Finally, the Kings claimed another victory at the NHL Rookie Faceoff.
After going winless at last year’s event and starting this year’s tournament with another pair of losses, their last win was over the Sharks in San Jose back in 2022. That game was a 3-0 shutout and saw two goals from European prospect Aatu Jamsen — who made his North American debut that weekend.
Monday’s 2024 finale against the Ducks saw the Kings holding a 1-0 lead late into regulation, before the Ducks finally tied things up with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. That Anaheim goal came with LA defenseman Jakub Dvorak in the penalty box (more on that in a minute). About a minute earlier, goalie Erik Portillo had stopped a penalty shot to temporarily keep the Ducks off the scoreboard.
Per the norm, below are a collection of 10 postgame tidbits. They are not ranked in any particular order; just more a collection of notes we jotted down before, during, and after Game 3.
10 Tidbits from Game 3
1. Last Minute Goalie Swap
From what we were hearing over the weekend, the plan was to start Kings 2024 draftee Carter George in net and have him play about half the game. He looked rock solid in his lone period of play in Game 1 and many were again to see him between the pipes again.
That all happened, as expected.
It was who came on in relief that was a bit of a surprise. Just a few hours before the game, Mayor’s Manor reported that Portillo would be the other goaltender for the Kings in Game 3. After flirting with the idea of signing QMJHL goalie Samuel St-Hilaire (camp invitee) to an AHL contract, things appeared to fall apart. Rather than turning pro, indications are he is going to return to junior hockey. Of course, this all came just 24 hours after the Rimouski Océanic made a trade for the overage netminder to bolster their roster for the upcoming Quebec League season.
2. More King George
George opened the game stopping all 12 shots he saw in the opening frame. He came back in for the second period and stopped three more shots before giving way to Portillo after 31:43 of playing time.
Sturm continued to rave about his 18-year-old goalie postgame.
“He was great again today,” remarked Sturm. “I’m very impressed with his effort and the way he plays at that young age. Even under pressure, he never scrambled, he always stayed calm, and he made some great saves today. I would say he was definitely, probably my biggest highlight of the of this weekend.”
Once George heads back to the OHL later this month, he’ll rejoin Owen Sound before participating in December’s World Junior Championship for Team Canada.
3. Portillo’s Pre-Camp Tune-Up
Portillo recently signed a three-year contract extension with the Kings and his roadmap is fairly well known at this point. Coming off a solid rookie year as a pro last season, he’s penciled in as AHL Ontario’s primary starter for 2024-25. Should everything go as planned, he’ll join the Kings one year from now, most likely as a backup, with the hope that he’ll take over as the team’s No. 1 option in October 2026.
On Sunday, he saw his second action at the Rookie Faceoff, playing 32:44 and stopping 13 of 14 shots faced.
4. Angus Was A+
Defenseman Angus Booth, who turned pro this summer and will be joining the Reign, had a good enough weekend to already impress his new coach.
“Booth was really good, he was really good,” Sturm said postgame. “He came in in great shape, he wanted to be stronger; he did that over the summer. He was our most consistent [defenseman] – he played all three games on the backend – besides Clarke. I was really happy about his game. I really think he’s going to continue that over with the Kings [in camp] and then with us with the Reign, as well.”
Booth recorded his lone point of the Rookie Faceoff by assisting on the Kings game winning goal in overtime. He also finished with a plus-1 rating over the three games.
5. Staying on the Blueline
While Booth remains a key name to follow with the Reign this season, management still needs to make a decision on what to do with 2023 top pick Jakub Dvorak. Even though he’s only 19 years old, because he was drafted out of Czechia, he actually has three options of where he could play this season (beyond the NHL, which isn’t very likely).
Dvorak could head back to the WHL, where he finished his 2024-25 campaign, join the AHL, or return to Europe. The latter of those choices was something recently discussed by AGM Nelson Emerson during his visit to Kings Of The Podcast.
We specifically asked Dvorak about the WHL option, and that we had been hearing he wasn’t too keen on that option — a notion he agreed with.
6. Sturm on Dvorak
Shortly after postgame player interviews on Monday, Sturm met with the media and weighed in on the Dvorak situation.
