It’s finally time; things are heating up again in SoCal hockey circles!
With the 2025 NHL Entry Draft lading in Los Angeles, there’s bound to be some juicy Kings news coming down the pipe later this week. Of course, with that in mind, we’ve also prepared our annual predictions article for this year’s festivities.
Similar to the past, we’ve worked diligently behind the scenes to gather as much intel as possible. This involves speaking to people both with the organization, as well as outside resources, like the in-depth podcast recently published with NHL Draft expert Shane Malloy.
This is an absolute must-listen as part of your pre-Draft prep:
If you’re looking for some of our past Draft Prediction articles, start with these articles:
Predictions: LA Kings Selections at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft
Predictions: LA Kings Selections at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft
Predictions: LA Kings Selections at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft
Predictions: LA Kings Selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft
Predictions: LA Kings Selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft
2025 NHL Draft: Kings Selections
Everything begins with the Kings list of available selections. As of this writing, the team holds seven selections:
Round 1 – No. 24
Round 2 – N/A (traded to TBL for Jeannot)
Round 3 – No. 88
Round 4 – No. 120
Round 5 – No. 152
Round 6 – No. 184
Round 7 – No. 196 (from PHI with Kuzmenko)
Round 7 – No. 216
A few things worth noting here. First, there is a strong possibility Mark Yannetti (LA’s Director of Amateur Scouting) will attempt to move down in the first round. In doing so, he’d be looking to acquire a second-round selection to replace what the team gave up in last year’s Tanner Jeannot trade. After all, trading down in 2024 worked out perfectly, with Yannetti landing prized prospect Liam Greentree at No. 26 and then later selecting goaltender Carter George with the added second round pick.
It likely won’t be an easy trick to turn again in 2025, though. Five of the eight teams picking behind LA in the first round this year have multiple picks in the first 32. Hence, they may not have a desire to move up to where the Kings are slotted at 24.
One team to keep an eye on is Philadelphia. Even after Monday’s trade to acquire Trevor Zegras, the Flyers still have three first round picks and three more second round picks. That’s a lot of draft capital to work with. They could form a potential trade partner with LA.
San Jose is another potential team for Yannetti to work a deal with come Friday; perhaps something like picks 30, 53, and 124 for LA’s No. 24 spot.
Trying to put something together with Nashville could be tricky. Maybe flip Nos. 24 and 88 to the Preds for Nos. 26 and 35? In that scenario, Nashville moves up two spots and gains a third (while losing second round pick). Conversely, LA falls back two spots in Round 1 and gains that Round 2 selection they’re looking for (while losing a third).
Beyond various movement in Round 1, there is also expected to be a deep drop off in talent after the Round 2 this year, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see LA trying to maximize the number of selections they can acquire in Round 3 (which will maybe be their best shot at finding some value picks).
We’ll be on the lookout to see if LA is ultimately willing to use all three of their Round 6 and 7 selections to trade up into earlier rounds. If the Kings somehow acquire a second rounder, we could conceivably see them leaving the Draft with only four total selections.
More Trade Scenarios
Building upon the above scenarios, there’s also the possibility of trading Vladislav Gavrikov’s rights for a draft pick (or maybe a prospect). New GM Ken Holland is believed to still be interested in signing the versatile defenseman. However, if a deal doesn’t look likely in the next few days, there’s a strong chance other options will be looked at during Draft Weekend.
Despite several current roster players being mentioned in trade rumors of late, we don’t anticipate guys like Trevor Moore or Jordan Spence to be flipped for draft picks (i.e. futures). Moving out players of that ilk would more likely be done to improve the 2025-26 lineup.
Another type of trade that isn’t likely would be anything involving 2026 draft picks to move up in 2025. The Kings will want to hold onto picks for next year because it’s said to be a deeper crop of prospects. If a 2026 pick is moved this week, it would more likely be in a package that involved adding a current player to the roster.
Like last year, another thing we’re not expecting the Kings to do is attempt to move up in Round 1. Again, they simply don’t have the assets to do so right now. Meaning, we’re not expecting them to try and package a current prospect or pick(s) to move from No. 21 up to No. 15. Therefore, LA is looking at three realistic outcomes: (a) trade the No. 24 pick for a player to add to their current roster, (b) make the pick at 24 or (c) slide back a few spots and collect the extra tax for doing so.
