Brandt Clarke
Similar to Byfield, Brandt Clarke is the future for the defense but the Kings are going to need him to start delivering in the present. This offseason, the Kings clearly committed to Clarke and want to see him take an expanded role in this defense after trading Jordan Spence to the Ottawa Senators.
In Clarke's first full season in the NHL, the former first-round pick showed a lot of good things and finished with 33 points and averaged over 16 minutes of ice time per game. He would end up leading the Kings' defensemen in points even though he only played in 78 games.
The biggest question for Clarke entering this season is whether or not the Kings are going to commit to him. Last season, it seemed like the young defenseman had a short leash and head coach Jim Hiller was quick to cut his minutes, or even make him a healthy scratch.
It will be a two-way street this year as the Kings need to commit to Clarke even if there are mistakes and bumps along the road. However, Clarke needs to avoid some of these mistakes and not give the Kings a reason to question if he is ready.