TA: Wheeler Prospect Rankings Kings 17th

[PuckinUgly57]

Forgot to post this last week, Kings have dropped from 1st just 2 years ago to 17th. That is a massive drop off but due to some guys aging out (this is age 23 or younger), making roster (Arty Retardy for example), trades of prospects (Faber, who is having an unreal season as a 1RD and will give Bedard a run for the Calder) and flat out bust drafting (all you Yanetti).

2024 NHL prospect pool rankings: No. 17 Los Angeles Kings

The Kings' pool has seen some of the most dramatic turnover in the league over the course of the last year.

theathletic.com

1. Clarke
2. Turcotte
3. Laferriere
4. Portillo
5. Zimmer
6. Chromiak
7. Slukynsky
8. Pinellas
9. Dvorak
10. Salin
11. Conmy
12. Mania
13. Kirsanov
14. Hughes
15. Connors

It's not a real impressive group to be honest, and as I always say a prospect is just that until they prove themselves but as an organization it's alarming to have plummeted so far in only 2 years.

That's all on Blake, scouting and drafting and trades. Fagemo for example isn't even on the list anymore, as neither is Simontaival who were "sure fire" according to Teh Blog. Pinelli and Chromiak as well.

I'm really hoping Blake doesn't get an itchy finger and trade away the 2024 1st which would be no 1st 3 years in a row - absolutely need to replenish this pipeline with quality prospects, not guys who will be marginal NHLers or not make it at all.

 

[Kings4OT]

How does that get you 17th? The rest of the league must be really bad

 

[PuckinUgly57]

It's just crazy to think how they were ranked 1st not long ago. But since Blake took over its beenThe Legend, Roy, Anderson, Buster seems to be panning out finally but needs to develop consistency, then nothing else yet.

That 2019 draft sent them off a cliff, how do you biff 4 picks in the top 50? That takes some serious stupidity.

 

[Kings4OT]

It's just crazy to think how they were ranked 1st not long ago. But since Blake took over its beenThe Legend, Roy, Anderson, Buster seems to be panning out finally but needs to develop consistency, then nothing else yet.

That 2019 draft sent them off a cliff, how do you biff 4 picks in the top 50? That takes some serious stupidity.

Ya, there are a lot of NHLers that czme out of that top 50....seems they could have accidentally got one

 

[histkng23]

It's just crazy to think how they were ranked 1st not long ago. But since Blake took over its beenThe Legend, Roy, Anderson, Buster seems to be panning out finally but needs to develop consistency, then nothing else yet.

That 2019 draft sent them off a cliff, how do you biff 4 picks in the top 50? That takes some serious stupidity.

Actually, Roy was a Deano pick in 2015 (nitpicking)

The 2019 Draft in hindsight was a complete screw up. Maybe Turcotte, if he can stay healthy, might become serviceable, but rom a 5OA to not have an impact is embarrassing. The 2018 Draft didn't help either. Taking Kupari, who sure can skate, and win faceoffs, could have been passed over for Miller, who is shoring up the Rangers D. Instead of Akil Thomas, they could have had Kevin Bahl, who is a regular in the 'Yotes lineup at least.

Then again, apart from Hughes, the 2019 Draft hasn't been setting the league on fire. Seen stories that NYR are already offering Kaako out, Byram hasn't made the impact that analysts were shouting. Kirby Dach was already cast off by Chicago, and hasn't impacted the Habs. Seider & Cozens are the only ones in the top 10 that seem to be solid players.

I feel that Blake was drafting players to fit a certain characteristic, and it completely backfired on him. His direction pushed Yannetti (who isn't innocent either) to identify certain types of players, rather than taking players that would be good NHL players. Blake definitely steered away from character/grinder types that Lombardi was famous for coveting (rightfully), to wanting to infuse more speed & skill in the organization. That mindset clearly slowed what rebuild he was trying to do.

So, while Yannetti has been culpable, Blake is the true source of the lack of legit prospects. Having no defenders or goalies in the pipeline is a serious issue.

