Living in Los Angeles, it isn’t often when hockey fans can watch a pair of Kings prospects play each other on television. Today is one of those rare occasions, and the game features somebody you’ll be hearing a lot more about next year.
With puck drop scheduled for 4pm Pacific, No. 13 ranked Boston will host UMass in a rematch in the conclusion of their home-and-home series that began on Saturday. In that first contest, the unranked Minutemen took a 4-0 win over the Terriers. Now, they’ll go for the sweep while riding a 4-1-0 record in their last five games overall.
UMass forward Kenny Connors — who has attended Kings Development Camp each of the past two summers — is expected to play on his team’s second line. Originally selected in the fourth round (2022 NHL Draft) by Los Angeles, Connors is considered one of the organizations top-10 prospects at the moment and is expected to turn pro following this season. When only looking at stats, he doesn’t have numbers that immediately jump off the page (i.e. 26 points in 32 games his freshman year, then 22 in 37 last year). However, he’s somebody scouts and coaches constantly rave about. He’s another in a long line of college prospects for LA who play the game the right way at both ends of the ice.
He scored in Saturday’s victory, his first goal of the season, coming on the power play. Perhaps even more interesting, though, is the fact UMass has been playing him at center lately.
Boston features Kings prospect Jack Hughes up front. Originally selected in the second round (2022), the 21-year-old forward has struggled offensively this year. He’s goalless through his first 15 games. Because he went straight to college, rather than play a season in the USHL before moving on, his rights are actually coming due next summer. Unlike Connors, who is a junior and could wait another year to sign if he wanted to, Hughes is a senior. This is it for him, so the pressure is likely high.
LA Director of amateur scouting spoke quite a bit about Hughes and his situation here.
Today’s game can be seen on NESN (DirecTV) channel 628.
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