After the draft top 10

[Kingjordan]

Hello Kings fans,

It’s been a while since I have posted but this draft really has me pumped. I was curious how you see our top 10 prospects after this draft.

My opinion:

1) Quinton Byfield
2) Brandt Clarke
3) Alex Turcotte
4) Arthur Kaliyev
5) Brock Faber
6) Tyler Madden
7) Sammy Fagemo
8) Helga Grans
9) Francesco Pinelli
10) Rasmus Kupari

Did not include Vilardi, Bjornfot, Anderson-Dolan in prospects as they seem to have graduated.

Click to read more...

 

[KingsHockey24]

I'd move Fagemo up and maybe Madden and Faber down. But otherwise yeah; we're stacked.

 

[Mats26]

Hello Kings fans,

It’s been a while since I have posted but this draft really has me pumped. I was curious how you see our top 10 prospects after this draft.

My opinion:

1) Quinton Byfield
2) Brandt Clarke
3) Alex Turcotte
4) Arthur Kaliyev
5) Brock Faber
6) Tyler Madden
7) Sammy Fagemo
8) Helga Grans
9) Francesco Pinelli
10) Rasmus Kupari

Did not include Vilardi, Bjornfot, Anderson-Dolan in prospects as they seem to have graduated.

Hard to beat that.
I agree with Thomas, Helenius, Spence, Chromiak, Simontaival just outside the top 10. The order seems alright to me.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

What I posted on the other forum:

With Bjornfot, Anderson, Vilardi graduating, I'd say

Quinton Byfield
Brandt Clarke
Alex Turcotte
Arthur Kaliyev
Brock Faber
Sammy Fagemo
Tyler Madden
Francesco Pinelli
Helge Grans
Akil Thomas

HM
Rasmus Kupari, Jordan Spence, Kim Nousiainen, and like 30 more 'B' prospects and i'm sure someone i'm forgetting haha

I could be swayed in a lot of directions, but I'm really high on Faber and Madden (and I guess Fagemo too compared to others, I think having Arvidsson in the org is going to be really helpful for him).

 

[cyclones22]

Hopefully Madden fully recovers. He was absolutely killing it in the preseason for the Reign. Then he was snake bit like all of the Ontario kids for the first 10 or so games where they just couldn't score even though they were constantly outshooting their opponents. At that point he got the concussion. But he still looked dangerous even when he wasn't scoring at the beginning of the season.

 

[kinghock]

Hello Kings fans,

It’s been a while since I have posted but this draft really has me pumped. I was curious how you see our top 10 prospects after this draft.

My opinion:

1) Quinton Byfield
2) Brandt Clarke
3) Alex Turcotte
4) Arthur Kaliyev
5) Brock Faber
6) Tyler Madden
7) Sammy Fagemo
8) Helga Grans
9) Francesco Pinelli
10) Rasmus Kupari

Did not include Vilardi, Bjornfot, Anderson-Dolan in prospects as they seem to have graduated.

Here is my top ten:

Quinton Byfield
Brandt Clarke
Alex Turcotte
Brock Faber
Arthur Kaliyev
Rasmus Kupari
Helge Grans
Francesco Pinelli
Tyler Madden
Sammy Fagemo

 

[Fishhead]

It's difficult to do top 10's for the Kings right now because everyone is bunched into a few levels of prospects. To me, there is very little separation in the 3rd group. I would put them like this:

Potential to be one of the best as their position league-wide

Byfield
Clarke

Potential to be a high impact player

Turcotte
Kaliyev

Top 6 - Top 4 potential

A whole bunch

After #4 you could argue things a lot of different ways. I'd actually put Kupari at #5, I feel he's primed for a breakout this year and wouldn't be surprised if he led the Reign in scoring and ended up on the Kings before the season is out. Some extremely good prospects are going to be get lost in the shuffle, so be prepared to hear a lot of "Why did the Kings trade that guy before giving him a chance" 3 or 4 years from now.

 

[Schrute farms]

It’s funny looking back last year when we traded up for Faber. Many people were down on that trade up and selection. Now almost a year later and Faber has shot up the rankings. Hard sometimes to remember these are growing/developing 17-20 year old kids

 

[King'sPawn]

Here's my list with additional explanation:

Byfield - the top prospect and highest upside. Supposed to be the new franchise center long term once Kopitar's role diminishes

Turcotte - the Toews/Richards type of role (not necessarily impact). Inspires by effort, grit, and punching above his weight.

