LA Kings: Mid-season organization’s prospect rankings, the top five

First, I just want to say a BIG THANKS to @theTonyFerrari of DobberProspects.com and @ByronMBader of HockeyProspecting.com for helping out with my rankings. They both do great work for their respective websites, and every hockey fan should look into their awesome content.

Bright Future

I’m sure you have all heard this before, but the future of the LA Kings franchise looks REALLY good.

Rob Blake and the rest of the Kings’ scouting department have drafted extremely well and have, what it seems like, all the pieces to build a consistent cup-contender in the near future. The consensus around the hockey community is that the Kings have one of the best, if not the best group of upcoming young talent in the NHL.

The Rankings

Any player with at least 10GP in the NHL has been left off this list. For example, players like Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Tobias Bjornfot, Mikey Anderson, and Gabe Vilardi, while all still considered rookies, have been moved to ‘graduated’ status in my rankings.

HockeyProspecting.com

For these rankings, we were fortunate enough to get help from Byron Bader over at HockeyProspecting.com. His visual player comparison cards are a great way to illustrate a prospect’s development trajectory compared to other current or former NHL players.

DobberProspects.com

Tony Ferrari, the Head of Scouting at DobberProspects.com, also helped out with some great insights into some of the players. Here’s his take on a prospect for LA, Kasper Simontaival, who just missed the cut for my top ten.

“The LA Kings took a swing on Simontaival at the top of the third round, banking on the young Finn’s raw talent and scoring ability. He is on the smaller side but he’s put up big numbers at the junior level and looked comfortable in the Mestis this season when he was there. He needs to fill out and get stronger but the talent is obvious. It may be a longer development path but Simonatival has the luxury of a loaded Kings system that can give him that time.”

Here are the top five Los Angeles Kings’ prospects.

Alex Turcotte – 20 y/o – C/LW(?!) – 2019 Round 1 #5 overall

AHL – Ontario Reign – 13 GP-1G-6A-7P

Not many players in the Kings’ system are as well-rounded as Alex Turcotte. A 200-foot game is the trait most associated with Turcotte. His play reminds me a lot of the long-time Chicago Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews.

Fresh off winning a gold medal in the 2021 WJC, Turcotte was heavily involved in all aspects of play. After a somewhat rough start to the tournament, Turcotte turned it on when it counted, finishing the world-class tourney with eight points in seven games and a plus-eight. What stood out most wasn’t his solid forecheck or setups for linemates Trevor Zegras and fellow Kings’ prospect Arthur Kaliyev, who you’ll see later in these rankings, but it was his solid defensive play.

HockeyProspecting.com Player Comparison

Tony Ferrari Scouting Report

“The former NTDP star was one of the most productive players on a per-game basis in his draft year and much of it came without the fanfare that Jack Hughes or Cole Caufield received. His ability to be a game-changer offensively and defensively is impressive. He plays to his teammates’ strengths and just seems to be the guy at the center of good things happening. With Byfield likely slotting in ahead of him, he could be among the best 2C’s in the league.”

Soon after the WJC, Turcotte made his way onto the Ontario Reign roster to begin his professional career. It was a rough start for Alex and pretty much the rest of the Reign, as he struggled to produce offensively and would have problems navigating around the ice with the bigger bodies of the AHL. After playing five games, Turcotte suffered a lower-body injury and was forced to miss a few weeks.

Since his return, however, he’s looked very much like the top-five draft pick he was. Scoring seven points in eight games since his return from injury, Turcotte has looked much more comfortable, and the confidence he has with the puck appears to be growing with each passing game.

One of the more surprising developments for the Ontario Reign in the last couple of games is the move of Turcotte to the left-wing position.  With the number of centers the Kings have in the pipeline, some players moving from their natural center position to the wing wouldn’t be all that surprising. One of those players being Alex Turcotte, has had success along the wing as of late.

The chemistry Turcotte made with Arthur Kaliyev during their time together in the WJC has carried over well to the AHL, and if he continues to thrive in his new position, on the left side of the first line with Rasmus Kupari in the middle, a call up to the big club might be happening quicker than most thought.

Samuel Fagemo – 21 y/o – RW – 2019 Round 2 #50 overall

AHL – Ontario Reign – 19 GP-7G-5A-12P

Ever since being overlooked in the 2018 NHL Entry draft, Samuel Fagemo has played with a chip on his shoulder. That chip was never more evident than in the 2020 WJC when he led the tournament in goals and total points for his native Sweden.

