The Los Angeles Kings might be seeking out more high-end prospect talent throughout their development pipeline, but there is one position group where the franchise appears to be in great shape for the future: between the pipes.
The Athletic ranked its top 20 goalie prospects for this summer, and the Kings were among the biggest winners on this list.
Checking in at No. 12 overall, Hampton Slukynsky was immediately followed on the ranking by fellow Kings' goalie prospect Carter George at No. 13.
Hampton Slukynsky and Carter George give the Los Angeles Kings two potential answers in net
Slukynsky was the Kings' fourth-round draft pick in 2023 (118th overall). He's viewed by many scouts and those within the Kings' organization as one of the top five prospects in the entire franchise this offseason. Slukynsky is a bit further along in his development path than George, having already started multiple games with the AHL affiliate Ontario Reign this past season.
The Kings showed their commitment to Slukynsky's developmental future this past spring by signing him to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Despite being drafted a year later in 2024 and being a big younger, George is pretty much in the same prospect tier as Slukynsky. The 2024 second-round draft pick of the Kings (57th overall) is very technically sound in net, shows good puck tracking ability, and has excellent recovery speed in the crease.
George's ranking reinforces why he's viewed as one of the most important young goalie prospects in the Kings' system this offseason.
The Kings were just one of the handful of teams that had multiple goalie prospects ranked in the top 20 on this list from The Athletic. LA has two of the top 13 goalie prospects on this list, coming in back-to-back in the same tier.
That gives the Kings something many other organizations are lacking: multiple legitimate goalie candidates who could eventually develop into an NHL starter or contributor rather than having the franchise's future in net hinging on the development of a single prospect.
This comes as The Athletic also ranked one of the Kings' other top organizational prospects this summer, Swedish winger Elton Hermansson, among the 100 best overall drafted prospects for 2026. Hermansson was the Kings' first-round draft pick (19th overall) in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft this summer.
Nothing is ever a guarantee when it comes to the development of young goalie prospects, and both Slukynsky and George have some time ahead of them to develop. But the Kings having two highly regarded goalie prospects progressing on different timelines gives the organization multiple potential paths to finding the long-term answer in net.
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