2021 NHL Entry Draft - Round 1: July 23 (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, SN NOW, TVA Sports)

[Ray Martyniuk]

I'd think Columbus would be the best trade partner for LA, although they could use a defenseman too with Jones/Werenski staring down UFA in short order.

4. New Jersey - probably taking D, seems unlikely to move down to #8
5. Columbus - maybe a McTavish team and they think they could get him later?
6. Detroit - probably a LD if available?

If a NHL team is looking for a D-man they will need to go get one early otherwise later 17-20th picks. LA needs a stud LDman but they also need natural sniping Wingers

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Clarke is exactly who they should draft if available. Still like Eklund too.

With the wealth of talent at the Centre position throughout the Kings lineup and prospect pool LA/Blake should make a play for Eklund,Clarke or one of other top prospects the Kings covet

 

[kilowatt]

With the wealth of talent at the Centre position throughout the Kings lineup and prospect pool LA/Blake should make a play for Eklund,Clarke or one of other top prospects the Kings covet

What does that mean though? How do we go about making a play? To move up how many spots? Power, Beniers, and Hughes are likely gone in the top five. One of Clarke, Edvinsson, Eklund, Johnson, or Guenther is falling to us. I think we just let it play out and take what we get. There's not a single name there that doesn't improve this club. Or we go real big and take Wallstedt.

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

What does that mean though? How do we go about making a play? To move up how many spots? Power, Beniers, and Hughes are likely gone in the top five. One of Clarke, Edvinsson, Eklund, Johnson, or Guenther is falling to us. I think we just let it play out and take what we get. There's not a single name there that doesn't improve this club. Or we go real big and take Wallstedt.

With all the talent the Kings have they should try to garner 2 picks within the 4-6 slot to get that forward and D-man they covet. I think the Kings are fine with the 'tenders throughout the system. Ingham,Parik,Hrenak and Markkonen are quite "green" and Villalta is probably a No!Quicker is down to his last kicks of the"can" while Petersen seems like a good goaltender even though he looks to be on the small side of the behemoths that occupy the position in the NHL these days

 

[kinghock]

What does that mean though? How do we go about making a play? To move up how many spots? Power, Beniers, and Hughes are likely gone in the top five. One of Clarke, Edvinsson, Eklund, Johnson, or Guenther is falling to us. I think we just let it play out and take what we get. There's not a single name there that doesn't improve this club. Or we go real big and take Wallstedt.

I believe that these two forwards are the most likely (Johnson or Guenther) will be available at 8th.
I like both of them, but according to John Hoven LA wants one of the big four defensemen.
It is very unlikely that without moving up any of these four defensemen will be available at 8th...

 

[kinghock]

With all the talent the Kings have they should try to garner 2 picks within the 4-6 slot to get that forward and D-man they covet. I think the Kings are fine with the 'tenders throughout the system. Ingham,Parik,Hrenak and Markkonen are quite "green" and Villalta is probably a No!Quicker is down to his last kicks of the"can" while Petersen seems like a good goaltender even though he looks to be on the small side of the behemoths that occupy the position in the NHL these days

I do not believe that Kings are fine with the goaltenders throughout the system.
They really need to get one elite goalie prospect, but I would not use 8th on goaltender.
I would use one of LA second round picks on Benjamin Gaudreau.
He is modelling his game after Jonathan Quick and has incredible athletic ability and great skills.
Also he is 2 inches taller than Quick.
P.S. His stock is currently going up and Kings may be forced to trade up to get him…

 

[Mats26]

Unless we move up, the big 4 Dmen should all be gone by 8. Bummer, we really needed one of these high end D prospects. Still hoping for Luke to fall or we move up, he is the perfect fit for us.

I think these prospects should be gone by #8 (Wildcard is the goalie but I think he goes after us.) If one of these prospects falls, we take it and run.
D: Powers, Edvinsson, Hughes, Clarke
F: Berniers, Eklund

Two of Johnson, MacTavish, Guenther could be available at 8.
If anything these players adds some size(all over 6 feet) to the forward ranks. High end skill in Johnson, shooting, scoring in MacTavish, same for Guenther but a right handed shot that we need. I don't think we can go wrong with any of these 3.

