2022 Draft Discussion (after the trade)

[Sol]

I know Yannetti is as loved as Jesus on here. But man has his forward picks sucked ass for the most part so far. No reason to give them that undying benefit of the doubt like they knew something hidden and great with these players and centers when they missed the mark with much higher picks.

Boring draft. Boring centers. And an ode to Dean Lombardi days of Lintuniemi, Forbort, mcNabb, and a fan favorite, MacDermid. Tall D men for the lulz.

Nothing to see here folks and as John Hoven would say, take it to the bank. We got career AHLers. My crystal ball is never wrong. Boring centers, tall dmen for no other reason than tall. Rinse and repeat.

Dean Lombardi is looking down from above and smiling at Blake and Yannetti for this tribute draft.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

 

[Fishhead]

I'd love to be proven wrong, but this draft feels like a giant swing and a miss to me

Me too, but to be fair it's probably going to be a swing and a miss for a lot of teams.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Well, Blake painted himself into the goaltending situation. I was a Petersen believer too, but not at 5 million AAV for 3 years. There needs to be a huge bounce back by Cal or this is going to be Blake's worst contract decision to date. Time to start trading a prospect or two for a young goaltender or find a good reclamation project to rehabilitate.

Too bad Blake couldnt finagle Guerin into doing a mega-deal in the Fiala trade and get Walstedt.. would probably have costed Clarke but then there's your future #1 for 10 years... for this year, just have to tread water with the platoon, and if one goes down to injury (knock on wood), have to trade or get an unsigned UFA off the scrap heap. Im not overly concerned for this year, the window isnt really open yet - its getting there, but next year (23-24) better have a real #1 in place.

 

[King'sPawn]

I was hoping the Kings would have taken a flier on Hugo Havelid. He was on the smaller side (5'10), especially for a goalie, but he helped backstop Sweden to gold in the U18s. But everyone else passed on him.

I'd really like to watch more footage of some of these players, not as highlight videos.

A larger collection of overagers and projects than I expected, but meh. The Kings scouts have watched more, though, and even if one or two pans out, that will be amazing.

Some interesting things; I updated my spreadsheet of Blake's picks. Random points:
The most common European drafted is now Finnish
Only 24% of forwards taken are under 6'. 31% of defense are under 6'.
While they haven't taken a goalie, they have not yet taken one under 6'2.
Of their 39 picks, 12 were out of Europe, 11 were out of the OHL, and the third most common league they've drafted out of is the USHL with 9.
Both times they drafted out of the QMJHL, it's been a defenseman in the 4th round
The least common league they draft out of is the WHL, where they've made only 1 pick.

 

[AbsentMojo]

Wasn't Wright ranked first overall by most scouts? I'm confused how he dropped to 4.

The one critique i heard from my kid (who follows things much more closely than I do) - is that his skating is considered average.

 

[Fishhead]

Matt Roy getting a shoutout as a recent successful 7th-round pick.

All-time Kings 7th round picks since the change to 7 in 2005:

Kaleb Lawrence
Aatu Jamsen
Andre Lee
Jaco Friend
Chazz Reddekopp
Matt Roy - 206 NHL games
Spencer Watson
Jacob Middleton - 80 NHL games
Dominik Kubalik - 202 NHL games
Nick Ebert
Michale Schumacher
Jordan Nolan - 375 NHL games
Nic Dowd - 371 NHL games
Garett Roe
Josh Kidd
Matt Fillier
Josh Meyers
John Seymour

Those first few are pretty recent, so I wouldn't expect them to be ready yet. But that's a pretty good rate, I would say the Kings are one of the best 7th round drafting teams since 2005. San Jose has been really impressive, probably the best.

 

[funky]

Not too worried about this draft. No matter what we were never picking high. There was no one in our position that would step right into the NHL next year, and we have no space for anyone to step into the NHL next year.

Looks like they took some long-term prospects or projects that will either play or not. By the time these guys are ready our team could look fastly different and we may be in need of a center or a defenseman.

Every publication stated that the goalies were crap in this draft. There are other ways to get goalies other than the draft. Just as we have too many right hand shot defenseman there’s gonna be other organizations like Buffalo that have too many goalies. Trades can be and will be made in the future to address items we need.

There doesn’t seem to be very many young goalies really stepping in in the last dozen years and taking the bull by the horns. Just as easy to sign a goalie in free agency if we need to plug a hole.

Putting this draft aside and forgetting about it for a couple years we still now come to the point where we have too many roster players and not enough spots. Trades still have to be made it’s the beginning of summer and still a lot of time before opening day lineup reveals itself

 

[Sol]

Kings do really need to bring in some taller goalies. 6’2-6’3. Petersen looks like a limp noodle in net that happens to have pads on him.

 

[Docgonzo]

Kings do really need to bring in some taller goalies. 6’2-6’3. Petersen looks like a limp noodle in net that happens to have pads on him.

All of the Kings goalie prospects are 6’2” and above.

 

[bouncesonly]

I love that he's 6'8" AND going to play college hockey. They only play weekends, and it gives him a ton of time to train and recover to fill out that frame.

It is hilarious that he's also a righty though.

What's the rule for making a play with a high stick.....shoulder height to bring it down and height of the crossbar for a goal?

 

[kingsfan28]

I'm fine with the role of the dice picks, but disappointed we didn't use one on a goalie.

This was a really bad year for goalies. Why waste a pick on a guy who will never play a game in the nhl.

