Speculation: LA Kings News, Rumors, Roster Thread part VII

[driller1]

The point is that Lizotte plays a role very well. It's not a role you should be asking of your No. 2 overall pick.

So, yes, Lizotte is much more effective at his role. Roy is also better at his role than Trevor Moore. Who cares? Moore wasn't brought in to play Roy's role.

Byfield is a scoring center. He should be getting quality players who can help him alongside the way. Not Brown, whose ability has declined. And not AA, who's skilled, but has not been compatible with him. Why hasn't ONE of Arvidsson, Moore, or Iafallo been put on his wing for, say, a handful of games to see how well it works? They've kept Iafallo and Brown on the powerplay units for a large chunk of the season despite struggles.

I respect the heck out of your posts KP, but I don't understand this sentiment. When Stoll was 3C, he was the perfect "checking line" center. He could take defensive draws against opponents Top6 and we would feel good about the matchup.

Byfield is in a totally different role on the 3rd line. With Kopi and Danault doing the heavy lifting in the D zone, Byfield is given offensive zone starts against inferior competition. His job is to annihilate and dominate that competition. Lizotte can do it (at least in the Corsi and xGF categories), but Byfield hasn't found the magic touch yet. I watched all the games Byfield has played and the dude has barely thrown a check. This "3rd Line = checking Line" mentality doesn't apply to the 2022 Kings.

And if Grundstrom can score 9 goals in 50 games, I would argue that Byfield's 5 goals in 36 games is underperforming because you will never convince me that Grundstrom has had better linemates and Grundstrom has lesser skill. At some point, we just need to say the kid is 1) not as effective as we had hoped before the season 2) he needs more seasoning. And that's OK. He's 19.

Hopefully, last's night game against Chicago is a step in the right direction.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I respect the heck out of your posts KP, but I don't understand this sentiment. When Stoll was 3C, he was the perfect "checking line" center. He could take defensive draws against opponents Top6 and we would feel good about the matchup.

Byfield is in a totally different role on the 3rd line. With Kopi and Danault doing the heavy lifting in the D zone, Byfield is given offensive zone starts against inferior competition. His job is to annihilate and dominate that competition. Lizotte can do it (at least in the Corsi and xGF categories), but Byfield hasn't found the magic touch yet. I watched all the games Byfield has played and the dude has barely thrown a check. This "3rd Line = checking Line" mentality doesn't apply to the 2022 Kings.

And if Grundstrom can score 9 goals in 50 games, I would argue that Byfield's 5 goals in 36 games is underperforming because you will never convince me that Grundstrom has had better linemates and Grundstrom has lesser skill. At some point, we just need to say the kid is 1) not as effective as we had hoped before the season 2) he needs more seasoning. And that's OK. He's 19.

Hopefully, last's night game against Chicago is a step in the right direction.

Checking doesn't just mean blasting guys through the wall, though. Sticks on pucks, speeding and zeroing in on a backcheck, that's more with the modern NHL anyway. I don't think anyone thinks the third line, like I said earlier, is the Pahlsson line; its' obviously meant to score and one of the disappointments of the entire season is that no one there could make it happen (not even Moore). Its probably why TM finally threw his hands up and said "f*** everyone" and put Lizotte and the vets there

And of course people want more production out of Byfield in general. This is just part of the process. He's getting ever closer. I don't think the game last night was much different than the series of games he had before the AA match, though.

hopeful that next season he starts getting some serious PP time and more like 2nd line minutes, if he's not getting at least 15 minutes a game, I'd consider that a huge failure of game management/coaching.

 

[KingLB]

The Ducks top end definitely hit better than the Kings this year. But the Kings lower round picks far exceeded expectations, hell next years D core could very well be DD/Roy and a bunch of sub 25 yo’s. That is literally the perfect position on D.

The key question is, can 2-3 forwards really step up? And one of those needs to be a star. If so, the kings rebuild is just fine. Especially with all the pieces the Kings have to fill in around them/trade to fill in holes.

 

[Sol]

Byfield is getting ever closer yes. Now instead of shooting the puck 40 feet wide when they’re easy tap ins, he’s now shooting only 35 feet wide. Progress baby. Maybe in five years he can pot those.

I’ll never forget the scouting on byfield “great hard shot, only behind Drysdale and Laf” and now this dude keeps shooting so wide.

