Prospect Info: 2021 Los Angeles Kings Prospect Rankings #2

[King'sPawn]

Rank. Name, Pos (%), change from last year
1. Quinton Byfield, F (98.6%), +0

+ Tyler Madden

It's the offseason! Might as well start those discussions we do every offseason, because what else about the Kings is going on?

Let's form our own opinions as far as the most valuable prospects. Here are the rules I'll be following:

- I won't vote unless it's a tie breaker. So there should never be an "overtime" or tie to keep this going.
- the crieteria for prospects is straightforward: they have to be eligible to win the calder, and the Kings must own the player's rights, whether it's through the draft or an SPC (so AHL-only contracts don't count, but a player like Tkachev counts, since he is Calder-eligible)
- feel free to make a nomination after voting. Again, in the event of a tie, I'll be the tie breaker.

I'll always list the candidates in alphabetical order. By default, I'm setting the timer at 24 hours, as I hope to go through the entire list. The first list is who I'm guessing will be among the most popular, but obviously players will be missed as I'm only starting out with 10.

List of eligible players to be nominated:
Brayden Burke, F
Martin Chromiak, F
Alexander Dergachyev
Braden Doyle, D
Aidan Dudas, F
Sean Durzi, D
Samuel Helenius, F
David Hrenak, G
Jacob Ingham, G
Aatu Jamsen, F
Kirill Kirsanov, D
Alex Laferriere, F
Andre Lee, F
Juho Markkanen, G
Ben Meehan, D
Jacob Moverare, D
Kim Nousiainen, D
Lukas Parik, G
Markus Phillips, D
Francesco Pinelli, F
Bulat Shafigullin, F
Kasper Simontaival, F
Jordan Spence, D
Austin Strand, D
Johan Sodergran, F
Vladimir Tkachev, F
Matthew Villalta, G

Click to read more...

 

[The Lukeman]

I went to Arthur Kaliyev.

He has progressed far more than any other prospect in the pipeline. He has improved his deficiencies a lot. He is a better skater. He is a better defender. His NHL equivalency is amazing. It's comparable to Kaprizov.

The same can't be said about Turcotte. Clarke was just drafted, and while great, he has to have outstanding development for me to consider him above Kaliyev. In La, there isn't a single player in the last decade who has progressed as Kaliyev has.

 

[TruKingFan]

Add Chromiak

 

[TruKingFan]

I went to Arthur Kaliyev.



He has progressed far more than any other prospect in the pipeline. He has improved his deficiencies more than anyone else. He is a better skater. He is a better defender. His NHL equivalency is amazing.

Same can't be said about Turcotte. Clarke was just drafted. In La, there isn't a single player in the last decade who has progressed in the same speed as Kaliyev has.

Hard choice for me but went with the dman with a potential to drive the offense. AK can be 2B. And I have every confidence that if Turcotte can get past his injury bug and get stronger, he'll be right there as well.

 

[KopitarFAN]

Turcotte.

Add Pinelli.

 

[Reclamation Project]

King Kaliyev!!!

 

[kingsboy11]

Between Clarke, Turcotte and Kaliyev I went with Clarke. Its close between those 3, but I went with the unicorn in our prospect pool. There is no other defenseman in the entire system that plays like Clarke. An offensive minded, puck moving, play driving defenseman. I think its close between those 3 and wouldn't be upset if any of them took the 2nd spot. All of them bring elite skill sets to the table.

Add Pinelli

 

[johnjm22]

Clarke will win because he's the shiny new toy, but Turcotte is pretty clearly the Kings second most highly touted prospect.

 

[kinghock]

1. Quinton Byfield, F (98.6%)

+ Tyler Madden

It's the offseason! Might as well start those discussions we do every offseason, because what else about the Kings is going on?

Let's form our own opinions as far as the most valuable prospects. Here are the rules I'll be following:

- I won't vote unless it's a tie breaker. So there should never be an "overtime" or tie to keep this going.
- the crieteria for prospects is straightforward: they have to be eligible to win the calder, and the Kings must own the player's rights, whether it's through the draft or an SPC (so AHL-only contracts don't count, but a player like Tkachev counts, since he is Calder-eligible)
- feel free to make a nomination after voting. Again, in the event of a tie, I'll be the tie breaker.

I'll always list the candidates in alphabetical order. By default, I'm setting the timer at 24 hours, as I hope to go through the entire list. The first list is who I'm guessing will be among the most popular, but obviously players will be missed as I'm only starting out with 10.

List of eligible players to be nominated:
Brayden Burke, F
Martin Chromiak, F
Alexander Dergachyev
Braden Doyle, D
Aidan Dudas, F
Sean Durzi, D
Samuel Helenius, F
David Hrenak, G
Jacob Ingham, G
Aatu Jamsen, F
Kirill Kirsanov, D
Alex Laferriere, F
Andre Lee, F
Juho Markkanen, G
Ben Meehan, D
Jacob Moverare, D
Kim Nousiainen, D
Lukas Parik, G
Markus Phillips, D
Francesco Pinelli, F
Bulat Shafigullin, F
Kasper Simontaival, F
Jordan Spence, D
Austin Strand, D
Johan Sodergran, F
Vladimir Tkachev, F
Matthew Villalta, G

I would put Byfield name for Kings #2 prospect, but his name is not available for second selection.

 

[kilowatt]

This was a really hard decision between Turcotte, Kaliyev, and Clarke, but ultimately I went with Turcotte. I think Clarke is the shiny new toy and Kaliyev might end up being the highest scorer of the whole bunch, but if Turcotte reaches his potential he could end up being the most important player in the whole Kings organization. He was such an incredible driving force in USA winning the WJC last year, especially in the gold medal game, and I think he just reaches a whole new level when it counts the most. Just my two cents though, and any of these three guys would be many teams' #1 prospect.