 

[Sol]

All of the Kings goalie prospects are 6’2” and above.

They better get their shit together now

 

[Cook24]

Can’t wait to see Sparkes smash some faces in Michigan this season. There’s hardly any footage of him out there…

 

[apadilla]

Looks like our rivals (ducks, coyotes, even stars) have gotten bigger, while, hence ...., kings have gotten smaller. I don't understand the Kings thinking here. Do they not understand the fans don't want to see the team beat up game in game out?

 

[Cook24]

Looks like our rivals (ducks, coyotes, even stars) have gotten bigger, while, hence ...., kings have gotten smaller. I don't understand the Kings thinking here. Do they not understand the fans don't want to see the team beat up game in game out?

Agreed, kind of why I’m thinking we’re not done yet. Blake said he wanted to add toughness. We’ve added Fiala who is kind of tough but also small…

Could see salary cleared to add Deslauriers even Marchment and a tough defenseman…

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I trust the Kings' ability to turn these picks into NHL just-a-guys. They have no problems churning out regulars.

They DO have a problem turning out blue chip and they picked up a ton of low-upside redundancies and made mostly uninspiring moves.

Like I said earlier, doesn't sound like they at all did what they set out to do, at least as described before the draft. Based on organizational needs (high end talent, goaltending, NOT AS MANY f***ING DEPTH CENTERS), honestly, this draft is the polar opposite of the last two. You'd have to convince me to not give it an F as the worst Kings draft in the last decade. I'll be shocked if any of these guys turn out as players beyond the 4th line or bottom pairing, though they'll probably get one automatically since they're money in the 7th round.

I love this team's drafting outside the 1st round but this felt like a bunch of really uninspiring "well, we have to take SOMEONE" stuff.

Team got closer to the 2nd round and further from a Cup this offseason while all the rebuilding teams around us got better. Get your shit together, LA.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

Looks like our rivals (ducks, coyotes, even stars) have gotten bigger, while, hence ...., kings have gotten smaller. I don't understand the Kings thinking here. Do they not understand the fans don't want to see the team beat up game in game out?

They drafted a guy who is 6'8" and apparently mean on the ice and another guy who is 6'7"...?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

They drafted a guy who is 6'8" and apparently mean on the ice and another guy who is 6'7"...?

One of those guys only played 2 more high-end games than me this year.

Trash.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

One of those guys only played 2 more high-end games than me this year.

Trash.

Ooook.

 

[Johnny Utah]

This draft sucked.

Both tall players the Kings drafted are low in PIM's. So gentle giants.

 

[Chazz Reinhold]

This draft sucked.

Both tall players the Kings drafted are low in PIM's. So gentle giants.

Jack Sparkes - 2022 NHL Draft Prospect Profile - The Hockey Writers NHL Entry Draft Latest News, Analysis & More

Jack Sparkes is a big defenseman that plays a big-man game, and that size should see him get drafted in the 2022 Draft.

thehockeywriters.com

Despite not being ranked anywhere in the first two rounds, the 6-foot-8 defender has been called the most physically dominant prospect available in the 2022 Draft. He had the third-longest wingspan at the 2022 NHL Draft Combine, hit 14 minutes on the aerobic fitness test, and owned the fourth-strongest left-handed grip. Of those with the largest wingspans at the Combine, only Maveric Lamoureux showed up in more top-10 test finishes.

Sparkes is similarly dominant on the ice, using his huge frame to win puck battles and screen opposing goaltenders. He uses his size well, throwing devastating hits and using his long reach to knock away pucks from players that try to get around him. He’s not the quickest, but he doesn’t have to be; he has a long stride and can generate some decent speed in a short amount of time. For his size, he’s quite mobile, too, and some scouts have wondered if he’s a better skater than the NHL’s reigning big man, Zdeno Chara. He’s got an edge to his game, too, and isn’t afraid to use it. “He is nasty,” said his coach, Rich Ricci, “If there were more fights in the OJHL, he would destroy guys.”

?

And judging PIMs from a guy who played 2 games due to injury is funny.

 

[King'sPawn]

Even if they aren't "big" names like I had hoped, I think some people are jumping the gun to get angry.

Hughes - I was a major Sykora fan, and hoped the Kings would get him. But he's a two-way center. He could top out at a bottom-six role. Nothing wrong with that.

Connors - another low-upside, possible bottom-six forward. Reportedly plays with speed and tenacity.

Booth - A two-way defenseman, probably more defensive, who had some injury issues

Salin - A smallish offensive defenseman who also lost a chunk of time to injuries

Wright - Competitive and fast. Also tops out as a bottom-six.

Sparkes - A massive defender with okay mobility for his size.

Lawrence - Only played 2 games last season for reasons unknown, but heck, again, if he makes it in the bottom six, that's a good grinder.

It's truly a return to roots where these are all slow boils into professional hockey. The difference is I think fans are more cognizant than to assume a big player will just "make it" regardless. They aren't sexy picks, but again, the goal is to get one or two NHLers. They won't all make it, and that's okay.

 

[All The Kings Men]

Lawrence - Only played 2 games last season for reasons unknown, but heck, again, if he makes it in the bottom six, that's a good grinder.

shoulder injury i think

 

[BringTheReign]

Pronman graded us a B overall for our draft, whereas Wheeler had us smack in the middle of his day 2 winners/losers. It was interesting to see as Wheeler typically likes our drafting/prospect pool more than Pronman does.