Although the NHL postseason is still nearly another month away, playoff fever is running wild throughout much of the hockey world. Earlier this week, the NCAA tournament began — with one Kings prospect already eliminated — and now the Canadian Junior playoffs will kick into high-gear starting tonight.
Below is a quick look at the five Kings prospects who are participating this year:
QMJHL Playoffs
Angus Booth (2022, fourth round)
Baie Comeau Drakkar
Defenseman, left shot, 6-foot-1, 176 lbs
Booth was one of the standouts at last summer’s Development Camp in Los Angeles. The team also signed him to a three-year Entry Level Contract a few months ago, in advance of him turning pro at the completion of his 2023-24 campaign.
He had nearly even split in his regular season numbers, suiting up in 31 games for Shawinigan before a mid-season trade to Baie Comeau. Booth had two goals and 13 assists with his first club, compared to one goal and 12 assists over his time playing for Drakkar.
Baie Comeau finished first in the Eastern Conference. One of the key reasons they traded for Booth was to load up in hopes of a long playoff run. This comes after a heartbreaking Game 7 loss in the opening round of the playoffs last year. They’re out for revenge, and it started by claiming the top spot among all QMJHL teams during the regular season. Their round one opponents come into postseason with a sub-.500 record during the regular season, where they had a whopping minus-59 goal differential (Baie Comeau was plus-127). Thus, another early exit by Drakkar would be even more shocking than what happened last spring.
Draft Day: What You Need to Know About Booth
Schedule: Best-of-7 series vs. Charlottetown Islanders, beginning Friday, Mar. 29
OHL Playoffs
Matthew Mania (2023, fifth round)
Sudbury Wolves
Defenseman, right shot, 6-foot-1, 190 lbs
He missed Development Camp due to shoulder surgery. Mania was limited to 45 games this season, recording 23 points (4G, 19A); slightly down from his points-per-game pace of last season.
This playoff matchup should be a battle of two evenly matched teams, they finished the year just one point apart in the Eastern Conference standings.
Draft Day: What You Need to Know About Mania
Schedule: Best-of-7 series vs. Mississauga Steelheads, beginning Thurs., Mar. 28 (note: Sudbury took Game 1 be a score of 3-0; Mania had an assist, was plus-1, and recorded 2 SOG)
Kaleb Lawrence (2022, round 7)
London Knights
Forward, left shot, 6-foot-6, 221 lbs
Another Kings prospect who was traded mid-season, Lawrence initially played 30 games with Ottawa (10G, 8A) before moving on to London. In his 28 GP for Dale Hunter and the Knights, Lawrence put up almost identical numbers (10G, 9A).
London was the No. 1 team in the league, finishing with a .765 points percentage. Flint wasn’t even .500 on the year, compiling a 30-33 record.
Draft Day: What You Need to Know About Lawrence
Schedule: Best-of-7 series vs. Flint Firebirds, beginning Friday, Mar. 29
WHL Playoffs
Kohen Ziemmer (2023, third round)
Prince George Cougars
forward, right shot, 6-foot-1, 203 lbs
Ziemmer played only 23 regular season games due to suffering an ankle injury at the worst possible time. It happened right around Thanksgiving, just a few weeks before he was set to join Team Canada for the World Juniors. Now fully healthy, Ziemmer returned to action for the final three games in the WHL’s regular season.
Prince George were the top team in the Western Conference and are expected to challenge for the WHL Championship.
Link to interview with him.
Draft Day: What You Need to Know About Ziemmer
Schedule: Best-of-7 series vs. Spokane Chiefs, beginning Friday, Mar. 29
Jakub Dvorak (2023, second round)
Swift Current Broncos
Defenseman, left shot, 6-foot-5, 203 lbs
LA’s top pick from last summer’s NHL Draft has taken a curious path to get to the WHL Playoffs. He began the season with Liberec Bill Tygri of the Czech League, the same club he was with last season. One of the Kings European scouts is even an assistant coach there, so it looked promising. However, Dvorak raised more than a few eyebrows when he opted to pass on an invite to the World Juniors, where he was expected to wear a letter for his home nation after being one their top players at the U-18s. A few weeks later, he moved to North America and joined Swift Current. In 21 games with the Broncos, the big blueliner posted 10 points (2G, 8A) in 21 games. He’s known more for his defensive prowess, though, so it will be interesting to track how he does in the postseason. This is the first time since 2018 the Broncos are in the playoffs – and they’re coming in as the Eastern Conference’s second seed — so there is a lot of intrigue and excitement surrounding the club’s potential.
Draft Day: What You Need to Know About Dvorak
Schedule: Best-of-7 series vs. Lethbridge Hurricanes, beginning Friday, Mar. 29
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