Yeah but hopefully that should get better. I’ve never seen a player miss this much since Schenn. But at least Schenn was getting it on net. Lol

 

[apadilla]

Byfield is getting ever closer yes. Now instead of shooting the puck 40 feet wide when they’re easy tap ins, he’s now shooting only 35 feet wide. Progress baby. Maybe in five years he can pot those.

I’ll never forget the scouting on byfield “great hard shot, only behind Drysdale and Laf” and now this dude keeps shooting so wide.

Yeah but hopefully that should get better. I’ve never seen a player miss this much since Schenn. But at least Schenn was getting it on net. Lol

Maybe a longer stick would do the trick instead of waiting.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Agreed.

And I don't think @NikF 's point is the existence/recruitment of those players--it's what the rest of us have been saying all season: guys need minutes and reps. They have too many guys vs. too many youth and it's easy to make an argument that the team is plateauing right now with overreliance on vets and little integration of youth. I think most of us thought, when they got Danault, that we'd see things like Brown-Kopitar-Turcotte or Danault-Arvidsson-Kaliyev--not permanently, but enough to keep giving them a taste, and PP time. Well, they mostly just stayed buried at under 12 minutes and no PP time all year (with the weird exception of the Fagemo callup). Hell, they called Tynan up over other guys! I don't think that's the 'only way,' but I wish some of the counterarguments would acknowledge we're at least not crazy for thinking that.

But I think it's also fair to the other points that we have no crystal ball, maybe next year they plan on doing it--the rest of us are just skeptical based on history and present, TM and most of this staff have no history of doing anything like that.

But they added Danault and Arvidsson to Kopitar, Iafallo, and Kempe. And AA. And Brown, because the coach loves vets. Then Moore became a decent player.

Danault taking time away from Kopitar, that idea I get. I thought for sure that would happen. I thought that was the whole point. Your line combo's with young guys sprinkled in on the top lines, that I don't get. You spend that much money bringing in Danault and Arvidsson, as well as re-signing Iafallo and AA, and those are the guys that will get the reps. Otherwise don't spend that money.

If you want the young guys getting reps, you do what the Ducks did; nothing. You either leave main spots open, or open spots up, for the youth, so they can play there all the time.

There's no way they intended to have all that many young guys in the lineup. You can get to 11 or 12 spots taken prior to October before any young guy's name that anyone cares about is mentioned, and that's not including Wagner, who they actually sent down with a 1 way deal. Not including Tkachev or Frk either, two not old but not young guys.

If anyone was expecting Turcotte on the 1st line due to anything but a rash of injuries, I would say something like that was a complete misreading of the situation. But then I wasn't expecting Kopitar's total ice time to dip by only 25 seconds per game.

 

[MBH]

Before this season almost everyone would say the Kings rebuild was tracking better than the Ducks.

After this season, that question already gives you a pause. Ducks have successfully integrated their youth into core roles. The Kings have failed to integrate even one of their half-dozen prized forward prospects into a core role. The ones they did integrate are all on D and they were forced to do that partly because of injuries.

This season is a veteran-driven playoff push that also isn't serious Cup contention. It delayed for another year and possibly even thrown off track the development of key young assets in the pipeline.

If the goal is the Cup, after this season who made a bigger step towards becoming a Cup contending team? Anaheim or LA? For my money that is Anaheim. It's difficult to imagine this season for LA as anything better than a moderate failure or at best a neutral delay, given the mandate to build a new Cup contending core, which is even the more damning given that is widely believed that the Kings assets both in quantity and quality were superior to Anaheim's.

I agree with this.
To an extent.
But let's look at the young forwards.

Byfield - Given the 3C job despite never showing he was ready. This was a kid I thought might need D+1 and D+2 in Canadian junior because elements of his game were so unpolished. You could see this in the WJCs. The best place for Byfield was the AHL. If he was in the NHL, he shouldn't have been centering a line. He wasn't ready for that responsibility. You could see last night he can be physically dominant - but his stick skills are not even average at this point. Tough to ask a kid to learn these skills at the NHL level. Kings, by forcing Byfield at C all year, have painted themselves into a rough spot. What if he struggles next year?
Bottom line, Byfield has done a single thing to suggest he's deserved more icetime at the NHL level.

Kupari - Almost identical numbers to Byfield but he's three years older. Kupari has NHL skating and size, but he can't hold on to a pass. Can't seem to show anything beyond average potential. I could see him as a 3C or 4C. But he's gonna have to win a job over a buzzsaw like Lizotte and keep Turcotte from taking a job. 43.7% on faceoffs is pretty rough. He's also another guy who hasn't earned anything more than he's been given.

