After the Kings moved on the Swede Adrian Kempe in the first round yesterday, there was a little time for the dust to settle and for everyone to reset before the 2nd round and beyond.
If you missed the write up on RW Adrian Kempe take a look here.
Now we move on into the later rounds where Dean Lombardi and Co. have worked some wonderful picks in the past.
With Rounds 2-7 picks in the past like Tyler Toffoli, Alec Martinez, Dwight King, Jonathan Quick, Slava Voynov, and Kyle Clifford, the new draftees and scouts alike have a lot to live up to. Let's break down who the Kings have selected thus far. (Updating as it happens)
First off, there was a deal right off the bat in day 2, before many of us were even awake on the West Coast I'm sure.
Before the Kings were able to get their scheduled 2nd round pick under way they moved up in the draft. The Kings dealt 22-year old center Linden Vey to the Canucks for the 50th overall pick in the draft. With the pick the Kings selected RH Defenseman
Roland McKeown
McKeown slid a little bit and clearly the Kings wanted to dive on him while he was still available.
Here is a brief scouting report on
Roland McKeown from ISS.
"Total package on the blueline; IQ on both sides of puck. Impressive +16 in 11 GP in Oct" - Nov. 25th, 2013
Also, from Future Considerations
McKeown is a strong, do-it-all defensemen whose biggest asset is his ability to think the game and know his position. He makes strong, simple plays, has a good shot and distributes the puck effectively.
McKeown, who stands at 6'2" and 190 pounds, was ranked at 27th amongst North American Skaters in the final CSS rankings, and was 15th at the midterm ranking.
Unfortunately for Linden Vey, who showed promise while he was here, the writing was on the wall. Vey is behind a stacked center group and is now being pressed by Jordan Weal, Nick Shore, and possibly Nikolai Prokhorkin who may be coming to North America. Not quite defensively sound enough for an NHL 3rd line center, and not quite offensive enough to usurp someone like Jeff Carter for a 2C, Vey was squeezed out. He will have a much better shot of an NHL future with the Vancouver Canucks who are in the midst of a rebuild/retooling. Vey was part of the trio in Manchester along with Pearson and Toffoli that was the best line in the AHL for a time.
With the 60th overall pick the Kings went to Ottawa in the OHL to selected Finnish defenseman
Alex Lintuniemi.
From Future Considerations
Lintuniemi is a big strong two-way blue liner who uses his size well to defend, can handle the puck, makes a strong outlet pass and joins the rush but has some inconsistency issues in his game and slower feet that need to be addressed. (November 2013)
He's a bit of an off the board pick at 60th. The 6'3" Finn was ranked at 187th by CSS at the end of the year.
With the 90th overall pick in the draft the Kings went with a Center from North Bay in the OHL,
Michael Amadio.
Short blurb from our very own HB writer Todd Cordell at
The Hockey Guys on Michael Amadio.
Michael Amadio is one of the most defensively responsible players in this draft class. He’s a very smart player with a high hockey IQ, and he always understands where to be on the ice. His positioning defensively is excellent, and he’s always strong on the back check.
In terms of weaknesses
Amadio’s biggest weakness is simply that he doesn’t have high-end offensive upside. He can chip in offensively, but he’ll never be a big point producer or game breaker...
In the 4th round the Kings went with another defenseman, this time from the USHL. The 6'1" puck-mover and future University of Minnesota player,
Steven Johnson.
From
LA Kings Insider
He’s a real cerebral, smart, puck moving defenseman that skates well.
In the 5th round the Kings did a little bit to restock the goalie cupboard. If you want size and raw talent then you got it. Kings selected the mammoth goaltender sized
Alec Dillon, who stands just shy of 6'6". He was ranked 26th in the CSS midterm rankings, and has interesting package of size and patience. While his athleticism is a little bit of a knock,
Dillon is a tough target to beat given his size and positioning. He's all arms and legs, so soon as he starts growing into his frame a bit more he could be a strong pickup as a late round goaltender.
The Kings had two selections in the 6th round, and went with a pair of forwards from the OHL. Center
Jake Marchment from Belleville and left wing
Matthew Mistele from Plymouth.
Marchment is a big boy at 6'3" who brings a lot of sandpaper and toughness to the rink. He can chip in offensively but is more about the defensive portion of the game. He has a limited offensive upside and could probably use some work on his footspeed but overall he is a tough customer who has proven very difficult to play against on the Belleville bottom lines. At age 19 this was
Marchment's second run at draft eligibility.
Mistele is a bit of an all around player who does a little bit of everything, but has room to improve. From Future Considerations:
Mistele is an opportunistic forward with excellent positioning in all zones. He doesn't play with high energy but lets the game come to him. He has decent offensive skills and a solid shot but isn't overly flashy. He can play chippy but could be more physical. (August 2013)
Finally, with the last two selections of the 2014 NHL entry draft, the Kings went back to the OHL for right wing
Spencer Watson of Kingston, and defenseman
Jacob Middleton of Ottawa.
Watson is not your typical King draft pick, given his size at 5'11" and his more offensive oriented skill set, but at this stage of the draft why not take a shot? From Future Considerations:
Watson is a pure goal scorer who has very good one-on-one skills and can make outstanding plays with the puck. He skates well and has a crisp, accurate shot that jump soft his stick. His acceleration and lateral cuts make him hard to keep track of on the ice.
and finally,
Jacob Middleton.
Middledon is a big-bodied, two-way defender that has strong mobility and a willingness to jump into the play. He makes heady passes and shows good vision and on-ice smarts. He isn't afraid to add a physical tone to the game, either.
Both 7th round selections by the Kings follow a late round trend of low-risk high-reward style players.
Overall a very strong draft from the LA Kings. They did a solid job at reloading the cupboard at various positions, and used decent asset management to move up to get a player of interest. Thanks for sticking it out readers, that's a lot of info to take in. Say hello to your newest LA Kings members!
Big thanks to
Future Considerations for providing many of the scouting reports.
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