With 48 NHL contests under his belt this season, Alex Turcotte is quickly approaching a new high for games played during any previous year of his career. Last season saw him get into 55 games, yet that was split between time with the Kings and AHL Ontario. Thus far in 2024-25, he’s already established a new high-water mark while wearing a single jersey.
Any way you slice it, the past two seasons have been exactly what the 2019 Draft product needed, consistent health and regular playing time.
Last week, a rare break in the NHL schedule also afforded him an opportunity to catch his breath a bit. Joined by a few Kings teammates, Turcotte headed to Cabo for some well-earned rest and relaxation. Now back in Los Angeles, he’s eager to slip on his Kings jersey again come Saturday and make the final push through the regular seasons for what should lead to another first for the 23-year old winger — action in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With all of that in mind, we recently caught up with Turcotte to get some thoughts on how he views where things stand with his game and what lies ahead.
“Overall, it’s been good,” he began. “I’m pretty happy with most of the first half of the season for myself. It’s nice to contribute, but I feel like I could have been better over that last little stretch, when we kind of went on a little bit of a losing streak. That’s part of it, though — the tougher matchups and stuff. I’m getting used to it and playing against all these great players. It’s a long year and it’s kind of like my first time going through it all. I feel like it’s a big learning experience for me, but I feel like it’s helping me get better, for sure. And it’s going to definitely help me going into the second half of the season and moving forward.”
As somebody who played both center and wing quite regularly during his time with the Reign, Turcotte is used to being moved around the lineup and used in different capacities. There, he was most often a top-6 forward. This season, his time in LA has largely been spent either up on the top line with Anze Kopitar or in a fourth line role. How is he handling the mental adjustment to those two extremely different roles?
“I’m trying not to think too much about it,” he remarked. “[Jim Hiller] and I have a good relationship. He’s pretty up front with me and talks to me a lot. I really appreciate that. It’s not always like that with coaches, so that definitely helps. I also think that, mentally, I’ve gotten a lot stronger over the last couple years. I’ve been through a lot. I know there’s going to be adversity throughout the season; there are always rough patches. I’m not saying that [moving around] is that situation, but more that I’ve learned to just roll with things. I just play my game and do the best I can in whatever role they want me for. I understand, I’m still like a rookie and I still have a lot to learn. I’m just happy to be playing and I just want to contribute any way I can. Obviously, I want to play all the time. Everyone wants all the minutes in the world, but I think it’s good to be versatile.”
Sitting at seven goals on the season, Turcotte has yet to score one at home — yet. Given the Kings have spent much of the season away from Crypto.com Arena thus far, the odds should tip back in his favor over the next few months. More to come for the Illinois native, as his NHL career is really just getting started. And signed to a three-year contract carrying an AAV of just $775k last summer, his deal could prove to be a tremendous value over the next two seasons.
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