Let’s deal with Option A right off the bat. As we reported quite some time ago, LA’s 2025 first round pick is believed to be in play — so much so that we’d say the there’s a better than 30% chance Holland trade’s the pick for a roster player.
In either of the other two scenarios, we still have you covered. Through extensive homework and discussions with key sources, we’ve pulled together a solid candidate pool from which the Kings may be drawing upon when making selections at Peacock Theater later this week.
Per the norm — and really for the sake of brevity — we won’t go into too much detail with players outside the first round. Beginning with each passing round, it becomes more and more difficult to predict what a team will do. Even so, we’ll provide a few key names to keep an eye on.
Overall, our LA Kings 2025 Draft Guide focuses a little more on players they’ll likely be looking at with their first selection — regardless of if that’s at No. 24 or a few spots later. Then, we’ll share some more general thoughts on the later rounds.
Below are the names we feel Holland, Yannetti, and the Kings are most likely going to be focusing in on when it’s their turn to select in Round 1 and beyond.
(NOTE: Each tier has players listed in alphabetical order)
ROUND 1: Longshots
We’ll kick thigs off with a little fun. Every year, somebody unexpectedly falls in the Draft. While none of these guys are expected to still be available after pick No. 20 — Kashawn Aitcheson (D), Carter Bear (C/LW), Justin Carbonneau (RW) — rest assured that if any one of that trio is still there, LA would surely take them right away.
Assuming all three are long gone, here are the next three players who at least could conceivably make it to No. 24, even though it’s not very probable:
Braeden Cootes | Center, WHL
5-foot-11.25, 183 lbs., shoots right
Buzzwords from scouts: Robust two-way game, relentless hustle, leadership, high floor, strong skater, good athlete, consistent effort, creates high-percentage scoring chances, does not possess elite-level stickhandling, yet his hands are efficient
Defining characteristic: Swiss Army knife
Our full write-up on Cootes can be found here.
Logan Hensler | Defenseman, NCAA
6-foot-2.25, 192 lbs., shoots right
Buzzwords from scouts:
Defining characteristic: Skating
Our full write-up on Hensler can be found here.
Jack Nesbitt | Center, OHL
6-foot-4.25, 185 lbs., shoots left
Buzzwords from scouts: Power, skill, deployed in all situations, strong in the faceoff circle, good hands, competitive, will drop the gloves, blend of offensive production and physical edge, can play center or wing
Defining characteristic: Size
Our full write-up on Nesbitt can be found here.
ROUND 1: Realistic Options
Assuming the players mentioned above have already been selected by other teams, LA will most likely be turning their attention to this tier — a group we’re referring to as the Significant Six:
Henry Brzustewicz | Defenseman, OHL
6-foot-1.75, 203 lbs., shoots right
Buzzwords from scouts: Big point shot, ability to slip coverage, intensity, mobility, needs to make quicker decisions with the puck, high upside, smooth skater, strong fundamentals, high-end hockey intelligence, composed, quick acceleration, initiates clean breakouts, strong puck retrievals under pressure, poised decision-making, maintains structure in his own zone, supportive style of game
Defining characteristic: Ability to fill and join the rush
Our full write-up on Brzustewicz can be found here.
Benjamin Kindel | Center, WHL
5-foot-10, 176 lbs., shoots right
Buzzwords from scouts: Smart, creative, above-average vision, really good shot, works hard, tenacious on the ice, skating will likely make him a wing in the NHL, exceptional hockey sense, executes perfect tape-to-tape passes through tight traffic, timely goal-scoring, deceptive passes, looks off defenders, excels at reading the play to exploit defensive breakdowns, strong puck protection
Defining characteristic: Sense without the puck
Our full write-up on Kindel can be found here.
Ryker Lee | Right Wing, USHL
6-foot, 170 lbs., shoots right
Buzzwords from scouts: Very good sense, good vision, good playmaking, strong shooting ability, skating needs work
Defining characteristic: Higher level skill
Our full write-up on Lee can be found here.