Vilardi - The Kings made a huge mistake sending him to the AHL all year. This was a rookie WHO PROVED something last year, even if center wasn't the right job because of his skating. You don't send a kid to the AHL to learn to be a winger. Vilardi comes up and gets stuck on a line with Byfield - who can't pass the puck to anyone. It was a predictable disaster. Kings are very close to blowing his development. But the truth is, Vilardi isn't showing anything to force his way into a better lineup spot. Ironically, the problem is that the Kings don't have enough good centers to get Vilardi the role he needs. A problem the Kings wouldn't have if Vilardi was the guy they hoped he might be - if he was just a bit lighter on his feet.

Kaliyev - He's the one guy who has a beef. It feels like he should have a bigger role. But is 5 on 5 production is just OK. And, again, the Kings really need someone to win that 3C job. Everyone keeps saying the Kings need a scoring Winger - when the problem is the Kings don't have a legit 3C because Vilardi/Byfield/Kupari aren't providing it. If they did, you could move Kaliyev up the the lineup easily. Because his 5 on 5 production isn't that hot (in part because he's played with Lizotte and Lemieux a lot), he really hasn't earned much more at 5 on 5. But I think the Kings could move him up the lineup on the powerplay and it would benefit Kaliyev and the Kings.

Jarret Anderson Dolan - I feel like this guy got the shaft due to the decision to start Byfield at C so much. Kings simply don't have room to develop him. He's gonna get waived and picked up by some team that needs a center. Kid skates well and has a good IQ and a low center of gravity. Had he been the Kings 3C instead of Byfield, that line would have been such an atrocity. And then you could potentially move JAD for assets when the time comes. Instead, he's probably on waivers next October.

Lias Anderson - Another young forward with ability who just kind of got lost all year.

Lines that might have made more sense...
Kempe Kopitar AA
Arvidsson-Danault-Moore
Vilardi JAD Iaffalo
Lemieux Lizotte Andersson (Brown)

The emergence of Moore as a legit, valuable winger is going to make things even more difficult for the Kings next season.

Here's who you know is returning

Kempe-Kopitar-???*
Moore-Danault-Arvidsson - Set
Iafallo-Byfield-Kaliyev
???-Lizotte-???
Kupari/

Center is set - even if Byfield isn't ready. You've got Kupari ready to step in if Byfield falters. Or JAD - if he's still in the system.
I kept Kempe even though he's an RFA.
As good as Lemieux has been, there's a chance the Wings just walk away from him, He's got some reputation and organizations don't always like those kinds of guys unless they really product.

Let's assume Brown's gone.
The question is, at 1RW, do you want to try Kaliyev there? Because Kopitar skates poorly, I'm not sure that's the best option. So I'll leave that spot open.

Your Lizotte line? Perfect spot for Grundstrom and Andersson or Lemieux.

You still don't have spots for Kupari or Vilardi. Vilardi is another guy who skates too slowly to be out there with Kopitar.

So now it's clear I need to mix up the Danault line
I'll put Vilardi with Danault/Moore

Kempe-Kopitar-Arvidsson
Moore-Danault-Vilardi
Iafallo-Byfield-Kaliyev
Grundstrom-Lizotte-Andersson

Andersson/Vilardi/Kaliyev switching places until they find a level. Kupari, too.

There is no room for AA or a UFA winger unless you're trashing Vilardi.

It could mean the Kings take a step backward next year. But they might need to take the step backward to move forward in 2-3 years.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I agree with this.
To an extent.
But let's look at the young forwards.

Byfield - Given the 3C job despite never showing he was ready. This was a kid I thought might need D+1 and D+2 in Canadian junior because elements of his game were so unpolished. You could see this in the WJCs. The best place for Byfield was the AHL. If he was in the NHL, he shouldn't have been centering a line. He wasn't ready for that responsibility. You could see last night he can be physically dominant - but his stick skills are not even average at this point. Tough to ask a kid to learn these skills at the NHL level. Kings, by forcing Byfield at C all year, have painted themselves into a rough spot. What if he struggles next year?
Bottom line, Byfield has done a single thing to suggest he's deserved more icetime at the NHL level.