“He’s still very young, it’s going to be a hard decision, right?” explained the former NHL player turned coach. “It has to be the right fit wherever it is. The biggest goal is that wherever he’s going to go — or if he’s going to stay — that he’s going to get the right treatment, the right development on the ice, and also off the ice.”
Later, Sturm provided further clarity on those initial comments.
“[Dvorak’s situation] is a tricky one,” noted Ontario’s bench boss. “He was not too happy at home [in Europe] and he was … with the Western Hockey League, he was probably not too impressed, let’s put that way. So, I don’t know. I think he’s going to be the tricker one of all.”
7. The Wolf Didn’t Go Unnoticed
Somewhat overshadowed by some of the bigger name first-year players — guys like George and Liam Greentree — another player who impressed at times, even if he flew a little under the radar, was 2024 sixth round selection Jared Wooley. Saturday may have been his best game, but his overall showing deserves some mention.
“I think I did well; I held my own and kind of adjusted as the weekend went on,” the 18-year-old OHL product told Mayor’s Manor. “It is a jump up coming here, speed-wise. You realize that in the first game, then it gets a little easier as the weekend gets on.”
8. Even More With Wooley
Wooley saw time playing with several players this weekend, including Booth and Brandt Clarke.
“You kind of have to play a little bit with everyone because of penalties or fights or things like that. With things like that, things get mixed up,” he explained, before sharing a little about how the coaching staff heled players prepare for those situations.
“They let you know what you can work on for each game,” Wooley shared. “So, you kind of keep that in the back of your mind every time you go out for another shift, or you’re getting ready for another game. There’s a lot of a lot of personal instruction there.”
He also admitted to laughing at a few of Clarke’s chirps.
“Some things you don’t think of yourself, so you have to just give him props.”
9. Jamsen Just Impresses
We’ve been singing the praises of Jamsen for a few years now. He’s looked good at nearly every Development Camp and Rookie Faceoff he’s attended previously, and this year was no exception. No signed to an Entry Level Contract with the Kings, Jamsen will be joining AHL Ontario this season.
If this weekend was a preview, the early reports are strong once again. He scored the first LA goal of the tournament on Saturday and led the team with four shots on goal in the opening period Monday. Overall, his stat line read: one goal, one assist, and a plus-2 rating in three games played.
“I thought he was better today,” Sturm shared. “We put him on a line with Pinelli and Greener, so I think that helps too. I think he’s one of those guys who needs more skilled guys around him. He can make plays. He just has to make sure he’s not going to turn the puck over too many times. We definitely saw some [upside] today.”
10. Pinelli as Captain
Heading into his second year of pro hockey, Franky Pinelli wore the captain’s ‘C’ for LA on Friday, a role he reprised on Monday. The 21-year-old forward was noticeable at several points of both games. Exactly where he fits into Ontario’s plans for this season remains a bit of a mystery. He came on strong in the second half of last season and then was scratched from the lineup when postseason play began — a move that remains a headscratcher to this day.
“It was a learning curve for him last year, so for me personally, he’s one of those guys who we need him to step up this year,” Sturm said following LA’s overtime win on Monday. “I want him to be more dominant, I would say. He had some good moments this weekend, especially today, and I hope he can continue that over next two weeks.”
Where he slots into the Reign lineup among a significant number of new faces will be one of the many storylines to watch in the weeks ahead. For now, here’s our first pass at Ontario’s projected roster.
Looking Ahead to Training Camp
When the Kings open Training Camp later this week, there will be nearly 70 players involved. With the team’s first preseason game schedule for Monday Sept. 23 in Utah, coach Jim Hiller will likely begin parsing players pretty quickly. The Kings will only be playing six exhibition games before opening night, and none come on back-to-back nights, so it remains to be seen just how many prospects will get into game action. By the time the team leaves for Quebec City in a few weeks, most of the younger players will have reassigned to junior hockey or transitioned to the Reign, who open camp on Monday Sept. 30.
To see the finale Rookie Faceoff lineup used by the Kings on Monday, along with other pregame notes, be sure to check out the link below.
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