2013 LA Kings Draft Thread

[Reaper45]

I still think the Kings go after Bell.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

I still think the Kings go after Bell.

If we draft him, can we call him Hell's Bell?

 

[KingCanadain1976]

I have a couple of horses in this coming draft. One is a friends kid so I have again had to watch him play during his development more than I would other prospects making my opinion of him biased.

That said his name is Anthony Mantha (no relation) and he is a really solid LW. He is huge for his age (6'4" 204lbs) and can score with the very best of them. He plays big and likes to hit. He is going to need a couple of years (likely 3 to be honest) to develop and some have him listed as a 20th (or a little later) pick in the first round so unless JB returns us a 1st rd pick he may not be there for us unless we get creative but he is THE perfect fit for us.

A real character kid who is a natural leader and a hard player. He fades in and out at times but to me that is no different than all but the very elite in this draft and also because he tends to get into battling when at times he should stick and move.

One more year of jrs then MCH for a couple of years and we have a top 6 LW who is big plays tough and can snipe with all but the very best of them.

How long would it take him to be nhl ready should we get him ? 3 years really

 

[etherialone]

How long would it take him to be nhl ready should we get him ?

2 years at the earliest imo. He has all the skills and is a tough enough kid but get him to MCH and then give him his time and it will be worth it. 2-3 years and he will be in the NHL.

 

[Docgonzo]

My gut is if DL can get a mid round pick for Bernier he picks Rychel, just screams to me DL guy. Or if he can get an early 2nd Jacob De La Rose if he's available, I see De La Rose as a LW version of Lewis which I'm sure DL would love.

Not saying these are who I want drafted just giving my hunches on who DL might go after if he gets a 1st or early 2nd.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I'd love to see the Kings draft Kerby Rychel. Aside from the LA connection, looks like he can put the puck in the net, and it helps that he's a LW.



Now if he has the edge in his game like his old man, he'd be perfect!

 

[Jonteeh]

Take him in the 2nd round and get the steal of the draft.

Only played 8 games in SEL last season tho, but scored 6 points in the third line. He will get a regular spot in the starting lineup next season. The pass at 0:17 is a rly good one

Really nice size to and would fit the LA play style.

 

[kingsfan]

Why should Kings blow a high pick for a goalie again? Bernier was drafted 11th overall, he is young, cheap and ready for a starting role. And nonetheless the Kings will be lucky if he brings back the same value (11th overall pick) when traded. Probably not. I think it's not worth to pick goalies higher than in 4th round, especially because the Kings are set in net with Quick for a long time, so they only need a decent and cheap backup.

Because DL takes BPA, and if he feels there is a goalie in round 2 or 3 that is the best available, he'll take it.

Bernier is irrelevant to this draft, however the fact that he is quite possibly out the door at the draft (or before/after) would impact our need for a goalie in the system. If we use Jones as a backup, then that leaves only Berube in the system at all.

Only drafting goalies in round four or later is a system designed for folly. Dave Taylor largely used that philosophy. Taylor drafted 14 goalies. Of those 14, five played in the NHL and only two -Quick and Huet- played more than five career games.

And Quick was selected in the third round as well. Of the 10 goalies Taylor drafted in the fourth round or later, only Huet played more than five career games.

Additionally, 30 of the starters or backups in the NHL this season (defined as the two top goaltenders per team based on minutes played) were drafted in the top three rounds of the draft, meaning if you ignore those rounds, you are ignoring half of the goaltenders in the entire league in the process (actually, slightly more than half as Steve Mason was number two in minutes played on both Philadelphia and Columbus but I only counted him once, meaning it's 30 out of 59 goalies).

Goaltending is like any other position, if you ignore drafting bthem early you set yourself up for issues long term. Taylor didn't learn from that and ended up giving the Kings largely mediocore goaltending by taking on teams has-beens or spare parts that had only glimpses of success (Dafoe, Fiset, Potvin, Garon, Cechmanek).

We have arguably the best one-two tandem in the league by investing a 1st and a 3rd in quality goaltenders. If you want to go to round four and later only, we wouldn't have Bernier at all -and boy was he huge during the season when Quick was shaky- and likely not Quick either, unless he fell another 30 picks or so.

