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The Los Angeles Kings signed a notable free agent and also began training camp this week. Here’s the weekly recap:


KINGS SIGN ANDREAS ATHANASIOU

The Kings made a notable addition via free agency this week, signing forward Andreas Athanasiou to a one-year contract, worth $1.2 million. You can read my analysis of the signing here.


KINGS RELEASE TRAINING CAMP ROSTER AND BEGIN CAMP

The Kings began training camp this week, with a roster which features 24 forwards, 13 defense and five goalies. Here’s the full roster:

FORWARDS: Mike Amadio, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Lias Andersson, Andreas Athanasiou, Dustin Brown, Jeff Carter, Aidan Dudas, Mikey Eyssimont, Samuel Fagemo, Martin Frk, Carl Grundstrom, Alex Iafallo, Boko Imama, Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar, Rasmus Kupari, Blake Lizotte, Matt Luff, Tyler Madden, Trevor Moore, Drake Rymsha, Akil Thomas, Gabriel Vilardi, Austin Wagner

DEFENSE: Mark Alt, Mikey Anderson, Daniel Brickley, Kale Clague, Drew Doughty, Sean Durzi, Olli Maatta, Kurtis MacDermid, Jacob Moverare, Markus Phillips, Matt Roy, Austin Strand, Sean Walker

GOALIES: Troy Grosenick, Jacob Ingham, Jonathan Quick, Cal Petersen, Matthew Villalta


WJC UPDATE

After the quarterfinals, six of nine Kings prospects remain at the World Juniors. Quinton Byfield and Jordan Spence (CAN), will face Russia in the semifinals, while Brock Faber, Arthur Kaliyev and Alex Turcotte (USA) will face Kasper Simontaival and Team Finland. Czech Republic, Slovakia and Sweden were all eliminated in the quarterfinals, meaning the tournament is over for Tobias Bjornfot, Martin Chromiak and Lukas Parik.

Here are each player’s stats so far:

Quinton Byfield (CAN): 2G, 5A (5GP)
Arthur Kaliyev (USA): 2G, 3A (5GP)
Kasper Simontaival (FIN): 2G, 3A (5GP)
Alex Turcotte (USA): 1G, 4A (5GP)
Brock Faber (USA): 0G, 4A (5GP)
Tobias Bjornfot (SWE): 0G, 2A (5GP)
Jordan Spence (CAN): 1G, 0A (2GP)
Martin Chromiak (SVK): 1G, 0A (5GP)
Lukas Parik (CZE): .883 SV% (2GP)


LEWIS ATTENDING JETS’ TRAINING CAMP ON PTO

Trevor Lewis, who spent parts of 12 seasons with the Kings, has signed a professional tryout with the Winnipeg Jets. Lewis is now 33 years old and will be looking to earn a contract with a strong performance in camp.



As for our poll questions this week, here are the results, along with my thoughts on how they turned out:



QUESTION: Are you happy about the Kings signing Andreas Athanasiou?

(Votes: 207)

Yes: 67%
No: 33%

Bringing Athanasiou into the fold is certainly a win for the Kings. He can be an effective forward for the Kings and based on the one-year term, it’s a no-risk move.



QUESTION: Where do you think Andreas Athanasiou will play in the Kings lineup this season?

(Votes: 335)

Third line: 41%
Second line: 38%
Fourth line: 15%
First line: 7%

Athanasiou will almost certainly play in the middle-six, it’s just a matter of which line after that. I could potentially see him playing with Gabriel Vilardi and Martin Frk, though it’s possible he could play on a line with Blake Lizotte and Jeff Carter instead.



QUESTION: Who do you think is most likely to play games with the Kings this year?

(Votes: 147)

Tobias Bjornfot: 48%
Quinton Byfield: 28%
Alex Turcotte: 15%
Arthur Kaliyev: 10%

I could see any of Bjornfot, Byfield or Turcotte spending time in the NHL this season. I do agree, however, that Bjornfot would be the most likely to win a full-time role with the Kings this season.



QUESTION: Are you surprised that Trevor Lewis wasn’t signed in free agency?

(Votes: 81)

No: 62%
Yes: 38%

It’s a tough market for sure, but I was one of the people who thought he would score a contract. He could still be effective as a depth forward and wouldn’t carry any risk on a one-year deal around the league minimum.



***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Kings Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_LAKings for updates on articles, Kings news, etc.***


OTHER KINGS ARTICLES FROM JANUARY

Breaking down the Kings’ training camp roster
Trevor Lewis signs PTO with Jets

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