The long wait for the return of LA Kings hockey is almost over, with the 2025 Rookie Faceoff just around the corner.
This tournament is always a blast and gives prospects a chance to test themselves against their peers around the division. The Kings recently announced their official roster for the tournament, and there are some big names to keep an eye on.
Kirill Kirsanov:
We’ve had to wait longer than anyone anticipated to see Kirill Kirsanov suit up in a Kings jersey, but the time has finally come. The soon-to-be 23-year-old, left-shot defenseman, has spent the last few seasons bouncing between the KHL and VHL and capped off his time in Russia with a VHL championship before signing his first deal with the Kings.
After watching all of Kirsanov’s shifts in his final six games in Russia, I can see why Mark Yannetti and his staff have remained high on Kirsanov’s NHL chances. The tools are there and then some.
He’s a strong skater who has a solid first pass and loves to compete in the hard areas of the ice. As he moves to North America and into the NHL, he will have to get more selective with his battles, as there was a little too much puck chasing in the VHL, but you’d rather reel a player in than try and teach them that competitive mentality.
This will be his first experience with North American hockey, so expectations have to be tempered a bit, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be one of LA’s best defensemen at this tournament. He has 120 KHL games under his belt, and at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, he should be one of the most physically dominant players at the tournament.
I want to see him take control as an on-ice leader and dominant defender at this tournament. Someone who can jump over the boards in any situation and have the coaches’ trust.
Jared Wright:
After making the jump to pro hockey at the end of last season, Jared Wright is gearing up for his first full season as a member of the Ontario Reign. Wright is a potentially underrated prospect in the Kings’ system, unless you’re a true believer in the Church of Yannetti, and watching his transition into pro hockey will be one of the more interesting storylines in Ontario this season.
It’s easy to see why Yannetti and his staff are so high on Wright. You have a winger that blends elite speed, size and some goal-scoring instinct with the mentality of a bottom-six grinder. He has the makeup of an ideal 3rd or 4th line winger in today’s NHL.
Like Kirsanov, Wright should be one of the more experienced and physically developed players at this tournament and I want to see him really leverage that. My pie-in-the-sky projection for Wright is to become similar to Warren Foegele and I want to see some of those flashes in Irvine.
Play the game with a lot of speed and a lot of intensity, and when chances come, make sure the puck finds the back of the net.
They’re different players and Wright doesn’t have the same ceiling, but when I watch him he gives me some of the same vibes as Alex Laferriere. When Laferriere arrived in LA, he just looked like an NHL player. The way he did things on the ice just screamed NHLer and Wright has a similar feel.
Liam Greentree:
By far the most exciting prospect in LA’s system currently, Liam Greentree is expected to lead this forward group in Irvine. Yes, he’s coming off an injury that took away most of his summer, but he didn’t miss a beat in his first preseason game for the Windsor Spitfires on September 7th.
Greentree has a size and skill combo you rarely see in late first-round picks, which helped him torch the OHL last season for 49 goals and 119 points. He’s a true dual-threat in the offensive zone who can hurt you with his shot and his playmaking in a variety of ways.
The aforementioned injury has to be taken into consideration when establishing expectations for Greentree at this tournament, but there’s enough skill there to believe he’ll pop in a big way regardless.
In a two-game set, I’m not worried too much about points, but I do want to see Greentree show some improved pace and compete in his game. Not that he truly lacks either, but if he can make them both a strength in the next few seasons, the Kings have a gem on their hands.
Greentree is comfortably the most talented player on LA’s roster for this tournament, and I expect him to prove that in Irvine.
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