 

[damacles1156]

Because DL takes BPA, and if he feels there is a goalie in round 2 or 3 that is the best available, he'll take it.

Bernier is irrelevant to this draft, however the fact that he is quite possibly out the door at the draft (or before/after) would impact our need for a goalie in the system. If we use Jones as a backup, then that leaves only Berube in the system at all.

Only drafting goalies in round four or later is a system designed for folly. Dave Taylor largely used that philosophy. Taylor drafted 14 goalies. Of those 14, five played in the NHL and only two -Quick and Huet- played more than five career games.

And Quick was selected in the third round as well. Of the 10 goalies Taylor drafted in the fourth round or later, only Huet played more than five career games.

Additionally, 30 of the starters or backups in the NHL this season (defined as the two top goaltenders per team based on minutes played) were drafted in the top three rounds of the draft, meaning if you ignore those rounds, you are ignoring half of the goaltenders in the entire league in the process (actually, slightly more than half as Steve Mason was number two in minutes played on both Philadelphia and Columbus but I only counted him once, meaning it's 30 out of 59 goalies).

Goaltending is like any other position, if you ignore drafting bthem early you set yourself up for issues long term. Taylor didn't learn from that and ended up giving the Kings largely mediocore goaltending by taking on teams has-beens or spare parts that had only glimpses of success (Dafoe, Fiset, Potvin, Garon, Cechmanek).

We have arguably the best one-two tandem in the league by investing a 1st and a 3rd in quality goaltenders. If you want to go to round four and later only, we wouldn't have Bernier at all -and boy was he huge during the season when Quick was shaky- and likely not Quick either, unless he fell another 30 picks or so.

You have had to post this like four times. I can't believe people are that stupid to ignore half the draft to pick up a goalie....

Arguable the most important position on a Hockey team....Lets not draft anyone till round four for it......Total fail.

Folks Quick is not going to be around forever, and picks take about Four years on average to mature.....You take BPA , if that is a Goalie you take him.

 

[bmr]

Because DL takes BPA, and if he feels there is a goalie in round 2 or 3 that is the best available, he'll take it.

Bernier is irrelevant to this draft, however the fact that he is quite possibly out the door at the draft (or before/after) would impact our need for a goalie in the system. If we use Jones as a backup, then that leaves only Berube in the system at all.

Only drafting goalies in round four or later is a system designed for folly. Dave Taylor largely used that philosophy. Taylor drafted 14 goalies. Of those 14, five played in the NHL and only two -Quick and Huet- played more than five career games.

And Quick was selected in the third round as well. Of the 10 goalies Taylor drafted in the fourth round or later, only Huet played more than five career games.

Additionally, 30 of the starters or backups in the NHL this season (defined as the two top goaltenders per team based on minutes played) were drafted in the top three rounds of the draft, meaning if you ignore those rounds, you are ignoring half of the goaltenders in the entire league in the process (actually, slightly more than half as Steve Mason was number two in minutes played on both Philadelphia and Columbus but I only counted him once, meaning it's 30 out of 59 goalies).

Goaltending is like any other position, if you ignore drafting bthem early you set yourself up for issues long term. Taylor didn't learn from that and ended up giving the Kings largely mediocore goaltending by taking on teams has-beens or spare parts that had only glimpses of success (Dafoe, Fiset, Potvin, Garon, Cechmanek).

We have arguably the best one-two tandem in the league by investing a 1st and a 3rd in quality goaltenders. If you want to go to round four and later only, we wouldn't have Bernier at all -and boy was he huge during the season when Quick was shaky- and likely not Quick either, unless he fell another 30 picks or so.

I'm not a big fan of drafting goalies in the first round. How many of the best goalies in this league are first rounders? I think Ranford has done an excellent job and is a big part of the reason we have had so much success with goalies on our team. Lombardi has always had a knack for finding goalies.

IMHO, you don't blow your first rounder/2nd rounders on potential. We did it in 2003 and we did it with Hickey. Use the later rounds for that.

 

[Whiskeypete]

Because DL takes BPA, and if he feels there is a goalie in round 2 or 3 that is the best available, he'll take it.