 

[Stunner_At_Staples_Kings]

I still think it's development over drafting. Kings didn't go way off any boards to get guys. They were taking guys that were pretty consensus dudes relative to their draft positions. I remember Arthur Kaliyev being hyped like no other. "Should have gone in the first", no-brainer first pick of Day 2 for LA. Turcotte/Byfield were in a very limited discussion but by no means "bad" picks. I just think something is up with the way the Kings are developing guys. In much the same way they could not miss in developing goaltenders, they cannot hit on these other positions right now. This is going beyond just prospect development too. I'm in an old fantasy hockey league and you should see some of the player discussion boards on Yahoo. Specifically for Fiala. I can't verify it, but they said it's his longest goalless streak of his career right now.

I am glad they're piecing some wins together, but there is still something off about this team. If they sneak into the playoffs, it probably saves Blake's job, so that might not even be a good thing long-term.

As far as prospects go, I still hold out some excitement for Turcotte eventually coming around. Villardi and Kempe and so many of these Kings prospects took 5+ years to start making an impact, so it wouldn't be unheard of to see that again. Villardi was making his debut in Bakersfield at one point and we all assumed his back would mean he'd never play in the league. All of a sudden you look up and he's 23 years old and he's actually a pretty good NHL player. Can't stay healthy, but solid player with some great hands. Kempe would go crazy long streaks with no goals. Not even exaggerating that we'd be sitting on the boards talking about how he hadn't scored in 40+ games. I think it's the only reason that when he did start scoring 40 goals that he didn't get paid the big bucks. I think that'll change on his next contract.

Farm system is so unbelievably important. You look at the LA Kings 2014 team and they don't win without major contributions from Toffoli, Pearson, Muzzin. Robitaille said Pearson had come up at one point and he was producing well, but they saw that he stopped skating for one shift, and so they sent him back to the minors anyway as a lesson. The cultural stuff of that can't be understated in my opinion.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Actually, Roy was a Deano pick in 2015 (nitpicking)

Good catch, I had a brain fart and thought he was drafted in 2017 for some reason. So I gave Blake a freebie there he didn't deserve.

=)~~

Your post is spot on too. Sure that 2019 draft was weak, but even then with 4 picks in the top 50 as was stated, even stumbling into a legitimate NHL player seems more possible than what has happened.

Turcotte is the last one really left, and it's too early to say what impact if any he will have. The only reason the Kings are even listed at 17th is because Laferriere, Clarke and Turcotte fall into the required 23 or under criteria, elevating the ranking even though all 3 are on the NHL roster. Take those guys away...yikes.

Regarding Turcotte too, he's averaging roughly like 5-6 minutes a game. Jill is straight up playing to win games, which keeps the L4 guys off the ice, not to mention they've had to come from behind the last few games which means playing L1-3 more well into the third period. This doesn't leave a lot of TOI for guys like Turcotte. Playing from behind is also hurting the development of these types of players.

I actually love this approach though, very different from McLellan who just rolled 4 lines whether the Kings were trying to protect a lead or score a goal, situation didn't matter. Just a subtle nuance in coaching and change, the ones we've been discussing.

 

[PuckinUgly57]

Farm system is so unbelievably important. You look at the LA Kings 2014 team and they don't win without major contributions from Toffoli, Pearson, Muzzin. Robitaille said Pearson had come up at one point and he was producing well, but they saw that he stopped skating for one shift, and so they sent him back to the minors anyway as a lesson. The cultural stuff of that can't be understated in my opinion.

If you develop properly, what happens is you get a bunch of guys on ELCs or second contracts which allows you to spend for the big names to round out a team. This is exactly how Dumbo and others since have pulled it off.

Bowlby has sucked at drafting and developing so he's being forced to over pay in FA (Dunno - $5.5 million for a 3C - that's exactly what he is too - is insane. He showed significant value his first season here but not really since) or through trades (Fiala, giving up a 1st on top of a top end prospect. Guerin was bent over a barrel with the cap, Blake basically was bidding against himself) not leaving much else which is why we are where we are. This team has an imbalance of vets and younger players.

Bigger issue is culture as you stated, I don't think that was Blake's priority. He was a mercenary himself, loyal only to whoever paid him the most. I still stand by my statement that that 2001 Lanche team was so loaded, it wouldn't have mattered if they made the trade for Blake and still would have won. So I'm not surprised to see what he has done here with the Kings.

I remember seeing Pearson sent down and his effort being talked about, the Kings need to get back to that so every single player knows what level of effort is required.