Cole McKinney | Center, NTDP
6-foot-0, 200 lbs., shoots right
Buzzwords from scouts: Versatile, agitator, supplementary offense, reliable penalty-killing, valuable on both sides of the puck, good hands, solid vision, can serve as both playmaker and finisher, plays hard and fast, effective speed
Defining characteristic: Compete
Our full write-up on McKinney can be found here.
Cameron Reid | Defenseman, OHL
5-foot-11.75, 193 lbs., shoots left
Buzzwords from scouts: Excels in defensive roles, smooth and powerful skater, closes on pucks quickly, coaches trust him, can create some offense off the rush, mobility, passing ability, excellent transition passer, reliable
Defining characteristic: High level skating
Our full write-up on Reid can be found here.
Bill Zonnan | Right Wing/Center, QMJHL
6-foot-1.75, 187 lbs., shoots left
Buzzwords from scouts: High-energy, pressure-oriented style, industrious, detailed, workhorse, supports teammates in all three zones, moves the puck quickly in transition, strong forechecker, willingness to engage in puck battles, blends size and physicality, high motor, smart positional awareness, coaches trust him in high-leverage situations, strong puck protection, accurate passer under pressure, keeps plays alive, stride lacks initial explosiveness
Defining characteristic: Character / culture guy
Our full write-up on Zonnan can be found here.
ROUND 1: When Trading Down
If the Kings trade down (back) from No. 24, they would be taking a calculated risk that one of the above players could potentially still be there at their new selection spot… along with one (or more) of these players:
Sascha Boumedienne | Defenseman, NCAA
6-foot-1, 175 lbs., shoots left
Defining characteristic: Strong puck-moving skills
Blake Fiddler | Defenseman, WHL
6-foot-4, 209 lbs., shoots right
Defining characteristic: Shuts down opponents
Lynden Lakovic | Left Wing, WHL
6-foot-4.25, 195 lbs., shoots left
Defining characteristic: High-end finishing skills
Jack Murtagh | Left Wing/Center, NTDP
6-foot-1, 200 lbs., shoots left
Defining characteristic: rush-based ability
Eric Nilson | Center, Sweden
5-foot-11.5, 156 lbs., shoots right
Defining characteristic: sense
What About the Goalies?
In rather quick order, the Kings have done a masterful job of rebuilding their goaltending pipeline. It’s easy to speculate that one of their top two goaltending prospects (Hampton Slukynksy or Carter George) could be moved in a trade to help the immediate roster, yet that doesn’t seem to be in the cards currently.
LA is believed to still be interested in taking a goalie at this year’s Draft, despite their current depth. The problem is, given the lack of depth in this year’s overall class, goalies will probably need to be selected in the second and third rounds. The Kings don’t currently have a second-round pick, and if things stay that way, using their only third round pick to take a netminder would come with some opportunity cost risk. If the team ends up with a second pick in the 55-75 range, that’s the sweet spot where the Kings could look to add another young prospect to their ever-growing list of prospects to fill the crease.
LATER ROUNDS: Names to Watch
– Look for a handful of Russian players to enter the chat starting in Round 2
– There are also quite a few players from Sweden and Finland who are believed to be of interest to LA during Rounds 2, 3, and 4
– Again, without a second-round pick entering the Draft, it’s nearly impossible to target who the team might be interested in during the middle rounds — as well as who might still be on the board when it’s their turn to pick in (potentially) rounds two through seven.
Even so, we’ve pulled together a list of 11 potential names that could be selected by LA on Day 2 of the Draft.
Second & Third Round
Carter Amico – defenseman, USNTDP
Eddie Genborg – left wing, Sweden
Mace’o Phillips – defenseman, USNTDP
Daniil Prokhorov – right wing, Russia
Haoxi Wang – defenseman, OHL
Alexander Zharovsky – right wing, Russia
Middle & Later Rounds
Arvid Drott – right wing, Sweden
Theodor Hallquisth – defenseman, Sweden
Zeb Lindgren – defenseman, Sweden
Tomas Poletin – left wing, Finland
Malte Vass – defenseman, Sweden
That’s a wrap for now. The entire Mayor’s Manor team will bring you coverage throughout Draft weekend, including comments from players and members of Kings management.
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