Bernier is irrelevant to this draft, however the fact that he is quite possibly out the door at the draft (or before/after) would impact our need for a goalie in the system. If we use Jones as a backup, then that leaves only Berube in the system at all.

Only drafting goalies in round four or later is a system designed for folly. Dave Taylor largely used that philosophy. Taylor drafted 14 goalies. Of those 14, five played in the NHL and only two -Quick and Huet- played more than five career games.

And Quick was selected in the third round as well. Of the 10 goalies Taylor drafted in the fourth round or later, only Huet played more than five career games.

Additionally, 30 of the starters or backups in the NHL this season (defined as the two top goaltenders per team based on minutes played) were drafted in the top three rounds of the draft, meaning if you ignore those rounds, you are ignoring half of the goaltenders in the entire league in the process (actually, slightly more than half as Steve Mason was number two in minutes played on both Philadelphia and Columbus but I only counted him once, meaning it's 30 out of 59 goalies).

Goaltending is like any other position, if you ignore drafting bthem early you set yourself up for issues long term. Taylor didn't learn from that and ended up giving the Kings largely mediocore goaltending by taking on teams has-beens or spare parts that had only glimpses of success (Dafoe, Fiset, Potvin, Garon, Cechmanek).

We have arguably the best one-two tandem in the league by investing a 1st and a 3rd in quality goaltenders. If you want to go to round four and later only, we wouldn't have Bernier at all -and boy was he huge during the season when Quick was shaky- and likely not Quick either, unless he fell another 30 picks or so.

 

[Captain Mittens*]

I always wanted a Odgers/Bodger fight

 

[damacles1156]

I'm not a big fan of drafting goalies in the first round. How many of the best goalies in this league are first rounders? I think Ranford has done an excellent job and is a big part of the reason we have had so much success with goalies on our team. Lombardi has always had a knack for finding goalies.

IMHO, you don't blow your first rounder/2nd rounders on potential. We did it in 2003 and we did it with Hickey. Use the later rounds for that.

More than Half of the starting Goalies in this league are 1st or 2nd rounders...

 

[CNS]

Anton Slepyshev. That is all.

 

[Sacha Baron Corbin]

Anton Slepyshev. That is all.

I know he didn't get drafted at all last year but if he's still there in the 6th-7th round I'd take him.

 

[CNS]

I know he didn't get drafted at all last year but if he's still there in the 6th-7th round I'd take him.

He's got talent and potential. But I'm sure I'll get 98% of this board going with the ole "He wasn't drafted. Clearly scouts are smarter than you and know that he sucks" schtick.

 

[kingsfan]

I'm not a big fan of drafting goalies in the first round. How many of the best goalies in this league are first rounders? I think Ranford has done an excellent job and is a big part of the reason we have had so much success with goalies on our team. Lombardi has always had a knack for finding goalies.

IMHO, you don't blow your first rounder/2nd rounders on potential. We did it in 2003 and we did it with Hickey. Use the later rounds for that.

Ummm.... what do you blow 1st and 2nd rounders on then?

I assume you mean go safe? Safe is good, and yes I think you should go safe with a top 4 pick like Hickey, but in 2003, we got Brown (so hardly a bust) and then we took Boyle and Tambellini. Only Tambellini was really a flop, and even he got 240+ games in the NHL. Boyle's nothing special but he's still playing in the NHL and likely will have a solid 600+ game career when all is said and done.

Go do some research and see how well the average 26th overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft does. Boyle's nothing great, but he's not a flop.

As for goaltenders, using the goaltender who played the most minutes per NHL team, the following goaltenders were first round picks:

Pittsburgh: Fluery
New Jersey: Broduer
Montreal: Price
Boston: Rask
Vancouver: Schneider
Edmonton: Dubnyk
Colorado: Varlamov
Dallas: Lehtonen

So that's eight starters in the league, or 27% of the leagues starters. Also, note that list doesn't include Cam Ward, who wasn't the Hurricanes minutes leader due to injury. Add him in and almost 1/3rd of the leagues starters come from the 1st round.
But since you also mentioned not wasting a 2nd round pick either, here's the teams with starters (defined as most minutes played on their team again) drafted in round two:

Philadelphia: Bryzgalov
Chicago: Crawford
Detroit: Howard
Winnipeg: Pavelec
Carolina: Dan Ellis
Florida: Jacob Markstrom

So another six, meaning 14 of 30 teams used a goalie drafted in the first two rounds as their starter.

