With rookies reporting to Toyota Sports Performance Center in less than 24 hours, that also means the Kings will officially open Training Camp in one week’s time. That’s right — hockey is back after a long summer break.
In total, the Kings are expecting about 76 players at ‘main camp’ next Wednesday. Of course, this will be the starting point, and things will get whittled down over the weeks ahead.
While everybody begins in camp together, usually in three groups, the schedule will probably start to position guys in their proper groups rather quickly — NHL guys in one group, AHL guys in another, and so on.
There are a couple of key dates to keep in mind too. The Reign open their AHL training camp on Monday, September 30. Thus, any player who doesn’t have a realistic chance of cracking the NHL roster at that point will be reassigned to AHL camp and/or their junior club.
The Kings also will be shifting the NHL portion of camp to Quebec City on Oct. 2, with the team currently scheduled to fly on Oct. 1. Sandwiched in right around all of this is a preseason game in Anaheim on Monday, Sept. 30. We’ll have to wait a little closer to that game day to see who the Kings end up playing in that game. It very well could be an AHL-heavy lineup, giving vets more time to rest before heading to Canada. Or, coach Jim Hiller could opt to play more of his NHL guys since the team is only playing six preseason games this year — a rather low number compared to recent years.
Other preseason games will be played on Mon. 9/23 vs. Utah Hockey Club (Frozen Fury in Salt Lake City), Wed. 9/25 at the Vegas Golden Knights, and Sat. 9/28 vs. the Anaheim Ducks in Ontario (Empire Classic). Those will most likely be the best opportunities to see some of the organization’s younger prospects slip into a game before being sent back to juniors.
The initial group will be a mixture of NHL players, AHL players, various prospects (mainly junior players), and a small batch of camp invitees. As a reminder, college players are ineligible to attend any form of NHL training camps. Their only real opportunity to come to LA is for Development Camp in July. This means players like Kenny Connors, Ryan Conmy, and Jared Wright — who all are strong candidates to turn pro once their 2024-25 season ends — will not be part of what’s to come this month.
Who will be attending?
Kings 2024-25 Training Camp Preview
NHL Roster Players
We previously projected the Kings lineup as follows:
Laferriere – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Danault – Thomas
Fiala – Byfield – Foegele
Jeannot – Turcotte – Lewis
Lee – Fagemo
Anderson – Doughty
Gavrikov – Spence
Edmondson – Clarke
Englund – Burroughs
Kuemper
Rittich
Hiller can mix those players up any way he chooses, that’s still 24 names; so, one will need to be cut and returned to Ontario.
AHL Roster Players
Speaking of the Reign, we previously projected their lineup as:
Hudon – Gawdin – Chromiak
Malott – Studnicka – Madden
Lee – Helenius – Ward
Jamsen – Pinelli – Doty
Lawrence – Ziemmer – Brodzinski
Moverare – Walsh
Krygier – Hicketts
Booth – Jones
Dvorak
Portillo
Copley
That’s a total of 24 players, not counting Lee a second time. Add in the names who are also signed to contracts — (F) Element, Olson, Parker-Jones, Singleton, Young and (D) Millar, Rowe — and the total group is now up to 55 players.
CHL Roster Players and Camp Invitees
Forwards — Liam Greentree, Arvid Caderoth, Cole Davis, Patrick Moynihan, Ethan Neutens, Oliver Tulk, Jake Wise, Luke Woodworth
Defensemen — Matthew Mania, Jared Wooley, Parker Berge, Corbin Vaughan
Goaltenders — Carter Geroge, Kolby Hay, Samuel St-Hilaire, Jackson Parsons
That brings the total group up to 71 and there are still a few more invitees who will trickle in before camp opens.
Kaliyev and PTO adds
This leaves two open questions, and one comes with a more definitive answer than the other.
Everybody keeps asking, what’s going with Arthur Kaliyev? In short, nothing at the moment. He remains an unsigned RFA. Here is part of what we wrote about the situation last month:
A deal for Toronto’s Nick Robertson does not seem very likely either.
Additionally, several older NHL players have recently signed (or are rumored to be signing soon) PTO agreements with various NHL clubs, including Max Pacioretty in Toronto and Tyson Barrie with Calgary. These aren’t actual NHL contracts, but tryout agreements that could potentially lead to something bigger if all goes well in camp. At this time, we’re told the Kings are not expecting to add any additional players to their camp roster via PTO contracts. Essentially, their NHL roster is full. The guys they have signed are the ones competing for the 23 spots available in advance of opening night.
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