Between star forwards, anchor blue lines, and netminders, the Los Angeles Kings have drafted and developed some outstanding talented players in the past few decades that helped the franchise win multiple Stanley Cup rings in the early-to-mid 2010s. Center Anze Kopitar, winger Dustin Brown, and goalie Jonathan Quick are three great examples of all-time franchise greats that the Kings did a fantastic job of scouting, drafting, and developing in LA over the past few decades.
Past early-round NHL goalie draft picks ended up having mixed levels of success in the past two and a half decades for the Los Angeles Kings franchise history
Despite having some early-first-round picks in the past few decades, the Kings' franchise has unfortunately had some misses with early entry draft picks since the 1990s.
Here's a look at the three biggest goalie draft busts in Kings' franchise history.
Jamie Storr
Selected 7th overall in 1994
The netminder first-round selections from the 1994 NHL Draft didn't represent the best of the goalies from this loaded draft class. The Kings picked Jamie Storr seventh overall in the first round of the 1994 draft, and the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Eric Fichaud nearly 10 picks later at No. 16.
The 1994 draft featured one of the all-time great goalie draft classes, featuring multiple Hall-of-Famers and multi-time All-Star selections. Picked after Storr in the 1994 draft in this goalie class were Jose Theodore, Marty Turco, Tim Thomas, Evgeni Nabokov, and Tomas Vokoun, among many other starting goalies from the 1990s and 2000s.
Storr played over 200 games over the span of a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s with the Kings' franchise. He was the Kings' starting goalie for two seasons, in the 1999-00 and 2000-01 campaigns. Storr held it down between the pipes in 2000 and 2001, helping the Kings reach the postseason in the Western Conference in back-to-back playoff runs.
After the 2000-01 season, Storr never played 40 games in a season again for the Kings. He was later traded to the Carolina Hurricanes before the lockout in the 2003-04 season, before finishing out his pro career overseas in Europe in the mid-to-late 2000s.
Mark Fitzpatrick
Selected 27th overall in 1987
Toronto native Mark Fitzpatrick was the third goalie selected in the second round by the Kings in the 1987 draft.
Amid his first season playing for the Kings as the backup netminder for Glenn Healy, Fitzpatrick was dealt by LA with forward Wayne McBean to the New York Islanders.
The early rounds in the top 30 picks for the Kings ended up being pretty forgettable for LA. Not only did Fitzpatrick never start a full season between the pipes for the Kings, but LA's top-five pick in defenseman Wayne McBean also never played a full campaign for this team in the late 1980s.
While the 1987 draft class at netminder wasn't particularly strong, there were quality goalies picked after Fitzpatrick, including one-time All-Star Guy Hebert and longtime Chicago Blackhawks and Canadiens starter Jeff Hackett.
Jonathan Bernier
Selected 11th overall in 2006
Former Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jonathan Bernier had a long and reliable career as an NHL netminder over the span of roughly 15 years in the league. Many of Bernier's best and most consistent years as a goalie came after he was dealt from LA after the Kings won the franchise's first Stanley Cup Championship in the early 2010s.
He was the backup to Quick on the Kings team that won the Stanley Cup in the 2012 postseason.
Bernier spent a half-decade as the Kings' backup goalie in the late 2000s and early 2010s decade before he was traded to the Maple Leafs in the 2013 offseason.
While Bernier did have multiple productive and efficient campaigns as a starting goalie in his 14-year pro career in the NHL, most of them came with the Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings in the 2010s.
Goalies picked after Bernier in the 2006 entry draft in the NHL were Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals' Semyon Varlamov, and James Reimer of the Maple Leafs.