After the long pause during the COVID pandemic, Fagemo was one of the few Kings prospects who were able to start earlier than most. He returned to Sweden, playing for Sodertalje SK in the HockeyAllsvenskan league, and kept up his goal-scoring abilities. After scoring six goals and five assists in 18 games played, he came back to North American to start his professional career in the AHL.

It was going to be interesting to see if Fagemo’s talented goal-scoring would translate to the smaller NA rinks, and so far, so good. Fagemo has led the Ontario Reign in goal scoring for pretty much the entire early part of the AHL season. As of right now, he is tied for the goal-scoring lead with fellow prospect Arthur Kaliyev, who looks poised to take that lead soon.

HockeyProspecting.com Player Comparison

Tony Ferrari Scouting Report

“A winger that will fit like a glove in a team’s top-nine. Fagemo has a very good shot, elevates the puck in tight, and does a good job of maneuvering off-puck to get himself into a good scoring position. He is probably ready to get a taste of NHL action sooner rather than later. He is underrated as a passer as well, showing off some really fun creativity at times.”

Watching Fagemo play, there’s one recently former LA King player that comes to mind, Tyler Toffoli. Much like Tyler, Fagemo just has that knack to put the puck in the net. He’s not as flashy as a Tyler Madden doesn’t have much top-end speed like a Rasmus Kupari or the size like a Quinton Byfield, but it’s his hockey IQ to put himself in a position to utilize that great shot to score.

It’s the intangibles that Fagemo possesses that puts him in the top three of my rankings. Not many players in the Kings prospect pool can join the NHL right now and produce, but Fagemo can.

I love watching that last Fagemo goal. Before the clip even starts, he is already thinking of heading straight to the net. Once he can establish his position, he notices the chance to make himself available just enough to give his teammates an outlet and time to get a quality shot off.  That is a goal-scorers goal.

He’s also a power-play force. While he might not have as powerful a shot as Arthur Kaliyev, it’s more accurate.

There’s no question in my mind that Samuel Fagemo should be up with the LA Kings right now. He would be a great fit on the right side for the struggling Gabe Vilardi, not only offensively but defensively as well.

Arthur Kaliyev – 19 y/o – LW – 2019 Round 2 #33 overall

AHL – Ontario Reign – 19 GP-7G-7A-14P

I’m not sure the Los Angeles Kings have ever had a player like Arthur Kaliyev in their system. He is a prototypical NHL goal scorer with a shot that could rival Auston Matthews or Patrick Laine right now. If he gets the puck anywhere in the offensive zone and has enough time to lean on his stick and produce the amount of velocity he can produce, goals happen. What put’s him in the top two in the stacked Kings’ prospect pool, however, is his underrated playmaking ability.

Watching Kaliyev play, it’s pretty wild to think he went in the second round of the 2019 draft. Just seeing highlights of some of his goals makes you wonder why he wasn’t top ten, but many scouts questioned his defensive ability.  Sure, a sniper, much like Kaliyev, will relax a bit in the defensive zone, but you take that trade with the number of goals he can produce.

HockeyProspecting.com Player Comparison

Tony Ferrari Scouting Report

“You know what you’re getting from Kaliyev and that’s goals. His shot is unreal and can beat just any goalie on a given night. He isn’t going to provide much in the way of a 200-foot game but that’s not why he’s in your top-six. He might end up being a powerplay monster at the end of the day but there is no reason he can’t be among the best at it. “

Kaliyev is also clutch. During the 2021 WJC, the semi-final matchup between Kaliyev’s Team USA and Team Finland, which also turned into an LA Kings fan’s dream to watch, Arthur came up huge for the US. The Americans carried a two-goal lead into the third period over Finland but saw that lead evaporate as the Finns put on an offensive surge and tied the game with only 3:43 left in the third period.

Coach Nate Leaman, knowing he needed to stop the hemorrhaging and hope to retake the lead before regulation expired, turned to his top line full of SoCal’s upcoming stars, Kaliyev-Turcotte-Zegras, and they delivered.

The line was able to establish a solid forecheck, and Alex Turcotte carried the puck along the half-boards, fed the upright Kaliyev in the slot, and Arthur did what he does best, shoot the puck.

https://twitter.com/TSN_Sports/status/1346318865580634113?s=20

His professional career for the Ontario Reign got off to a rough start, but the Kings saw enough to give him a call up to the big club for one game against the Anaheim Ducks. Following fellow teammates Anze Kopitar and Gabe Vilardi, Arthur Kaliyev scored in his first NHL game with a drive to the net, keeping his stick on the ice long enough to direct the puck in the net off a rebound from John Gibson.

https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/1356980769869230080?s=20

Kaliyev returned to Ontario after his one-game stint with the Kings, and over the last few games, it seems he has turned a corner. In the last six-games for Arthur, he has six goals and eight total points. The decision to move Turcotte on the wing with the fast skating Kupari down the middle has helped Kaliyev get more opportunities to utilize that excellent shot.

