After a promising and impressive run for the Los Angeles Kings in training camp last offseason in 2024, forward Akil Thomas played a career-high 25 games in the regular season in the 2024-25 campaign for head coach Jim Hiller.
Expectations were high for Thomas going into the 2024-25 regular season last year with the Kings. He stood out for the Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, during the 2023-24 regular season, scoring 22 goals and 46 total points in 64 games a couple of years ago.
A solid campaign with the Reign in the 2023-24 season earned more of a spotlight for Thomas with the Kings' front office and former general manager Rob Blake last offseason.
Akil Thomas 2024-25 Los Angeles Kings player season recap
2024-25 season stats: 25 games played, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points, -4
2024-25 advanced stats: 5.0 shooting %, 5.4 5-on-5 shooting %, 0.7 points/60, -0.1 point shares, -0.1 WAR
2024-25 possession metrics (with Kings): 48.0 CF%, 48.5 SCF%, 91.1 PDO, 50.0 HDCF%
A slow start to the preseason and a slowing down in the regular season's first half caused Thomas's role to gradually dwindle with the Kings last year. He was pretty much out of the lineup for most regular season contests for the Kings a couple of months into the 2024-25 campaign last year.
Despite him scoring a goal in the first regular season game he played with the Kings this past season, Thomas didn't get much of a shot to consistently impress the coaching staff last year. Thomas ended up playing just 25 games for the Kings this past season in the West.
He scored one goal and two assists for the Kings in 25 games this past regular season.
Akil Thomas 2025-26 Los Angeles Kings season preview
The goal for Thomas this fall in training camp and the preseason will be to keep a spot on the projected roster with Hiller and the Kings for the 2025-26 campaign. Thomas needs to show out to prove he can be worthy of earning a center spot in the competition for playing time at the position this preseason and in camp with other young forwards like Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius.