The Next Wave(Will LA find skill?)

[RossLonsberryFan]

Not to poop on the ahl, but imma poop on it a little bit....it’s the ahl. The game’s slower.

How many times have you been there and actually watched Vilardi in live action? The kid is a possession beast and lethal on the PP. His 5-on-5 still needs improvement. But his skills clearly stand out in the AHL.

 

[Mats26]

Lack of talent is a just an excuse of a very serious and long-term problem the Kings have.
The lack of scoring has plague this team for over a decade, even with enough talent on it to win 2 cups. The 2 cup wins masked it somewhat but the issue was still there.

The issue stems from the draft to the development staff to the AHL upto the NHL level. We just have a defensive culture in this organization.

We already know we have a defensive minded development staff and culture, so instead of drafting for the highest skill players to round out their game defensively. We target 2-way character type guys and continue to instill a defensive first culture on them. What happens is we end up with prospects that make the NHL for their defensive game and top out as bottom\middle 6 forwards.

It would be a breath of fresh air to change that defensive culture and draft skill and talent and let them play to their strengths first while adding an element of defensive responsibilities.
Hopefully things change with these high picks and we let them play their game.

 

[bouncesonly]

How many times have you been there and actually watched Vilardi in live action? The kid is a possession beast and lethal on the PP. His 5-on-5 still needs improvement. But his skills clearly stand out in the AHL.

Zero. I’ve watched a few reign gulls game (with grundstrom scoring a couple in one) and it’s just not the same as watching a kings game (as slow as they are). Didn’t toffoli and Pearson light it up in the ahl? Have little expectations until they suit up with the kings.

 

[tigermask48]

I have a terrible fear that the Kings are going to suffer the same problem that Edmonton dealt with. Their current roster has a high number of old players that can't be moved and just aren't NHL players anymore.
At the same time the few talented youngsters are having their developed wrecked because you can't put them in a spot to succeed and they have to carry the dead weight of the veterans around.
Fast forward 5 years and it's the same problem just the names have changed. Walker, Lizotte, Prokhorkin, Kempe, Wagner, Amadio are the new Doughty, Kopitar, Carter, Lewis, etc. Now it's up to the next generation of Turcotte, JAD, Vilardi, etc to help them win but no one knows how because ever since they became pros they've sucked. It just keeps going on and on until a true culture change happens.

 

[Papa Mocha 15]

I have a terrible fear that the Kings are going to suffer the same problem that Edmonton dealt with. Their current roster has a high number of old players that can't be moved and just aren't NHL players anymore.
At the same time the few talented youngsters are having their developed wrecked because you can't put them in a spot to succeed and they have to carry the dead weight of the veterans around.
Fast forward 5 years and it's the same problem just the names have changed. Walker, Lizotte, Prokhorkin, Kempe, Wagner, Amadio are the new Doughty, Kopitar, Carter, Lewis, etc. Now it's up to the next generation of Turcotte, JAD, Vilardi, etc to help them win but no one knows how because ever since they became pros they've sucked. It just keeps going on and on until a true culture change happens.

I'm wondering if we need to trade a few players like DD now and whatever we can get for our longer term contracts while we have cap space to eat. When these rookies come up and want a payday, I'd be concerned LA gets stuck.

Good point on your part.

 

[KopitarGOAT420]

I have a terrible fear that the Kings are going to suffer the same problem that Edmonton dealt with. Their current roster has a high number of old players that can't be moved and just aren't NHL players anymore.
At the same time the few talented youngsters are having their developed wrecked because you can't put them in a spot to succeed and they have to carry the dead weight of the veterans around.
Fast forward 5 years and it's the same problem just the names have changed. Walker, Lizotte, Prokhorkin, Kempe, Wagner, Amadio are the new Doughty, Kopitar, Carter, Lewis, etc. Now it's up to the next generation of Turcotte, JAD, Vilardi, etc to help them win but no one knows how because ever since they became pros they've sucked. It just keeps going on and on until a true culture change happens.

Okay here's the problem with your statement. It seems like you're treating each 'wave' of new players equally in terms of expectations when they're VERY different, especially in terms of skill and ability.

The Kopitar/Doughty/Brown wave is almost entirely composed of 1st round draft picks. High talent, high skill players. Even Trevor Lewis was a 17th overall pick for crying out loud. Expectations were high for this round of players and given 2 stanley cups, I think we can all agree they did just fine.

Then you have this current round of players: Wagner, Kempe, Amadio, Prokhorkin, etc. Out of those players, only Kempe is a first round pick. He's also clearly the best out of those players in my opinion. The rest are mid-round picks and un-drafted free agents. No one was expecting (nor should they have been) this current wave of players to do much because there's just not a ton of skill and ability there.

