Why don't we make better use of our farm system?

[Helvetica]

All fair points, I guess I just think of someone like Vilardi who Todd kept sending back at first because he didn't play the right way. I guess though the difference with someone like that was even though he wasn't doing what they wanted, he was showing signs that he could play/score at the NHL level?

They know Fagemo better than I do, I just figured since they took him back from Nashville they still had hope, but you're right that there are those AHL skill guys that are just that and nothing more.

Vilardi was a bit of a special case. He could actually play at the NHL level and needed to round out parts of his game. He also was dealing with some back issues that had him start and stopping with his conditioning. And finally, the guy sulked... a lot. To the point that coach actually called him out publically for bringing a negative attitude and sucking the life out of the locker room. And Blake had to call him out for his conditioning.

Guys like Frk just arent really at an NHL level. You give them some chances, which the kings have, but it's obvious his play isnt there. You HOPE hey can improve and round out there game to the point that they arent a liability, but if that doesnt happen, you cant just keep playing them. Vilardi clearly had a lot of the tools to play at the NHL level, but his back and forth and ultimate jettison from the team had very little to do with his skill, and more to do with his work ethic and attitude.

 

[Sultanic]

It’s kind of incredible how the Kings have consistently whiffed on 2nd round picks. Since 2010 (Tyler Toffoli) the Kings have had 15 2nd round picks (not counting ‘23, ‘24). 1 was a homerun Brock Faber (2020), 2 are currently on the team (Thomas, Helenius) but every other pick is either out of the league or a very long shot to ever make an impact in the NHL.

I think a better strategy going forward would be to trade out of the 2nd round for NHL players or to get back into the 1st round.

The issue with 2nd round picks is that you have some different philosophies to use. Most often, the players that fall to the 2nd round have a 1st round quality to their game, but some serious doubts that prevented them from being top picks.

So you have to decide whether you want to take swings at high-risk high-reward picks, or take players who have more certainty to their game but are projected to play further down the lineup.

By and large (certainly not "always"), Blake's tenure has seen risks taken where as Lombardi erred on certainty. Different factors at play too. Lombardi had fewer picks at his disposal so he needed them to count, while Blake had numerous picks from the rebuild to use on "hope" players.

I fault Blake for taking those homerun swings and trying to round them all down to safety instead of allowing them to play their game.

 

[DryKing]

Vilardi was a bit of a special case. He could actually play at the NHL level and needed to round out parts of his game. He also was dealing with some back issues that had him start and stopping with his conditioning. And finally, the guy sulked... a lot. To the point that coach actually called him out publically for bringing a negative attitude and sucking the life out of the locker room. And Blake had to call him out for his conditioning.

Guys like Frk just arent really at an NHL level. You give them some chances, which the kings have, but it's obvious his play isnt there. You HOPE hey can improve and round out there game to the point that they arent a liability, but if that doesnt happen, you cant just keep playing them. Vilardi clearly had a lot of the tools to play at the NHL level, but his back and forth and ultimate jettison from the team had very little to do with his skill, and more to do with his work ethic and attitude.

Yeah attitude for sure with Vilardi, though the injury was probably the initial reason he slipped a bit in the draft. It's sad to think we had the player this team really needs, but hurt feelings, on both sides, got in the way and made a trade unavoidable.

Additionally this was during the phase where the Kings wanted all their forwards to be slick skating speedsters which Vilardi was never going to be.

 

[Helvetica]

Yeah attitude for sure with Vilardi, though the injury was probably the initial reason he slipped a bit in the draft. It's sad to think we had the player this team really needs, but hurt feelings, on both sides, got in the way and made a trade unavoidable.

Additionally this was during the phase where the Kings wanted all their forwards to be slick skating speedsters which Vilardi was never going to be.

I think he could have fit. In terms of skating, Kings tried everything they could with Kaliyev. Theyve looked at guys that aren't fast. Kopi isnt fast. PL wasnt fast. Kaliyev wasnt fast. There are a lot of guys that succeeded on this team that were not fast over the past several years. I think they gave Vilardi a lot of opportunities, and for whatever reason he seemed unhappy about it all. Without knowing what happened behind the scenes, im perfectly fine the way it all went down. Im sad we lost him because, as you mentioned, he's exactly what we need right now, but there's something to be said for timing. It wasnt working for him here unfortunately.