It’s been quite the week for the Ontario Reign, and they haven’t even played a game since last weekend. On Tuesday morning, the team announced that Kings prospect Akil Thomas had been traded to the Blues in exchange for forward Nikita Alexandrov.
Stating the obvious, this move reshapes quite a bit at the top of coach Andrew Lord’s lineup. Thomas had been productive in his role, recording 13 points (4G, 9A) in 19 games. Beyond the numbers, he consistently impressed in the faceoff circle and brought valuable veteran leadership off the ice.
Though Alexandrov is a quality player in his own right — fresh off a point-per-game season with the Springfield Thunderbirds — how he ultimately integrates into Ontario’s lineup will be one of the more intriguing storylines to watch even past tonight’s contest. Based on how Lord set things up at practice yesterday, look for him to start the versatile forward at left wing on the top line. Alexandrov also plays center and right wing, so those are perhaps options that could be utilized later, if needed.
Turning to tonight’s opponent, this will mark the first of back-to-back games against Calgary at Toyota Arena. The two teams met earlier in November, splitting a series up in Alberta.
Surprisingly, this set will also be the final meetings between these two Pacific Division foes during the 2025-26 regular season. It’s a bit unfortunate for Ontario’s young prospects, as many of them shined during the aforementioned series last month.
Rookie Kenny Connors led the way with a goal and two assists, further elevating his standing within the Kings’ pipeline. Fellow rookies Jared Wright and Koehn Ziemmer also scored — with the latter netting his first pro goal.
As he’s done quite often this season, Taylor Ward found the scoresheet in that series as well, continuing what’s been a stellar start to his campaign. Now the lone Taylor Ward left in Southern California, he’s been impossible to miss with the way he’s playing. Ward leads the Reign with 10 goals, well ahead of Martin Chromiak’s six, and he’s been a model of 200-foot hockey. His forecheck is arguably the best on the team, and he routinely wreaks havoc in the offensive zone shift after shift.
On the goaltending front, Erik Portillo remains out, though he continues to make progress toward a return in the near future. Meanwhile, veteran Pheonix Copley will get the nod once again, marking his third consecutive start. He’ll be looking to rebound from his previous performance against Calgary, making 27 of 30 saves in a losing effort.
What You May Have Missed
Fresh on the heels of Thomas being traded earlier this week, Ontario’s bench boss shared a few thoughts with us:
Reign Projected Lineup vs. Wranglers
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Alexandrov – Gawdin – Guttman
Chromiak – Pinelli – Ward
Lee – Connors – Wright
Jamsen – Hughes – Ziemmer
Hicketts – Salin
Booth – Burroughs
Kirsanov – Bolduc
Copley (starter)
Saville
Likely scratches: (F) Brown, Isogai and (D) Dvorak, Millar
Injured: Doty, Lawrence (month-to-month), Parker-Jones, Portillo
Key Game Info
Puck drop is set for 6:00 pm Pacific Time and will be streamed via FloSports. Additionally, a Reign radio feed is available here.
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