It’ll be interesting to see Kaliyev’s timeline toward becoming a full-time impact NHL player, and with the OHL season up in the air, who knows what his near future holds. My colleague Scott Kinville did an excellent job describing the upcoming decision teams will have with their OHL prospects if that league gets going. I agree with Scott, in that the Kings should keep Arthur around the club for the rest of the year but not burn a year off his ELC.

Although Kings’ fans need to be patient with a player like Kaliyev, he’ll need a little bit more time to adjust to the pace of the NHL, but once he does, we’re looking at a possible consistent 40 goal scorer in the NHL.

Quinton Byfield – 18 y/o – C – 2020 Round 1 #2 overall

AHL – Ontario Reign – 19 GP-5G-8A-13P

There is a good argument that Quinton Byfield is the best hockey player not yet currently playing in the NHL. The number two overall pick may have been a debate among some, and while that debate between Stutzle and Byfield may linger for some time, any critics to the Kings for taking the young center from Newmarket, ON have recently been silenced. And now talk may shift to whether Byfield was the best player in the 2020 NHL draft.

Quinton Byfield is a unique player. I’ve seen comparisons to Anze Kopitar and Evgeni Malkin, but with respect to those players, neither have the speed Byfield has, and that is what makes this player so special. Quinton has all the makings of a superstar in the NHL. His playmaking ability to go along with his size and speed is one of a kind.

HockeyProspecting.com Player Comparison

Tony Ferrari Scouting Report

“A player with an incredible ceiling, Byfield possesses a size, speed, and skill combination seldom seen in a player at his age. One of the younger players in his draft class, Byfield dominates with his ability to see the ice and put his teammates into excellent scoring positions. His ascent to the Kings number one center position may be a couple of years away but the patience will be well worth it for the dual-threat pivot.”

After a quiet 2021 WJC on the silver medal-winning Team Canada, Byfield was given a unique opportunity to begin his professional career earlier than it may have during normal times. Over the course of his first professional year with the Ontario Reign, Byfield’s confidence has grown with each passing game. Shift after shift, he is learning, and that’s exactly what Kings’ fans want to see with this young prodigy, growth.

Byfield is an entertaining player to watch, as he does things on a hockey rink seldom seen from a player of his size. His best trait is obviously his ability to get to top speed much quicker than other players, and with the length of his stride, he has the skill to surprise players with backchecks that seem to come out of nowhere and blow past players in a race toward a loose puck.

Quinton has turned it on of late for the Reign. He has goals in four straight games and six total points in the last five games played. The chemistry he’s starting to create with fellow teammate Akil Thomas has caught the eye of many around the organization. With Turcotte and Kaliyev seemingly connected at the hip on box scores, a combination of Byfield and Thomas would be great news for the Kings.

As mentioned in the Kaliyev ranking, the Kings have a potentially big decision coming up for Byfield, but if you listen to most Kings’ fans, it should be an easy one. If the Kings do end up missing out on a playoff spot toward the end of the season, fans will still have something to look forward to, and that will be the potential debut of Byfield.

Getting him up to the big club after a stint with the Reign would be great for his development, as learning from some of the Kings players would be beneficial for the young center. I mean, who better to learn how to play a solid two-way game in the NHL than one of the best ever in Anze Kopitar?

Rest of our writer’s rankings

Jack Weber                        

1. Quinton Byfield
2. Alex Turcotte
3. Arthur Kaliyev
4. Rasmus Kupari
5. Samuel Fagemo
6. Tyler Madden
7. Brock Faber
8. Austin Strand
9. Akil Thomas
10. Helge Grans

Scott Kinville

1. Quinton Byfield
2. Rasmus Kupari
3. Alex Turcotte
4. Arthur Kaliyev
5. Samuel Fagemo
6. Austin Strand
7. Tyler Madden
8. Jordan Spence
9. Brock Faber
10. Akil Thomas

Ryan Sikes

1. Quinton Byfield
2. Alex Turcotte
3. Arthur Kaliyev
4. Samuel Fagemo
5. Helge Grans
6. Rasmus Kupari
7. Akil Thomas
8. Brock Faber
9. Aidan Dudas
10. Tyler Madden