And since your original argument was to not use a pick above the 4th round on a goaltender, here's the starters in the league who were drafted in the third round:

Ottawa: Craig Anderson (actually drafted twice in the 3rd round)
Los Angeles: Quick

Of the 14 teams whose starter was selected in round four or later, eight made the playoffs and just two -New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks- made it to round two of the playoffs.

Of the eight goaltenders who were still playing (or on the bench) in round three, only Ray Emery, Anton Khudobin, and Tomas Vokoun were selected after round three and, depending on where you were picking in round four, you may not have gotten Emery either, since he went early into round four. Only Vokoun seen action in round three as well.

So if we waited to draft a goalie until round four, we'd miss out on all four starters who played in the semi-finals (depending on if you label Vokoun a starter or not), we'd miss out on six of the eight starters who played in round two, 10 of the 16 starting goaltenders who made the playoffs and 16 of the 30 goaltenders who were starters for their team.

One additional note, following the cancelled season (04-05) there have been eight Stanley Cup finals (including this one), and only one (2010) didn't see at least one starting goaltender who was a former first round draft pick.

 

[kingsfan]

I know he didn't get drafted at all last year but if he's still there in the 6th-7th round I'd take him.

Only if he's coming over, or even has a shot at coming over. If he's hell bent on staying there (and likely getting good money as well) then there is no point. It's a wasted pick.

 

[AmadiosAmigos]

I would love a deal that see's us nab Philadelphia's 1st rounder in a deal for Bernier, but hard to see this happening..

Bo Horvat, Ryan Hartman, Anthony Mantha, Nikita Zadorov, Adam Erne would all be 1st round guys who interest me.

Then there's some 2nd rounders.... like Steve Santini, Zack Natasiuk, Justin Bailey, Morgan Klimchuk, Jason Dickinson

As for goalie, Jake Patterson from the London Knights is a guy who could be a great mid round pick up.

 

[Holden Caulfield]

He's got talent and potential. But I'm sure I'll get 98% of this board going with the ole "He wasn't drafted. Clearly scouts are smarter than you and know that he sucks" schtick.

Anybody who is saying Slepyshev sucks does not know who he is. Slepyshev is a solid young player, nobody has doubted that. Last year he had borderline first round talent. It's not the talent that is questioned.

However since every single team in the NHL passed on him that many times I have to question what has been said in interviews to scare them away. Everybody knows the talent level, I get the feeling that Slepyshev has stated he never intends to come over.

 

[bmr]

Ummm.... what do you blow 1st and 2nd rounders on then?

I assume you mean go safe? Safe is good, and yes I think you should go safe with a top 4 pick like Hickey, but in 2003, we got Brown (so hardly a bust) and then we took Boyle and Tambellini. Only Tambellini was really a flop, and even he got 240+ games in the NHL. Boyle's nothing special but he's still playing in the NHL and likely will have a solid 600+ game career when all is said and done.

Go do some research and see how well the average 26th overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft does. Boyle's nothing great, but he's not a flop.

As for goaltenders, using the goaltender who played the most minutes per NHL team, the following goaltenders were first round picks:

Pittsburgh: Fluery
New Jersey: Broduer
Montreal: Price
Boston: Rask
Vancouver: Schneider
Edmonton: Dubnyk
Colorado: Varlamov
Dallas: Lehtonen

So that's eight starters in the league, or 27% of the leagues starters. Also, note that list doesn't include Cam Ward, who wasn't the Hurricanes minutes leader due to injury. Add him in and almost 1/3rd of the leagues starters come from the 1st round.
But since you also mentioned not wasting a 2nd round pick either, here's the teams with starters (defined as most minutes played on their team again) drafted in round two:

Philadelphia: Bryzgalov
Chicago: Crawford
Detroit: Howard
Winnipeg: Pavelec
Carolina: Dan Ellis
Florida: Jacob Markstrom

So another six, meaning 14 of 30 teams used a goalie drafted in the first two rounds as their starter.