Kupari - Almost identical numbers to Byfield but he's three years older. Kupari has NHL skating and size, but he can't hold on to a pass. Can't seem to show anything beyond average potential. I could see him as a 3C or 4C. But he's gonna have to win a job over a buzzsaw like Lizotte and keep Turcotte from taking a job. 43.7% on faceoffs is pretty rough. He's also another guy who hasn't earned anything more than he's been given.

Vilardi - The Kings made a huge mistake sending him to the AHL all year. This was a rookie WHO PROVED something last year, even if center wasn't the right job because of his skating. You don't send a kid to the AHL to learn to be a winger. Vilardi comes up and gets stuck on a line with Byfield - who can't pass the puck to anyone. It was a predictable disaster. Kings are very close to blowing his development. But the truth is, Vilardi isn't showing anything to force his way into a better lineup spot. Ironically, the problem is that the Kings don't have enough good centers to get Vilardi the role he needs. A problem the Kings wouldn't have if Vilardi was the guy they hoped he might be - if he was just a bit lighter on his feet.

Kaliyev - He's the one guy who has a beef. It feels like he should have a bigger role. But is 5 on 5 production is just OK. And, again, the Kings really need someone to win that 3C job. Everyone keeps saying the Kings need a scoring Winger - when the problem is the Kings don't have a legit 3C because Vilardi/Byfield/Kupari aren't providing it. If they did, you could move Kaliyev up the the lineup easily. Because his 5 on 5 production isn't that hot (in part because he's played with Lizotte and Lemieux a lot), he really hasn't earned much more at 5 on 5. But I think the Kings could move him up the lineup on the powerplay and it would benefit Kaliyev and the Kings.

Jarret Anderson Dolan - I feel like this guy got the shaft due to the decision to start Byfield at C so much. Kings simply don't have room to develop him. He's gonna get waived and picked up by some team that needs a center. Kid skates well and has a good IQ and a low center of gravity. Had he been the Kings 3C instead of Byfield, that line would have been such an atrocity. And then you could potentially move JAD for assets when the time comes. Instead, he's probably on waivers next October.

Lias Anderson - Another young forward with ability who just kind of got lost all year.

Lines that might have made more sense...
Kempe Kopitar AA
Arvidsson-Danault-Moore
Vilardi JAD Iaffalo
Lemieux Lizotte Andersson (Brown)

The emergence of Moore as a legit, valuable winger is going to make things even more difficult for the Kings next season.

Here's who you know is returning

Kempe-Kopitar-???*
Moore-Danault-Arvidsson - Set
Iafallo-Byfield-Kaliyev
???-Lizotte-???
Kupari/

Center is set - even if Byfield isn't ready. You've got Kupari ready to step in if Byfield falters. Or JAD - if he's still in the system.
I kept Kempe even though he's an RFA.
As good as Lemieux has been, there's a chance the Wings just walk away from him, He's got some reputation and organizations don't always like those kinds of guys unless they really product.

Let's assume Brown's gone.
The question is, at 1RW, do you want to try Kaliyev there? Because Kopitar skates poorly, I'm not sure that's the best option. So I'll leave that spot open.

Your Lizotte line? Perfect spot for Grundstrom and Andersson or Lemieux.

You still don't have spots for Kupari or Vilardi. Vilardi is another guy who skates too slowly to be out there with Kopitar.

So now it's clear I need to mix up the Danault line
I'll put Vilardi with Danault/Moore

Kempe-Kopitar-Arvidsson
Moore-Danault-Vilardi
Iafallo-Byfield-Kaliyev
Grundstrom-Lizotte-Andersson

Andersson/Vilardi/Kaliyev switching places until they find a level. Kupari, too.

There is no room for AA or a UFA winger unless you're trashing Vilardi.

It could mean the Kings take a step backward next year. But they might need to take the step backward to move forward in 2-3 years.

Or you make a move at the draft, and put Vilardi, JAD and your 1st for a top 6 W

 

[johnjm22]

Vilardi - The Kings made a huge mistake sending him to the AHL all year. This was a rookie WHO PROVED something last year, even if center wasn't the right job because of his skating. You don't send a kid to the AHL to learn to be a winger. Vilardi comes up and gets stuck on a line with Byfield - who can't pass the puck to anyone. It was a predictable disaster. Kings are very close to blowing his development. But the truth is, Vilardi isn't showing anything to force his way into a better lineup spot. Ironically, the problem is that the Kings don't have enough good centers to get Vilardi the role he needs. A problem the Kings wouldn't have if Vilardi was the guy they hoped he might be - if he was just a bit lighter on his feet.

I don't think you followed the situation closely.