Clarke - potential franchise defenseman hoping to revamp the Kings offensively and system

Faber - a quick rise in Minnesota and Team USA suggests he's the real deal. A top four defenseman as a floor seems unfair or unrealistic. And I don't want to put undue pressure on him, but he has surged that much.

Kaliyev - A potential top-six sniper. Has been rounding out his game, and is very close to being the best RW in the org at the age of 20.

Pinelli - skills, smarts and positional versatility put him in a Toffoli mold. Yannetti made remarks where he's situationally competitive (like Toffoli was). Top-six upside and can play LW, position of

Thomas - a skilled and competitive character guy. Being as productive as he is with two bad shoulders is remarkable. I think he'll top out as a middle-six forward, but the versatility is there

Fagemo - has remarkable scoring performances, but he's a volume shooter. Gets by on attempts more than pure skill. Could be a middle-six left wing.

Madden - very highly skilled, but I need to see him have success at length without injury. Size becoming a bigger concern now. Can top out as top line forward, but low floor and higher risk affects ranking.

Kirsanov - with Bjornfot and Anderson graduating, he immediately became the best LD who has all the tools to become a regular NHLer. Has better size than Nousiainen and better skating than Moverare.

Grans - suffered this year by being a victim of numbers in SHL. Considering he's still trying to learn his position, I think his growth and potential are setting him up to be more of a power-play specialist

Helenius - projects as a bottom-six center. Low ceiling but high floor. Provides grit up front, adding value to the org

Kupari - skill alone would put him higher up on the depth chart. But the issue is fit. Very similar to Madden but on the right side - however Kaliyev has higher upside. And Thomas challenges to be a regular on the middle-six. Suffers from depth and numbers, and finding a role.

Parik - unfortunately the goaltending depth is an area of weakness. I still think Parik is the best of the group. Not projecting as a starter though.

Spence - arguably a top-5-to-10 prospect in other orgs. More stability and projectability than Grans, but the Kings may still favor the niche role Grans fills.

 

[Cook24]

Byfield
Turcotte
Clarke
Kaliyev
Kupari
Pinelli
Faber
Thomas
Madden
Grans or Fagemo

 

[kingsfan28]

Hopefully Madden fully recovers. He was absolutely killing it in the preseason for the Reign. Then he was snake bit like all of the Ontario kids for the first 10 or so games where they just couldn't score even though they were constantly outshooting their opponents. At that point he got the concussion. But he still looked dangerous even when he wasn't scoring at the beginning of the season.

Same here. He's the one prospect I'm really looking forward to seeing one day.

 

[KingTech]

Its going to be a interesting list we when all vote on it but I think Arty is being under rated here I think hes 2nd on this list Turrotte injury this year moves him down a bit imo He would be under Clarke to me but still a A prospect to me.

 

[Islcey]

Byfield
Turcotte
Clarke
Kaliyev
Kupari
Faber
Fagemo
Pinelli
Thomas
Madden

 

[DoktorJeep]

If Byfield can play in the AHL next year, I think Kupari is likely to start with the Kings out of camp as the 13th or 14th forward. This management looks like it’s going to decide between Vilardi and Kupari next year. One of those two will stay as a top six forward or move on.

To see so many fans leave Rasmus down low or off their list is telling and evidence of how much loving shiny new toys isn’t just for pro players. And it’s another strike against the Kings development group.

 

[Bandit]

If Byfield can play in the AHL next year, I think Kupari is likely to start with the Kings out of camp as the 13th or 14th forward. This management looks like it’s going to decide between Vilardi and Kupari next year. One of those two will stay as a top six forward or move on.

To see so many fans leave Rasmus down low or off their list is telling and evidence of how much loving shiny new toys isn’t just for pro players. And it’s another strike against the Kings development group.

Well Kupari was pretty underwhelming in his call up too, that doesn’t help his case.

 

[johnjm22]

Kupari is a tough case. I'm not quite sure what to make of him. He produced early in the AHL season, then completely fell off.

I don't see the hunger/drive/assertiveness from him.

Even during a rebuild there's a time to trade away a young player or prospect. It's when you realize they're probably going to bust, and want to move them before the rest of the league finds out. Get some value while you can. Dean did it with O'Sullivan and Hudson Fasching.

