5. Tobias Bjornfot, LD
Tobias Bjornfot looked overwhelmed in the three games he played at the beginning of last season. He was paired with Drew Doughty on the team’s top pairing and had a rough outing against Vancouver before being sent down to Ontario. We forgot how young he is because of the expectations put on his shoulders.
The 22nd overall pick of 2019 projects to be a two-way defenseman. He scored 6 goals with 13 assists in 44 games for Ontario last season. Bjornfot is currently loaned to Djurgårdens and logged a season-high 20:59 on-ice time on Thursday. He has an assist through the first four games.
6. Samuel Fagemo, LW/RW
Despite being plagued by injuries in his draft-eligible year, Mark Yannetti and the Kings’ scouting department saw the potential in Samuel Fagemo. They took him with the 50th overall pick in the 2019 draft after going undrafted the previous year.
Being overlooked might have been the best motivator for the 20-year-old winger, who tallied 24 goals with 15 assists for Frolunda of the SuperElit/SHL in the 2018-2019 season. He followed that up with a 13-goal, 9-assist performance for Frolunda in 42 games last year. Fagemo projects to be a pure scorer at the NHL and could play with the Kings at some point this year. He’s currently loaned to Södertälje and has 2 goals with 2 assists through the first 4 games.
7. Akil Thomas, C
Akil Thomas could work his way onto the Kings’ roster for regular playing time this year. He’ll start the year in Ontario, but he’s put up some incredible numbers over the last two seasons. Thomas was taken with the 51st overall pick in 2018 and scored the Golden Goal with Team Canada in the World Juniors this past January.
Over the past two years, Thomas scored 62 goals with 124 assists split between Niagara and Peterborough of the OHL. Similar to Turcotte, he’s loaned to Eisbaren until AHL play begins. He’ll be one of the most intriguing players to watch in Kings’ training camp.