*Personal favorites(Lysell, Lambos, Lucius)

 

[Schrute farms]

I think there’s at least a 50% likelihood that one of the top Four D are available at #8.
All it takes is one team going off board or simply taking Wall.

 

[KingTech]

For me I want Edvinsson then Hughes then a winger then Clarke Edvinsson would help solve the size issue as well as the offensive void

 

[kilowatt]

Am I wrong in thinking that Edvinsson and Grans are similar prospects?

 

[King'sPawn]

Am I wrong in thinking that Edvinsson and Grans are similar prospects?

Aside from being Swedish defensemen, how are they similar?

 

[KingTech]

Am I wrong in thinking that Edvinsson and Grans are similar prospects?

one is left hand one is right and id love to see them as a pair in the future

 

[Rusty Batch]

Am I wrong in thinking that Edvinsson and Grans are similar prospects?

Grans is kind of a mess with his transition skating and defense. I think he has a ton of upside in that he has uniquely good puck moving and overall offensive upside for a big body and if I remember correctly people thought he had the potential to drastically improve his skating as the speed is there.

I think Edvinsson has great hands, size and skating, and seems to already be solid in defense. Seems to gap and close well where Grans really struggles with that.

Basically I think Grans is more boom or bust and likely will make it as a powerplay qb defenseman and have to make big improvements on the defensive side of things but has the potential to do that.

Edvinsson also has a really high ceiling since he is so talented but probably not quite the same potential on the offensive side (although the talent is very unique there as well) but I think his floor is much higher given that he already seems to be well ahead of Grans on the defensive side.

Edvinsson is also a lefty and Grand is a righty.

Anyways that's just me regurgitating what I've heard from following this stuff. Take it with a grain of salt, I might be way off.

 

[King'sPawn]

Grans is also more offensive minded. He's been compared to Brent Burns. As he was also converted from forward to D.

Edvinsson is much more polished defensively and is more of a distributor.

 

[Basilisk]

Here's a stupid question......... why not just take a couple of our right-shot D prospects and trade them for comparably-talented, left-shot D prospects? Is that so difficult???

 

[Mats26]

Here's a stupid question......... why not just take a couple of our right-shot D prospects and trade them for comparably-talented, left-shot D prospects? Is that so difficult???

Possible. But who has that value straight up. Our best prospect at RD is Faber.

But let's say one team is high on Faber. Do you trade Faber for a shot at Edvinsson or Hughes? Who will value Faber as a top 5? What if we add our #8? Too steep?

 

[kinghock]

Am I wrong in thinking that Edvinsson and Grans are similar prospects?

Edvinsson >> Grans

 

[kings11]

Johnson, McT then Chaz the man .. in that order would be my pick assuming all the Dmen are gone

 

[KINGS17]

I have no worries about the draft, or the future of the Kings. Our GM is a well-oiled machine.

In case there were any doubts the one with straw for brains is Luc.​

 

[Fishhead]

Grans strikes me as a tall Clague. That's not a bad thing, Kale played pretty well at the NHL level, but I think Edvinsson has a substantially higher upside. I think because Grans is bigger he could adapt a better defensive game than Clague (reach, long stick, and what not). It's hard to think of a recent Kings comparison for Edvinsson, which is why he's intriguing. To me, he seems like a bigger Voynov. I think Voynov's shot is better, but he was excellent with his stick which Edvinsson is by all accounts. Slava was also smart positionally with good hands and not overly physical.

Ideally he ends up Hedman lite, but that's a high bar.

 

[kilowatt]

Edvinsson:

His game is built around his physical skill-set. Edvinsson skates so smoothly that he appears languid on ice, yet still blazes past players six inches smaller than him on a regular basis. This translates beautifully when it comes to rushing up ice. His transition game really is something to behold. When he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone opposition forwards stomachs go into their throats. And that is understandable. In stride he can scythe through a neutral zone trap as though it is simply beneath him. There really is an air of condescension at times from Edvinsson when he has the puck on his stick, and who can blame him? There are not many players in Swedish juniors who have the ability to stop him fairly once he decides to go.

