Don’t look now, but Sammy Helenius is coming in hot. Fresh off an impressive training camp and several NHL exhibition games last month, the Kings prospect potted two goals in his second AHL contest of the season last Sunday. Elevated to second line responsibilities following the Reign dropping their opening night contest 5-0, Helenius brought the offense late in regulation to help lift the team to a win in their rematch with San Jose.
Now, after a week of practice, the Reign return to action at Toyota Arena on Friday night, where they’ll host the Bakersfield Condors.
In addition to Helenius, another big Kings prospect to keep a close eye on this season is 19-year-old Jakub Dvorak. The 6-foot-5 defenseman made his North American debut last weekend and should see action again tonight vs. the Condors.
Unfortunately, it looks like a pair of LA’s forward prospects, Kaleb Lawrence and Aatu Jamesen, are not expected to play. The latter was one of the team’s late-round draft picks from a few years ago and he’s proven to be a highly creative offensive player over in Finland. As noted previously, he is also capable of exploiting his speed when used on the penalty kill.
Jamsen often attempts to score lacrosse style goals. He did it during the Rookie Faceoff, tried in last weekend’s game, and is known to do it in practice, as well. Although he likely won’t draw in tonight, the confidence that he has to use that move in his first AHL game says a lot about the type of player he is.
Coach Marco Sturm shared extended thoughts on the trio of incoming prospects here:
Veteran Glenn Gawdin appears out for tonight, as does Jake Wise. The two centers were signed by Ontario during the offseason. Given that Wise participated in morning skate drills at the team’s practice facility in El Segundo this morning wearing a red no-contact jersey, we’ll assume he won’t be available tonight.
REIGN PROJECTED LINEUP vs. CONDORS
Projection is based on practice alignment over the past few days. Should Sturm opt to make a few changes during morning skate or pregame warm-ups, this article will be updated.
Hudon – Studnicka – Fagemo
Malott – Helenius – Ward
Chromiak – Pinelli – Madden
Parker-Jones – Element – Doty
Booth – Hicketts
Moverare – Walsh
Dvorak – Rowe
Portillo (starter)
Ingham
Other roster options include: (F) Jamsen, Lawrence, Singleton, Wise (D) Krygier, Millar
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm Pacific Time and the game can be viewed on FloHockey.
RELATED CONTENT:
Follow @mayorNHL
Continue reading...
