LA Kings: Positives, Negatives, & Outlook Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Jaret Anderson-Dolan did just enough in his first full NHL season to earn a spot with the LA Kings next season, likely as the fourth-line center.
This past year was, in a sense, a make-or-break season for Jaret Anderson-Dolan. The former LA Kings second-round pick in 2017 played in just nine games combined between the two previous years. With a loaded prospect pool chock-full of centermen prospects, JAD had to make his mark when he was given the opportunity.
Unfortunately, it took him a while to crack the lineup. Head coach Todd McLellan often noted how hard JAD worked in practice, but he could never see live-game action. That all changed when Blake Lizotte landed on the NHL’s COVID Protocol list.
First career NHL goal for Jaret Anderson-Dolan! pic.twitter.com/uXZ8t9bDyl
— NHL (@NHL) February 7, 2021
Positives
The 21-year-old debuted this season on February 5, tallying his first career NHL goal against the Vegas Golden Knights on Super Bowl Sunday. That day would be the first of a stretch in which JAD tallied 7 points in 6 games.
He really gelled with Trevor Moore and Carl Grundstrom, with the trio accounting for a 45.7 xGF% in nearly 127 minutes together, per MoneyPuck. He provided a big boost to the LA Kings’ second line, one that struggled to get consistent production all year long. More, he led all skaters, with an 18.9% shot rate.
Negatives
Unfortunately, JAD’s hot streak would be short-lived, as the Calgary, Alberta native, went on to accumulate just four points over the final 27 games. He accounted for a 39.2 xGF% in 5-on-5 play, only ahead of Brendan Lemieux for forwards that saw regular playing time.
Similarly, he finished just ahead of the former New York Ranger with a 41.2 CorsiFor%, second-worst on the team. JAD wasn’t particularly good in the faceoff dot, winning just 43.7% of all draws. It’s an area that the coaches and perhaps Jarret Stoll can step in and work with him.
The figure below conveys JAD’s Raw GameScores for the entire 2021 season. As noted, he started off red-hot, but there are a lot of negative scores.
Outlook
Anderson-Dolan is likely penciled in as the team’s fourth-line center for the 2021-2022 season. He’ll need to show a little more consistency. As noted, the Kings have a ton of centers chomping at the bit. If his faceoffs continue to be well below the 50% mark, the organization may want to consider moving him to the wing where he’ll have less responsibility.
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That’s not to say JAD can’t handle centerman duties. If he’s their fourth-line center for all of next season, that’s probably a good problem to have, with Kopitar, Byfield, and Vilardi occupying the three other spots. But JAD will need some better quality players in the bottom-six wingers in order for him and the team to take that next step.