On Monday, the Anaheim Ducks traded Trevor Zegras to the Philadelphia Flyers for a lackluster return of a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and forward Ryan Poehling. This is a trade that the Los Angeles Kings and their fans should take note of because Zegras, at one time, had fans questioning if they made the right pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
That year, the Kings had the fifth overall pick and selected forward Alex Turcotte, while the Ducks selected Zegras with the ninth overall pick. He got to the NHL quickly and had a great start to his career with 46 goals and 80 assists combined in his second and third year with the Ducks.
However, the past two seasons have been a struggle for Zegras as he has dealt with injuries and has played in only 87 total games with 18 goals and 29 assists. Meanwhile, Turcotte took a little longer to get to the NHL, but he has the look of a player who is ascending and only getting better.
This past season was his first full season in the NHL and he had nine goals and 16 assists in 68 games. He really settled in as the team's center on the fourth line and was making an impact towards the end of the season prior to his injury.
Alex Turcotte may not have been the best pick for the LA Kings but was the right pick over Zegras
Alex Turcotte will never develop into a superstar, which is what teams hope for when they are drafting as high as the Kings were. However, Turcotte can certainly make an impact and should be a consistent presence in the Kings offense next season.
There are players that were selected after him that might have made more of an impact like Matthew Boldy or Cole Caufield but the Kings still believe in Turcotte. Of the first 10 players selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, seven of them have already been traded or are no longer with the team that drafted him. Turcotte is joined by Jack Hughes, who went first overall to the New Jersey Devils, and Moritz Seider, who was drafted sixth overall by the Detroit Red Wings.
The fact that Turcotte is still one of the few with the team that drafted him makes him more valuable to the Kings than some of these other players that are no longer with the team that drafted him. It will be interesting to see how much Turcotte improves next season after what essentially was his rookie season as he still has the chance to validate the Kings' believe in him when they drafted him.