Scouting Report: Simon Edvinsson - Smaht Scouting

Grans:

Grans has a great physical package and is also a righty. That is a combination of attributes that NHL GM’s lust after. He skates well, with good power and impressive edge work, and while he is already a big boy he does not look close to being finished filling out. He also possesses nice puck skills, and he uses that ability alongside his skating to regularly skate out of trouble and send play the other way. The Ljungby native has a good, hard wrist-shot that he manages to get space to utilize often, rarely struggling to find a seam to get a shot off. He fits the archetype of a modern-day defenseman, and loves getting involved in the rush. Once on the rush he does not lack creativity, and creates space for team-mates with soft hands and accurate passing.

Scouting Report: Helge Grans - Smaht Scouting

Wasn't trying to disparage either player in any way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ They both sound very similar, which would be a very good thing in my opinion.

 

[King'sPawn]

Edvinsson:

His game is built around his physical skill-set. Edvinsson skates so smoothly that he appears languid on ice, yet still blazes past players six inches smaller than him on a regular basis. This translates beautifully when it comes to rushing up ice. His transition game really is something to behold. When he gets the puck on his stick in the defensive zone opposition forwards stomachs go into their throats. And that is understandable. In stride he can scythe through a neutral zone trap as though it is simply beneath him. There really is an air of condescension at times from Edvinsson when he has the puck on his stick, and who can blame him? There are not many players in Swedish juniors who have the ability to stop him fairly once he decides to go.

Scouting Report: Simon Edvinsson - Smaht Scouting

Grans:

Grans has a great physical package and is also a righty. That is a combination of attributes that NHL GM’s lust after. He skates well, with good power and impressive edge work, and while he is already a big boy he does not look close to being finished filling out. He also possesses nice puck skills, and he uses that ability alongside his skating to regularly skate out of trouble and send play the other way. The Ljungby native has a good, hard wrist-shot that he manages to get space to utilize often, rarely struggling to find a seam to get a shot off. He fits the archetype of a modern-day defenseman, and loves getting involved in the rush. Once on the rush he does not lack creativity, and creates space for team-mates with soft hands and accurate passing.

Scouting Report: Helge Grans - Smaht Scouting

Wasn't trying to disparage either player in any way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ They both sound very similar, which would be a very good thing in my opinion.

Sorry, I shouldn't have been so aggressive with my sarcasm. I didn't think you were disparaging either. I just thought they were very different.

 

[kinghock]

Sorry, I shouldn't have been so aggressive with my sarcasm. I didn't think you were disparaging either. I just thought they were very different.

I really enjoy reading nice, polite and intelligent conversation here.
Unfortunately it does not happens every time even among Kings fans…

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Here's a stupid question......... why not just take a couple of our right-shot D prospects and trade them for comparably-talented, left-shot D prospects? Is that so difficult???

What you're talking about is Faber,Grans and to a lesser extent Spence and Durzi right? It is better that the Kings let these prospects "ripen on the vine"! The Kings have a top RD-man and then a bunch that are 5th d-men! On top of that our prospects at this point gets us what?

 

[Ray Martyniuk]

Grans strikes me as a tall Clague. That's not a bad thing, Kale played pretty well at the NHL level, but I think Edvinsson has a substantially higher upside. I think because Grans is bigger he could adapt a better defensive game than Clague (reach, long stick, and what not). It's hard to think of a recent Kings comparison for Edvinsson, which is why he's intriguing. To me, he seems like a bigger Voynov. I think Voynov's shot is better, but he was excellent with his stick which Edvinsson is by all accounts. Slava was also smart positionally with good hands and not overly physical.

Ideally he ends up Hedman lite, but that's a high bar.

And Voynov turned Pro at 18 in the AHL and played parts of 4 years!When he arrived he was ready,willing and able