think we can continue to do that throughout camp.”
10. He’s Still Plugging Along
Small, but mighty. That’s something Cole Davis has probably heard most of his life. Regardless, the camp invitee out of OHL Windsor had another strong game on Saturday.
Looking Ahead to Anaheim
Just like at the NHL level, regardless of records, when the Kings and Ducks meet up it’s usually a good, tight game. Monday’s final should be no exception. The Kings come in 0-2 and looking to build upon the momentum they were building late in Game 2. Meanwhile, the Ducks downed the Avalanche 4-3 in their first game on Friday, with their second game scheduled against the Sharks at 4:30 on Sunday.
To see the rest of the Kings lineup from Saturday night and other pregame notes, be sure to check out the link below.
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