3 LA Kings who should have higher average time on ice this season

While the Los Angeles Kings still have some established stars on this roster with Anze Kopitar, Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty, these players are getting older and will need help from a younger group of players. The Kings are going to give these players bigger roles, especially with Doughty out for a few months due to his ankle injury.

When looking at the roster and how the lines appear to be set, these are three players on the Los Angeles Kings ready to be on the ice the most in their NHL careers.

3 LA Kings who should have higher average time on ice this season

Jordan Spence

Among the five players on this list, Jordan Spence is probably going to see the biggest jump as he will be the right defensemen on the top line for the Los Angeles Kings. Last season, Spence appeared in 71 games and had an average time on ice of 14:26. This was the fifth highest average among the defensemen on the Kings last season.

However, Doughty led the way for the Kings with an impressive average time on ice of 25:48. While it is unlikely to expect Spence to take all those minutes, he should be prepared to be close to on ice for around 20 minutes every game until Doughty returns.

Alex Laferriere

Another player who should be set to see a sizeable increase in his time on the ice is left wing Alex Laferriere. After surprising a lot of people by making the Kings roster to start the season, the expectations are going to be very high this year with him on the top line for the Kings with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

Last year, Laferriere averaged 13:13 time on ice while Kopitar and Kempe were between around 19 or 20 minutes. He may not reach those levels because Laferriere won't be on the penalty kill with Kopitar and Kempe but should easily find himself around 16 or 17 minutes this season.

Brandt Clarke

Last season Brandt Clarke played in only 16 games and the number of games alone will change in a big way as he will be a full-time player with the Los Angeles Kings this upcoming season. He would average 13:39 on the ice in those games and being on the third line on defense with Joel Edmundson that average might not have changed much.

However, the reason I believe that it will be higher is because of Brandt Clarke's ability in the offensive zone and that is why he should be on the Kings' top power play line this season. That extra ice time should help push him up to around 15 minutes on ice each night.