 

[kinghock]

Well Kupari was pretty underwhelming in his call up too, that doesn’t help his case.

Kupari was not underwhelming in his call up at the end of the year.
He was very good actually.

 

[kinghock]

If Byfield can play in the AHL next year, I think Kupari is likely to start with the Kings out of camp as the 13th or 14th forward. This management looks like it’s going to decide between Vilardi and Kupari next year. One of those two will stay as a top six forward or move on.

To see so many fans leave Rasmus down low or off their list is telling and evidence of how much loving shiny new toys isn’t just for pro players. And it’s another strike against the Kings development group.

In my view Kupari >Vilardi.

 

[kinghock]

Kupari is a tough case. I'm not quite sure what to make of him. He produced early in the AHL season, then completely fell off.

I don't see the hunger/drive/assertiveness from him.

Even during a rebuild there's a time to trade away a young player or prospect. It's when you realize they're probably going to bust, and want to move them before the rest of the league finds out. Get some value while you can. Dean did it with O'Sullivan and Hudson Fasching.

With all due respect I totally disagree with your opinion regarding Kupari.

 

[kingsboy11]

Can't give my full list at the moment, but I'll give me 2 cents on Kupari. It didn't help that he basically missed a full year of development with his ACL injury, that being said I think with the benefit of covid and having him heal properly helped him massively. He had a very good season for the Reign. First call up we didn't see much from him, but I thought in his 2nd call up at the end of the year he showed more of what makes him special so I'm definitely not writing him off, issue for him is where do we see him fitting in going forward.

 

[johnjm22]

With all due respect I totally disagree with your opinion regarding Kupari.

That's fine. I hope you're right.

I should point out that no one drafted in the immediate rounds after Kupari has done anything in the NHL yet.

 

[Schmooley]

Kupari reminds me of a more polished Loktionov. Hes a smoother skater and slicker with the puck and just tighter in general. Loktionov was a bit lanky and choppy. I think Kupari can make it in the NHL but like the poster said above, where does he fit in with the Kings?

 

[DoktorJeep]

In my view Kupari >Vilardi.

It’s not a good story when the 20th pick overall gets worse every year once he’s in your system. The Kings have five players from that draft from between the 20 and 82nd pick. That includes Madden who is listed higher than Kupari all over this thread. I think the reason for that is fans of prospects overrate their picks until they see them actually play.

12 months ago prospect Stan’s around here were masturbating to visions of Vilardi potting 20 goals. We saw how that went. I think the only reason Gabe looked good in his call up was playing during garbage time and not spending time with the Kings development guys. Once they got their hands on him, its been all down hill.

 

[Statto]

Hello Kings fans,

It’s been a while since I have posted but this draft really has me pumped. I was curious how you see our top 10 prospects after this draft.

My opinion:

1) Quinton Byfield
2) Brandt Clarke
3) Alex Turcotte
4) Arthur Kaliyev
5) Brock Faber
6) Tyler Madden
7) Sammy Fagemo
8) Helga Grans
9) Francesco Pinelli
10) Rasmus Kupari

Did not include Vilardi, Bjornfot, Anderson-Dolan in prospects as they seem to have graduated.

I’d be putting Thomas in between 6-10, I’m not sure where exactly as it’s very close between them all. Grans drops out of the top 10 though. Thomas will play more games than anyone else in that 6-10 bracket as a King IMO.

Good list though. It’s amazing how many solid players are not on your list, our system is so stacked and it’s time to start figuring out who to move. By this time next year at least 3 B grade prospects will be gone IMO.

 

[kinghock]

Can't give my full list at the moment, but I'll give me 2 cents on Kupari. It didn't help that he basically missed a full year of development with his ACL injury, that being said I think with the benefit of covid and having him heal properly helped him massively. He had a very good season for the Reign. First call up we didn't see much from him, but I thought in his 2nd call up at the end of the year he showed more of what makes him special so I'm definitely not writing him off, issue for him is where do we see him fitting in going forward.

I am 100% agree with your opinion regarding how good Kupari was during his 2nd call up.
I was watching during this period Kings visitors game against Colorado where Kupari played.
I remember how Colorado commentators were complimentary surprised regarding Kupari level of play in this game.
I was pleasantly surprised as well.