Finally you have the next wave: Turcotte, Vilardi, Bjornfot, JAD, etc. This wave of players consists almost entirely of 1st and 2nd round picks (high talent, high skill). Who do we have high expectations for as future Kings?? Turcotte (5th overall pick), Vilardi (11th overall pick), Bjornfot (22nd overall pick), Kaliyev (2nd round pick, but widely considered a massive steal).

This NEXT wave of Kings players is far more comparable to the Kopitar/Doughty wave than the current round of players.

We have to be realistic. This current wave of Kings players aged 22-26 is NOT what Doughty/Kopitar's wave was. It's also NOT what Turcotte/Vilardi/etc are going to be. The Kings changed a lot as a team and franchise when players like Kopitar and Doughty started coming up, all we can do is hope similar changes happen when guys like Turcotte, Vilardi, etc break out with the Kings.

 

[BigKing]

The Kings pool is ranked highly because of depth but not due to having anyone in it that is a Kopitar/Doughty level type player. Lombardi had a real nice prospect pool on paper but, really, Doughty is what allowed the rebuild to work. He already had the stud #1C and then he got to add the stud #1D. Kopitar could have played effectively in LA straight out of the draft and Doughty did just that. There aren't any players like that in the current pipeline.

Lafreniere would really accelerate things. I mean, you never know with these things because the 8th player taken can wind up better than the 1OA but getting Lafreniere would be huge and almost feels necessary. Lombardi's tank job netted him Hickey/Doughty/Schenn. Pretend he goes chalk in '07 and they get Alzner instead. Big deal. Schenn allowed for the Richards trade but--and I like him--he's never posted elite stats that are worthy of his "best prospect in the world" status that he was holding at the time of the Richards trade. The big deal here was Doughty, a "generational" or whatever you want to call it talent.

So far, Blake has Vilardi/Kupari/Turcotte. I really like Vilardi but he may not be a center at the NHL level and were all just hoping he can stay healthy. Unfortunately, the 2018 season happened and Blake didn't get to draft in the Top 10. Now we have a guy with skating as his best asset sitting out with a torn ACL. Turcotte is a real good prospect but, point is, he isn't a Kopitar/Doughty talent. Actually, a Brayden Schenn-type career is a higher probability than the Toews-type career. Point is, this abortion of a season really needs some lottery luck.

We are all desperately wanting some new blood and excitement. Well, so are the vets that aren't going anywhere. How bad did Doughty want Bjornfot to stay and play next to him? It would be a real boost to the vets on this team if some elite-level, young talent came in. Lafreniere would be a real boost to accelerating the rebuild but pick at 4th or 5thOA again and we are staring down the barrel of another season similar to this one.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Zero. I’ve watched a few reign gulls game (with grundstrom scoring a couple in one) and it’s just not the same as watching a kings game (as slow as they are). Didn’t toffoli and Pearson light it up in the ahl? Have little expectations until they suit up with the kings.

20 year old gabe vilardi completely out of hockey for a year and on a shit team is scoring at the same pace as 20 year old tyler toffoli on a powerhouse team (didn't manchester win that year?). Edit: wrong, they were a first round exit that year.

If you see him at all, it's apparent his talent is on another level, he has the blue chip vision you can't explain until you see it in action.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

The Next Wave(Will LA find skill?)

They have found skill. It will be more about developing the skilled prospects into players. You like to see character and hard work. Leaders. I like that several of the skilled
prospects are leaders - Vilardi, Turcotte, Thomas, Bjornfot, Anderson. This will make a difference in helping them make it and reach their potential. You'd love to see a Lafreniere
be King. But remember, the Blues won a cup with ROR, Pietrangelo...Tarasenko...Binnington. No super elite player. If the Kings can see 3-5 of these players emerge to
the levels of a prime Richards, Brown, Carter, Williams, Mitchell...and Petersen reaches his potential, it's possible to win without a Crosby or Ovechkin. The Kings are about
to add one of these: Lafreniere, Byfield, Stutzle, Rossi, Drysdale, Raymond. I still believe the first 4 drafted in 2019, will be talked about, 10 years from now. "that Kings
2019 draft was killer. Turcotte, Bjornfot, Kaliyev and Fagemo" At least I hope so. "then in 2020, they get Lafreniere" shtt.

 

[ru4reals]

kings Organization: Skill what's that?

 

[Maynard]

20 year old gabe vilardi completely out of hockey for a year and on a **** team is scoring at the same pace as 20 year old tyler toffoli on a powerhouse team (didn't manchester win that year?). Edit: wrong, they were a first round exit that year.

If you see him at all, it's apparent his talent is on another level, he has the blue chip vision you can't explain until you see it in action.