 

[Rorschach]

Wasn’t like Madden the best prospect or at least a top 3 in Vancouver’s org? We have to add him in the 2nd ranking lol.

 

[kilowatt]

Oh, also, add Pinelli.

I also can't wait to see who takes the number 5 spot. I think our top four are set in stone, even if we disagree with the ordering.

 

[Trash Panda]

Turcotte, his compete level is exactly what the organization is drastically lacking.

I’d add Pinelli on ceiling alone.

 

[cyclones22]

I voted for Clarke because if his skating was at a better level he would have been the number one overall selection in this past draft. And his skating isn't even bad. But if he can improve his technique with some coaching, he's going to be awesome.

I still have very high hopes for Turcotte. A lot of the young Reign players started the season slow because it was a new system, new coaching staff, and incredibly young team. But they started coming together later in the season and by the end of Turcotte was playing very very well. He was making some highlight-reel type plays in assists. Health is really his only concern.

I think Arty is going to be on the team this year. Age is not on Brown's side and if he doesn't completely recover from his offseason surgery I could see Kaliyev taking his spot and pushing him down the light up.

 

[cyclones22]

Wasn’t like Madden the best prospect or at least a top 3 in Vancouver’s org? We have to add him in the 2nd ranking lol.

I agree we're sleeping on Madden because it's more out of sight out of mind. That cheap shot basically ended his season even though he came back right at the very end. He missed the time when the team finally started jelling. Who knows what he could have done during that stretch?

 

[Islcey]

Went Turcotte, people forget how good he looked at the WJC when playing against players on line with his development.

Add Pinelli

 

[King'sPawn]

I would put Byfield name for Kings #2 prospect, but his name is not available for second selection.

That's because he was selected first.

Once the No. 2 player is selected, he'll be ineligible for future votes and we move onto No. 3.

It happens every year. Someone may like a prospect and vote for him seven times in a row because nobody else will vote for them.

The most votes wins the spot. If your vote for No. 1 is still on the list, I encourage you to vote for him. This isn't to say you agree with the list. Your own list will almost undoubtedly disagree with the consensus.

This is just something to pass the time in the offseason.

Clarke will win because he's the shiny new toy, but Turcotte is pretty clearly the Kings second most highly touted prospect.

I have Clarke No 3 in my own ranking, but it has disappointed me to read multiple people dismissing the opinions of others as the "shiny new toy" just because they don't agree with your ranking.

People are encouraged to use their own criteria. They've provided good arguments for Clarke even if you, myself, or others disagree.

 

[Mats26]

Kaliyev at 2 right now. Lead the Reign in scoring, made huge strides with his play without the puck. Scoring goals translated to the Pros. Built like an ox, no injury concerns. We have 30+ goal scorer if his development continues in this path.

Turcotte slides down for me. Moves over to LW where he'll need to be more that just a puck hound, he needs to produce. Needs one more AHL season to see if he can deliver on that.

Clarke. Big potential. Need to see if he can handle the WJC pressure. I can see him being a top prospect for sure.

 

[kilowatt]

I agree we're sleeping on Madden because it's more out of sight out of mind. That cheap shot basically ended his season even though he came back right at the very end. He missed the time when the team finally started jelling. Who knows what he could have done during that stretch?

Yeah, he was ultra-dynamic during LA/Ontario's preseason and honestly looked like Zegras out there at times. But once the season started, he regressed a bit, and then the injury was brutal.

I'm still really excited about Madden's potential, but we have so many excellent players in our organization that he might not even make our top ten! His ceiling is really high, but so is his floor. He'll need another year or two in Ontario for sure.

As an aside, I'm just worried thay guys aren't graduating quickly enough from Ontario. In 2–3 years, are we going to have a full team of rookies?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Some really good cases for any of the next three I think. @The Lukeman makes a really awesome look at Kaliyev's growth--something I didn't even realize and is awesome give how much of a 'lost year' it was for so many players/prospects across the world!

For me, it's Clarke. The guy is an absolute phenom and the worst people can offer about him is 'ugly stride.' He really does have future #1 d-man written all over him, reminds me a lot of Klingberg with better defense--the guy can floor general the whole team from the backend and doesn't shy away from the defensive side. We haven't seen anything like this since Drew--even more so than Voynov, who was electric in his own right.

Everyone knows how much I love Turcotte but I think Byfield and Clarke are in their own tier before Turc and Kaliyev. Just imho.

Clarke, add Pinelli.

 

[King'sPawn]

I didn't realize just now the poll title is:
2020 Los Angeles Kings Prospect Rankings #2

Could I trouble @kingsboy11 or @Raccoon Jesus to change both thread titles for No 1 and 2 to 2021? My apologies.

Edit: for those interested, here was the poll from last offseason and the list we generated.

Prospect Info: - 2020 Los Angeles Kings Prospect Rankings #40

 

[Schrute farms]

Wow this is tough. I can’t decide between the three of them. Good and valid points for ranking each one of them above the other. Can there be a 2a, 2b and 2c?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Title fixed!

 

[KINGS17]

Add LT Dan

 

[ZJames]

Tough choice. Clarke, Turcotte, and Kaliyev are the three choices for me. But Kaliyev is my vote. This kid has done a great job of improving his game every single year. He has a chance to be a dynamic offensive player, and hopefully the best goal scorer the Kings have drafted since Luc.