And since your original argument was to not use a pick above the 4th round on a goaltender, here's the starters in the league who were drafted in the third round:

Ottawa: Craig Anderson (actually drafted twice in the 3rd round)
Los Angeles: Quick

Of the 14 teams whose starter was selected in round four or later, eight made the playoffs and just two -New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks- made it to round two of the playoffs.

Of the eight goaltenders who were still playing (or on the bench) in round three, only Ray Emery, Anton Khudobin, and Tomas Vokoun were selected after round three and, depending on where you were picking in round four, you may not have gotten Emery either, since he went early into round four. Only Vokoun seen action in round three as well.

So if we waited to draft a goalie until round four, we'd miss out on all four starters who played in the semi-finals (depending on if you label Vokoun a starter or not), we'd miss out on six of the eight starters who played in round two, 10 of the 16 starting goaltenders who made the playoffs and 16 of the 30 goaltenders who were starters for their team.

One additional note, following the cancelled season (04-05) there have been eight Stanley Cup finals (including this one), and only one (2010) didn't see at least one starting goaltender who was a former first round draft pick.

Thanks for the reply. 1st and 2nd Rounders I'd use on forwards/defensemen. Not to say I wouldn't draft a goalie, but it would have to be one HELL of a prospect. Take a look at all the really successful goalies and where they were drafted. Patrick Roy - round 3. Jonathan Quick - round 3. Ryan Miller - round 5. Henrik Lundqvist - round 7. Pekka Rinne - round 8. Tim Thomas - round 9. To me, the best forwards and defensemen in the draft are easier to trade than goalies. Look at all the trouble dealing Bernier and he's stellar. Many of those 1st round goalies haven't amounted to much (yet). Brodeur is obviously quite accomplished. None of the others have done much. Fleury won a cup one but Cloutier could have won with that team.

I think based on the draft, you can say that the most successful players in the 1st/2nd rounds have been forwards/defenseman. I never said don't use a 1-4 round pick on a goalie. Where did you see that?

 

[CNS]

Anybody who is saying Slepyshev sucks does not know who he is. Slepyshev is a solid young player, nobody has doubted that. Last year he had borderline first round talent. It's not the talent that is questioned.

However since every single team in the NHL passed on him that many times I have to question what has been said in interviews to scare them away. Everybody knows the talent level, I get the feeling that Slepyshev has stated he never intends to come over.

A lot was put in to him missing the combine but he had prior obligations he had to take care of, IIRC. It's obvious you have to put in your due diligence but honestly, the kid is young. His thoughts can change. One day he might want to stay in the KHL but the next he might want to come over to NA. I'd easily risk one of our late round picks on him, no matter what. If he doesn't come over, no harm in that because it's a late round pick. If he does, we get a dynamic offensive player who can help us score.

Just a look at the number of rounds 5-7 picks that have done anything at the NHL level for us so far:

2008: 1/3? Loktionov is a hell of a player but didn't do much for US (still bitter about this).
2007: 0/4
2006: 0/3
2005: 0/4
2004: 1/6? Even then, Scott Parse didn't really contribute, did he?
2003: 0/5
2002: 0/6
2001: 1/5. Huet.
2000: 0/7

We did get Nolan in 09 (too young of a group to really judge yet though) and Gravel in 10 but still rounds 5-7 are crapshoots at the very best. You're lucky to get one guy every other year or two that plays at the NHL level. Why not risk one of our many late picks on him? We have three 4ths, two 5ths, a 6th, and two 7ths. Taking him in rounds 5-7 is a low risk, high reward pick and we need to start taking more of those.

 

[David Strorm]

I would love to draft Slepyshev in rounds 6-7. We can afford to take a risk.

 

[Sacha Baron Corbin]

Only if he's coming over, or even has a shot at coming over. If he's hell bent on staying there (and likely getting good money as well) then there is no point. It's a wasted pick.

Yeah I ment to say only if he plans on coming over, my bad What is his current contract situation in Russia? Would he be coming over soon or would he have to wait a couple years like Porky? This is if he intends to come over, if not then yeah I'd rather not waste the pick.

 

[David Strorm]

What do we think of Juuse Saros?