5th Round, 127th Overall: Drew Commesso, G
Much like the NFL in that, it’s generally a good idea to take a quarterback somewhere in the draft ever year, grabbing a goalie is smart. The Kings have taken a goalie each year that Rob Blake has been the general manager, including two in the 2018 Draft. With John Wroblewski having ties to the USNTDP, there’s likely a good chance that one of his guys is taken. I have the Kings going with Drew Commesso, who has a commitment to Boston University next season. For the U18 US Team, Commesso logged a .920 save percentage and a 2.05 GAA in 27 games.
In the USHL, he put up nearly identical numbers over 11 games, .917 SVG %, and 2.01 GAA. Commesso’s season was highlighted by a 28-save shutout performance against Tri-City back in November. He also recorded a 26-save shutout in the second USHL game of the year. He’s ranked as the second-best North American goalie and the 87th best prospect per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Getting him in the 5th round is tremendous value.
6th Round, 158th Overall: Martin Chromiak, RW
A potential steal of the 2020 NHL Draft, Martin Chromiak, was drafted second overall as part of the 2019 CHL Import Draft. Rather than transitioning to the North American game right away, he stayed in Slovakia and tallied five goals with one assist in 32 games for HK Dukla Trencin. He made the switch when the calendar flipped to 2020 and scored a goal with an assist in his first game.
Chromiak finished with 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points in only 28 games. Had he made the transition earlier, he could have easily gone sooner in the draft. Luckily for the Kings, they find a diamond in the rough, as the 18-year-old winger scored four power play goals and led Kingston of the OHL with 1.179 points-per-game played.
He’s one of the quicker forwards in this draft class, and he possesses excellent stick-handling skills. Chromiak is a major asset in odd-man rushes and was often providing support for 15-year-old phenom Shane Wright. He’s a high hockey-IQ guy and projects into a top-six forward.
7th Round, 189th Overall: Christian Jimenez, D
This time last year, Christian Jimenez was just about to begin his first stint of junior hockey. Before that, he was playing for Taft School hockey-a prep school in New England. There, he would score three goals with 12 assists and migrated to the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. All he did was lead all rookie defenders in scoring, tallying seven goals with 21 assists for 28 points in 42 games.
Jimenez had a strong finish to the 2019-2020 campaign, putting up six points in his final six games, including two two-point games. He was a huge asset on the man advantage, scoring three goals and chipping in 10 assists.
While listed at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, Jimenez finished with the fourth-most penalty minutes, and he likes to throw his body around. He’ll have his work cut out for him, especially with the Kings taking this many defenders in the draft.