It was a busy two days for general manager Ken Holland and the Los Angeles Kings. Over the seven rounds, they selected nine players and that would be their most in a single draft since the 2020 NHL Draft.
They would make a few trades over the two days that brought them an extra second round pick, and an additional third-round pick this year in the Jordan Spence trade. They would trade that pick again for a fourth-round pick and then a 2026 third-round pick.
Of the nine picks, the focus was slightly on the forwards with five players selected from that position group with three defensemen and one goalie. When looking at the class as a whole, the grades from the experts were relatively positive and received high marks.
ESPN: Los Angeles Kings receive a B
Rachel Doerrie for ESPN graded every team's draft class and gave 11 teams grades of 'A'. The Kings were in the next group, with four teams receiving grades of B+ and six teams receiving the same grade as the Kings.
Doerrie described the Kings' draft as 'fine' and wrote: "nothing to be overly excited about and nothing to be disappointed with, either."
In terms of value picks, she identified Jimmy Lombardi, Petteri Rimpinen and Kristian Epperson as three picks that fell into that category while the selections of Henry Brzustewicz and Vojtech Cihar might have been a little too early.
Bleacher Report: Kings receive a grade of C+
Of the publications on this list, Bleacher Report gave the Kings the lowest grade at C+ and once again questioned the selection of Brzustewicz. Nicholas Nathanson wrote about the selection:
"With the 31st pick in the NHL Draft, the Los Angeles Kings selected Henry Brzustewicz. The selection of the defenseman in the first round was somewhat unexpected, given his lack of inclusion in many mock drafts for the opening round. Brzustewicz is a solid skater that shows flashes of creativity, but he'll need to quickly develop to make a contribution in the NHL."
It seems like the pressure will be on Brzustewicz to prove people wrong and show he warranted being selected in the first round.
The Score: Los Angeles Kings receive a grade of B+
The good news is that not every publication has a negative view of the Brzustewicz selection, and he is described as a 'breakout candidate' by Kyle Cushman with The Score. He also highlighted the picks of Vojtech Cihar, Kristian Epperson and Petteri Rimpinen as players with good upside.