We’ve reached that point of the season where there is usually news coming in from multiple fronts nearly every day of the week. If it’s not a new prospect signing their first entry level contract, then it’s playoff related info from somewhere across the globe. Of course, this all comes as a backdrop to the NHL’s 2024-25 regular season drawing to a close soon, as well. Here are the latest Kings news items today, touching on a variety of topics:
1. Arrived in America
Building on this tweet, defenseman Otto Salin arrived in town on Sunday from Finland. His contract is being worked out and an official announcement should be forthcoming from the team. In fact, there will likely be two deals signed, including a PTO with AHL Ontario. He’ll then join the Reign for the balance of their regular season and playoffs. This allows the Kings to not burn a year off of his ELC. After the Reign play in San Jose this Wednesday, they’re off to Calgary this coming weekend, and then they’ll be back in San Jose for another pair of games the second weekend in April. Salin will need to get his immigration paperwork sorted before he can officially join them. So… more to come.
2. Kings and Connors Playing Footsie
Forward Kenny Connors saw his college season come to an end over the weekend, as the UMass Minutemen were defeated by fellow Kings prospect Hampton Slukynsky and Western Michigan in the NCAA tournament. That wraps up Connors’ third season of collegiate action and he’s now expected to sign an ELC with LA. His deal could be announced in just a few days. However, don’t look for the 22-year-old to join the Reign, as he has a foot injury (sustained blocking a shot last month). While he played through it to help his team in the playoffs, there’s no need for him to keep going. He should rest up for Dev Camp in July.
Mayor’s Manor founder John Hoven shared more information on Connors as part of his In The Pipeline series for LAKings.com — that can be found here. The written piece also includes a deep-dive video on the versatile forward and what to expect of him as a pro.
3. College Free Agent Frenzy
Several readers have asked, so no. From everything we’ve been able to gather in recent weeks, the Kings are not expected to sign any NCAA free agents this month to NHL deals. At the AHL level, the Reign are said to have their eyes on a few candidates, yet they’ll need to first see how things shake out with Salin and several other potential adds the Kings send their way. And, again, if Reign management did sign anybody, those would be AHL-only deals — meaning they aren’t players who would be eligible for a recall to the Kings.
4. Locking Up Gavrikov
Speaking of contracts, we’re expecting an extension for Vladislav Gavrikov to be announced in the coming weeks. Recently, we dove into what those numbers will likely look like in an article here.
5. King George Could be Arriving Soon
Circling back to possible additions in Ontario, Kings goaltending prospect Carter George may end up there soon. We first looked at the situation here. His OHL team dropped their first two playoff games to London over the weekend. Games 3 and 4 are coming up Tuesday and Thursday. It could be a short series. More on George can be found here.
6. Even More Goalie News
Another one of the Kings goalie prospects, Erik Portillo remains sidelined. As noted in a article here, the NHL-ready netminder recently had a setback in his recovery — shelving a potential late-March return date. While a new timeline hasn’t been established with any real concrete, we’re hearing optimism remains high that the 24-year-old native of Sweden will make it back in time for the Calder Cup Playoffs. He should be skating this week and possibly practice with the team as early as next week. Earlier this year, Portillo made his NHL debut with the Kings, securing a win over the Ducks in Anaheim. Next season, he’s expected to backup Darcy Kuemper with the big club.
7. Booth is Back (Almost)
Arguably the most consistent defenseman in Ontario this season — and easily the best Kings prospect playing AHL hockey in 2024-25 — has been Angus Booth. Going all the way back to Dev Camp last July, coach Marco Sturm was impressed with the first-year pro’s ability to play a consistent game, day after day. He continued to show extreme confidence in the 20-year-old rearguard all year, showing no hesitation to play him in any situation. Unfortunately, Booth was injured in a game vs. San Jose over a month ago and has been slow to return. He’s getting closer, though. We’re hearing he could rejoin Sturm’s lineup next week. After the aforementioned trip to San Jose on April 11 and 12, the club will have three home games remaining on their regular season slate.
8. It Was the Best of Times, the Worst of Times
If you missed any of the NCAA playoff action over the weekend, you missed some of the best hockey played anywhere all season. Drama, overtime, penalties — the games had a mix of everything. With the way this year’s 16-team bracket was set up, the maximum number of Kings prospects that could advance to the Frozen Four were three, spread across two teams. (ed note: We don’t count Boston’s Jack Hughes for reasons explained here).
In the end, things played out as best as could be hoped for by Kings management. UMass (Connors), Western Michigan (Slukynsky), and Denver (Jared Wright and James Reeder) all won their opening round games. Then, WMU won again — eliminating UMass in the process — to punch their ticket for the Frozen Four in two weeks. For Denver’s second matchup, they took out No. 1 ranked Boston College. Now, WMU and Denver will play each other in the semis on April 10, meaning only one team with a Kings prospect will be featured in the National Championship game. Or, said differently, the Kings are guaranteed to have at least one prospect in the NCAA title game.
9. North of the Border
How about some additional OHL news? Kings top prospect Liam Greentree just continues to hammer the league. After finishing in the top five for goals and points during the regular season, LA’s first selection at the NHL Draft last summer has kept the pedal to the medal. With seven points (3G, 4A) in the first two games of Windsor’s playoff series with Sault Ste. Marie, the Spitfires already have a pair of wins (by scores of 7-2 and 7-1) heading into Game 3 tonight. Another win would have them looking at a possible sweep on Wednesday.
10. West Coast, Best Coast
Prospect Koehn Ziemmer has already signed his ELC and he’ll be turning pro over the summer. So, that’s not a story to follow right now; those items are all wrapped up. What is worth keeping an eye on, though, is how he does in the playoffs. This is Ziemmer’s swan song in the WHL and he’s motivated to go out with a bang. His Prince George team is in for a dogfight with their first round opponent, the Portland Winterhawks. Game one went Ziemmer’s way, as the Cougars skated to a 7-6 OT win, before they dropped Game 2 by a score of 5-2. They’re playing a 2-3-2 format, so the next three games will all be in Portland starting Tuesday. The games can be watched for free here.
Want even more Ziemer and Greentree talk? Check this out:
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