Went to the game vs Tucson Saturday. I’m an admittedly biased fan so no great analysis here, but he seemed dangerous every time he had the puck. Really confident in the O-zone. Made several passes that the D didn’t expect, seemed real good at finding passing lanes. I read somewhere on here that he was a cherry picker/floater type but I didn’t see that at all. He was back checking and seemed to care about defending. He’s not fast but he makes plays fast if that makes any sense. Seemed pretty chippy, talking shit and shoving dudes etc. Also laid down to block a shot. He limped off and I was like “OH f***!!” but he didn’t miss a shift lol. Had an assist on the team’s only goal (Strand). I don’t know if he’s “ready” but he seemed better than everyone in my slanted, biased opinion. Oh also, if you bring a cowbell to a hockey game, I would pay to watch your beheading video.

 

[Steve Zissou]

Went to the game vs Tucson Saturday. I’m an admittedly biased fan so no great analysis here, but he seemed dangerous every time he had the puck. Really confident in the O-zone. Made several passes that the D didn’t expect, seemed real good at finding passing lanes. I read somewhere on here that he was a cherry picker/floater type but I didn’t see that at all. He was back checking and seemed to care about defending. He’s not fast but he makes plays fast if that makes any sense. Seemed pretty chippy, talking **** and shoving dudes etc. Also laid down to block a shot. He limped off and I was like “OH ****!!” but he didn’t miss a shift lol. Had an assist on the team’s only goal (Strand). I don’t know if he’s “ready” but he seemed better than everyone in my slanted, biased opinion. Oh also, if you bring a cowbell to a hockey game, I would pay to watch your beheading video.

He's a bit like Doughty in that he thinks the game really well.

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

20 year old gabe vilardi completely out of hockey for a year and on a **** team is scoring at the same pace as 20 year old tyler toffoli on a powerhouse team (didn't manchester win that year?). Edit: wrong, they were a first round exit that year.

If you see him at all, it's apparent his talent is on another level, he has the blue chip vision you can't explain until you see it in action.

#VilardiIsComing

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

Went to the game vs Tucson Saturday. I’m an admittedly biased fan so no great analysis here, but he seemed dangerous every time he had the puck. Really confident in the O-zone. Made several passes that the D didn’t expect, seemed real good at finding passing lanes. I read somewhere on here that he was a cherry picker/floater type but I didn’t see that at all. He was back checking and seemed to care about defending. He’s not fast but he makes plays fast if that makes any sense. Seemed pretty chippy, talking **** and shoving dudes etc. Also laid down to block a shot. He limped off and I was like “OH ****!!” but he didn’t miss a shift lol. Had an assist on the team’s only goal (Strand). I don’t know if he’s “ready” but he seemed better than everyone in my slanted, biased opinion. Oh also, if you bring a cowbell to a hockey game, I would pay to watch your beheading video.

#GottaHaveMoreCowBell

 

[RossLonsberryFan]

Zero... [blah blah blah blah blah]

Yeah... that’s what I thought.

 

[bouncesonly]

Yeah... that’s what I thought.

Feel better? Glad I can help with your mental health.

 

[bouncesonly]

20 year old gabe vilardi completely out of hockey for a year and on a **** team is scoring at the same pace as 20 year old tyler toffoli on a powerhouse team (didn't manchester win that year?). Edit: wrong, they were a first round exit that year.

If you see him at all, it's apparent his talent is on another level, he has the blue chip vision you can't explain until you see it in action.

I'll check out a game up in Ontario and in April when they come down to SD.

 

[Fishhead]

Skill is a pretty vague term.

Too many equate skill with scoring, when that's only one particular skill. The Kings were one of the most skilled teams in the league when they were winning cups. They could impose their will on other teams and flat out dominate when they were on. Being in the right spot is a skill. Knowing where to go when a certain teammate has the puck is a skill. Breakout passes are a criminally underrated skill. Understanding your goalies positioning and making a play to force a lower percentage shot is a skill. Not as glamorous as dangling and scoring, but skills that win cups. And those cup winning teams could score when needed. From 2012-2014, they had a 2.7 GF/60 in the playoffs, that's nothing to scoff at. Better than the Blackhawks over the same time, and that was a highly skilled team. Yeah, some players move on to other teams and their scoring increases. Some scorers also came in and saw a decrease in their numbers. But how many of those guys won before or won after? That would be a pretty short list.

