The Los Angeles Kings had to wait a little longer than many expected as they pulled off a trade that brought them back a second-round pick while moving back seven spots. The wait was certainly worth it to make the first pick as they nailed it with the selection of Henry Brzustewicz. This would be general manager's Ken Holland first draft with the Los Angeles Kings, and he couldn't have started his tenure any better with the franchise.
The Kings really needed help at almost every position in their prospect pool outside of goalie, which is the strength currently for the franchise with players like Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George.
Where Ken Holland elected to go with this first pick was to strengthen their defense with the selection of Brzustewicz, who has played the past two seasons with the London Knights. He is described as a "smooth-skating defenseman who moves the puck extremely well out of his own zone", in his scouting report on The Hockey Writers. He is a right-shot defenseman who helps strengthen that side of their defense with players like Brandt Clarke and Drew Doughty already on that side.
LA Kings have seven more picks on Day 2 of the 2025 NHL Draft
While the first round is over, most of the work for the LA Kings and the rest of the league will be on Day 2, when they will go through Rounds 2 through 7. The Kings currently are scheduled for seven picks over those six rounds.
Entering Friday, the Kings were without a second round pick, which they traded away in the Tanner Jeannot trade last year during the 2024 NHL Draft. However, they replaced that with the trade Holland made in the first round.
The Kings now have at least one pick in every round except the seventh round, which they have two picks. In addition to their own pick, they also have the Philadelphia Flyers pick which was included in the Andrei Kuzmenko trade during the season.
This will give the Kings options over these final rounds that will allow them to move around if there is a player they really want. They could also use these picks to bring back veterans who might help the Kings roster as they try to make a deeper playoff run.