He had to be sent down. The situation was untenable.

Also, he's gotten worse every season in the NHL.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

But they added Danault and Arvidsson to Kopitar, Iafallo, and Kempe. And AA. And Brown, because the coach loves vets. Then Moore became a decent player.

Danault taking time away from Kopitar, that idea I get. I thought for sure that would happen. I thought that was the whole point. Your line combo's with young guys sprinkled in on the top lines, that I don't get. You spend that much money bringing in Danault and Arvidsson, as well as re-signing Iafallo and AA, and those are the guys that will get the reps. Otherwise don't spend that money.

If you want the young guys getting reps, you do what the Ducks did; nothing. You either leave main spots open, or open spots up, for the youth, so they can play there all the time.

There's no way they intended to have all that many young guys in the lineup. You can get to 11 or 12 spots taken prior to October before any young guy's name that anyone cares about is mentioned, and that's not including Wagner, who they actually sent down with a 1 way deal. Not including Tkachev or Frk either, two not old but not young guys.

If anyone was expecting Turcotte on the 1st line due to anything but a rash of injuries, I would say something like that was a complete misreading of the situation. But then I wasn't expecting Kopitar's total ice time to dip by only 25 seconds per game.

I guess in short what I'm saying is I expected 2-3 forwards to break in and take a slot at a time if they couldn't beat anyone else out, not 10 or so forwards to play a handful of games at 8 minutes a game.

They made it work for Fagemo; no reason they couldn't have made it work for others.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I guess in short what I'm saying is I expected 2-3 forwards to break in and take a slot at a time if they couldn't beat anyone else out, not 10 or so forwards to play a handful of games at 8 minutes a game.

They made it work for Fagemo; no reason they couldn't have made it work for others.

How did they make it work for Fagemo? 2 games is making it work, or is there something else I am not catching....

 

[AlphaBravo]

I don't think I will ever understand this concept of winning less games equates to making more progress. I guess I'm just slow...

The issue isn’t about winning less. It’s under what circumstances we are winning. If we were winning with our top prospects like Byfield, Vilardi, or Turcotte producing decent numbers (e.g., 10-15 goals), that would be a huge success. But as things stand, the vets are carrying the team with minimal contribution from our supposed top prospects. The only bright spot on forward is Moore and Kaliyev. Let’s hope more pan out.

 

[AlphaBravo]

I don't think you followed the situation closely.

He had to be sent down. The situation was untenable.

Also, he's gotten worse every season in the NHL.

I think Vilardi got sent down too soon this season. He had a strong preseason followed by a weak season opener. It would be good to have him sent down for maybe 10 games but brought up again to get another shot.

 

[johnjm22]

I think Vilardi got sent down too soon this season. He had a strong preseason followed by a weak season opener. It would be good to have him sent down for maybe 10 games but brought up again to get another shot.

It wasn't just a weak season opener though. He played 7 games and was completely incompetent. Was getting destroyed.

I think sending him down was the right move for his own sake.

 

[All The Kings Men]

I expected 2-3 forwards to break in and take a slot

That's on you.

 

[johnjm22]

The issue isn’t about winning less. It’s under what circumstances we are winning. If we were winning with our top prospects like Byfield, Vilardi, or Turcotte producing decent numbers (e.g., 10-15 goals), that would be a huge success. But as things stand, the vets are carrying the team with minimal contribution from our supposed top prospects. The only bright spot on forward is Moore and Kaliyev. Let’s hope more pan out.

I agree with what you're saying overall, but what about Kempe? Trevor Moore is 27 years old. Kempe is only 25.

 

[AlphaBravo]

I agree with what you're saying overall, but what about Kempe? Trevor Moore is 27 years old. Kempe is only 25.

Yeah no question Kempe had a break out year. I am referring to the players we drafted recently in the rebuild years.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Yeah no question Kempe had a break out year. I am referring to the players we drafted recently in the rebuild years.

Then why include Moore?

 

[Schmooley]

That's on you.

Not really. A team that was bottom of the barrel for years and collected lottery picks puts these players in the lineup and builds around them. It sucks for a couple years more until the team starts to mold around the picks you hit right. Honestly I cant think of another instance where a team goes about it this way. Being a lottery team then deciding to build around the players that were part of the tank.

 

[LAKings88]

Anyone think AA22 comes back next year?