With the style in the league evolving, the team needs more guys who can put the puck in the net for sure. But if those other skills aren't present, you end up like Tampa Bay with scoring out the ass and nothing to show for it. Care has to be taken when drafting. We all bemoan the dreaded two-way prototypical Kings targets for good reason, but I don't think the team has went to the other extreme either. My own view is that the Kings still look for the same general type of players with leadership characteristics, but with a couple differences from the previous regime. Rather than targeting players with obvious defensive abilities who are above average scorers, they seem to be looking at more prolific scorers with higher hockey IQ. They want guys who can put pucks in the net, but who can also be taught. They also shifted from a size emphasis to a speed emphasis, like most teams have. If two guys are close, every team is going to take the bigger player of course. The team just doesn't shy away from smallish guys like they used to.

I don't expect the team to ever have a free-wheeling offensive style, it's too hard to win that way and you need a Crosby/Malkin type pair to make it work. I don't get caught up in the "new" NHL where guys are fast and outrun the plodding giants of 6 years ago, because when push comes to shove, the game hasn't really changed all that much.

 

[ru4reals]

Here's a skill I wish all players from this team had.....how to f***in deke? Yes I know easier said then done and may not always work I get it. But maybe a simple move, perhaps a shoulder fake at least. It never hurts. But nope just straight shoot the puck right to the pads or crest. How many times have we seen that.

 

[kilowatt]

Here's a skill I wish all players from this team had.....how to f***in deke? Yes I know easier said then done and may not always work I get it. But maybe a simple move, perhaps a shoulder fake at least. It never hurts. But nope just straight shoot the puck right to the pads or crest. How many times have we seen that.

You don't love the Kings' patented "Skate into the zone a half-step ahead of the defense and curl back to look for a pass"?

 

[Legionnaire]

"Life's like a Los Angeles Kings rebuild. You never know what you're gonna get."
- Rob Gump

 

[Scottkmlps]

For anyone with a subscription.
Wheeler's 2020 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 1 Los Angeles...

 

[LAKings88]

As far as the Blues, Tarasenko is a game breaker. They have skill, defense, and buy in. They are that hybrid team. You still need physicality and defense. The Lightning were bounced in the first round. Binnington also stood on his head ala Quick.

I look at Chicago, San Jose, Anaheim and see teams similar to LA that are struggling. San Jose was decimated by injury and lack of goaltending. Anaheim I can’t even put my finger on. Chicago still has Kane dragging them from the bottom. All are in various stages of having to rebuild or retool.

Kopi is equivalent to a Bergeron without Pasta or Marchand supporting.

I still think Kopi and Drew can help the next wave. Everything else can go.

 

[Peter James Bond II]

Scott Wheeler's article came out today, with the Kings being his #1 ranking for NHL prospects....if you have The Athletic, just this article will be worth the subscription, because you will feel better about the
Kings future. I decided to read from the lowest rankings, #20 Braden Doyle and move to 19, 18, etc. Biggest surprises to me: how good Hults has become. That Jordan Spence is already one of the best players
in the Q ! And best D on Moncton, his fave to win the Memorial Cup....that he thinks Akil Thomas is a helluva player with a bright future...Fagemo; very high on his abilities. That Kaliyev may be the only
prospect in the world, that will score 40 goals in the NHL. And...has now added Vilardi. Good stuff on him and he wrote this very recently, as he comments on his 7 pts in last 4 games. Oh, and Nousiainen is a pretty damn good prospect. The Kings truly had a draft for the ages in 2019.

I want to BASK in this report all day...and maybe print it out and carry it around....lol And not read the current state of the Kings...that only the 2 Trevor's have scored King goals in the last 3 games (think that's the case, too depressing to research) The only other King related thing I would want to read today, is if they pull off a deal.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Scott Wheeler's article came out today, with the Kings being his #1 ranking for NHL prospects....if you have The Athletic, just this article will be worth the subscription, because you will feel better about the
Kings future. I decided to read from the lowest rankings, #20 Braden Doyle and move to 19, 18, etc. Biggest surprises to me: how good Hults has become. That Jordan Spence is already one of the best players
in the Q ! And best D on Moncton, his fave to win the Memorial Cup....that he thinks Akil Thomas is a helluva player with a bright future...Fagemo; very high on his abilities. That Kaliyev may be the only
prospect in the world, that will score 40 goals in the NHL. And...has now added Vilardi. Good stuff on him and he wrote this very recently, as he comments on his 7 pts in last 4 games. Oh, and Nousiainen is a pretty damn good prospect. The Kings truly had a draft for the ages in 2019.

I want to BASK in this report all day...and maybe print it out and carry it around....lol And not read the current state of the Kings...that only the 2 Trevor's have scored King goals in the last 3 games (think that's the case, too depressing to research) The only other King related thing I would want to read today, is if they pull off a deal.

Hate to burst your bubble, but out of those 20 prospects, on average only 4 are going to do anything in the NHL.