 

[King'sPawn]

I respect the heck out of your posts KP, but I don't understand this sentiment. When Stoll was 3C, he was the perfect "checking line" center. He could take defensive draws against opponents Top6 and we would feel good about the matchup.

Byfield is in a totally different role on the 3rd line. With Kopi and Danault doing the heavy lifting in the D zone, Byfield is given offensive zone starts against inferior competition. His job is to annihilate and dominate that competition. Lizotte can do it (at least in the Corsi and xGF categories), but Byfield hasn't found the magic touch yet. I watched all the games Byfield has played and the dude has barely thrown a check. This "3rd Line = checking Line" mentality doesn't apply to the 2022 Kings.

And if Grundstrom can score 9 goals in 50 games, I would argue that Byfield's 5 goals in 36 games is underperforming because you will never convince me that Grundstrom has had better linemates and Grundstrom has lesser skill. At some point, we just need to say the kid is 1) not as effective as we had hoped before the season 2) he needs more seasoning. And that's OK. He's 19.

Hopefully, last's night game against Chicago is a step in the right direction.

I agree. He is not as effective as we hoped and he needs more seasoning.

The question is how are you going to achieve that seasoning to make him more effective? Are you going to do the exact same thing as this season and hope it works next?

Because it took Kempe 8 seasons to get to be on par with Tyler Toffoli. Are you going to wait 8 years?

That's the rub here. I'm all for showing patience. But I've also been a draft/development nerd starting back to 2003. Just watching the trends of the Kings, I don't have much confidence, given that it's essentially the same as before. Learn2Check before you can be a regular. And the NHL has learned to adapt and integrate these players more seamlessly than the Kings.

And with the age distribution on the Kings, and the reliance on players over 30, they need to have a better results from a development standpoint.

 

[cyclones22]

We're all happy that we could be watching Kings playoff games this season. But at the same time we remember 2017-2018. Some career high years for players, then a short playoff appearance, then Lotto city after that since. Some of us are hoping that this is more 2010 Kings, but we'll see what this offseason brings. I find it incredibly hard to believe that the Kings mis-evaluate forward talent year after year after year when that talent performs well in juniors and even the AHL, but doesn't on the big club. And if that is the case people need to be fired regardless. Whether it's the development staff or the people making the draft choices.

 

[All The Kings Men]

Not really. A team that was bottom of the barrel for years and collected lottery picks puts these players in the lineup and builds around them. It sucks for a couple years more until the team starts to mold around the picks you hit right. Honestly I cant think of another instance where a team goes about it this way. Being a lottery team then deciding to build around the players that were part of the tank.

Theoretically sure a team like the Kings "should" or "usually" would be at a place where kids would start filling the lineup

BUT

At the start of training camp the Kings had

Iafallo-Kopitar-Brown
Kempe-Danault-Arvidsson
Athanasiou-Vilardi-Moore
Lemieux-Lizotte-Grundstrom
Wagner-L. Andersson-Tkachev
JAD-Byfieled-Frk

If anybody EXPECTED two or three forwards to play their way onto the NHL roster without the benefit of injury/COVID impacts... that's on them and however it is they create their own expectations.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

That's on you.

I didn't come up with it all by myself.

Opening night roster forwards featured Kaliyev, Vilardi, the next layer of Andersson/Grundstrom/Lizotte and Byfield HAD made it but got hurt. But the youth got minimized in short order.

It's not crazy to think that a franchise that has been accumulating top picks for several years and are having some of them come up on their mid-20s would start integrating them in key roles, but that really just...didn't happen. It's hardly even happening at the AHL level, where some top prospects aren't getting regular PP time in favor of near-30 vets.

In short, the franchise thought they were good enough to include them on the opening night roster, then abruptly went back to their security blankets.

 

[Schmooley]

Theoretically sure a team like the Kings "should" or "usually" would be at a place where kids would start filling the lineup

BUT

At the start of training camp the Kings had

Iafallo-Kopitar-Brown
Kempe-Danault-Arvidsson
Athanasiou-Vilardi-Moore
Lemieux-Lizotte-Grundstrom
Wagner-L. Andersson-Tkachev
JAD-Byfieled-Frk

If anybody EXPECTED two or three forwards to play their way onto the NHL roster without the benefit of injury/COVID impacts... that's on them and however it is they create their own expectations.

I cant speak for others but I was expecting the kids to play meaningful roles until they brought in Danult Arvidsson Tkachev and brought back AA and Lizotte. After that I had no more expectation of it and still dont have any idea as to what next seasons team will look like.