Prospect Info: 2021 Los Angeles Kings Prospect Rankings #9

[King'sPawn]

Rank. Name, Pos (%), change from last year
1. Quinton Byfield, F (98.6%), +0
2. Brandt Clarke, D (43.3%), NR
3. Alex Turcotte, F (69.9%), +0
4. Arthur Kaliyev, F (94.1%), +1
5. Brock Faber, D (44.6%), +9
6. Rasmus Kupari, F (67.1%), +3
7. Akil Thomas, F (35.4%), +4
8. Samuel Fagemo, F (47.5%), -2

+ Samuel Helenius, F

Last year's rankings for comparisons (and what I'm referencing for "change of last year"): Prospect Info: - 2020 Los Angeles Kings Prospect Rankings #40

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.
- use whatever criteria you wish for the next best available. Raw skill? Upside? NHL readiness? Progress since drafted? Astrological Sign?

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. If it seems like a landslide, I'll call it early.

List of eligible players to be nominated:
Brayden Burke, F
Alexander Dergachyev
Braden Doyle, D
Aidan Dudas, F
Sean Durzi, D
David Hrenak, G
Jacob Ingham, G
Aatu Jamsen, F
Alex Laferriere, F
Andre Lee, F
Juho Markkanen, G
Ben Meehan, D
Jacob Moverare, D
Lukas Parik, G
Markus Phillips, D
Bulat Shafigullin, F
Austin Strand, D
Johan Sodergran, F
Vladimir Tkachev, F
Matthew Villalta, G

Click to read more...

 

[KopitarFAN]

3rd time voting for Madden, but no issue with Thomas or Fagemo, I see the 3 as their own tier within a tier if that makes sense.

Add Jamsen.

 

[Ghetty Green]

Madden. This should be over quick. The vote for #10 should be interesting

 

[Islcey]

Add Tkachev

 

[Fishhead]

Went Clague here because I feel he has the best chance to stick in the NHL over everything left. He and Madden are interchangeable in my eyes here.

I think out of all the guys left, Pinelli has the highest upside, followed by Tkachev.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Madden, add Tkachev

 

[lumbergh]

Voted Madden, add Vladimir Tkachuk

 

[Basilisk]

Pinelli, dammit!!!

 

[kilowatt]

I've got a three-way tie here between Grans, Madden, and Pinelli, and they're actually kind of my third tier of Kings prospects (including Thomas, who is higher in this list than I ranked him). Going with Grans, but any of them make sense on my list. Here's my breakdown for my top 12 (but really my top three tiers):

Tier 1:
Byfield
Turcotte
Clarke
Kaliyev

Tier 2:
Faber
Kupari
Fagemo

Tier 3:
Thomas
Grans
Madden
Pinelli
Nousiainen

Add Parik! He's got a chance to be a really good goaltender for us! Probably the best goalie in the system.

 

[Statto]

Went Madden but Kirsanov really intrigues me. He’s playing big minutes on one of the better KHL sides already. He’s going to be a very good player and is one that seems relatively likely to come over when there’s a spot for him. I’m taking him next.

 

[Reaper45]

Went Madden but Kirsanov really intrigues me. He’s playing big minutes on one of the better KHL sides already. He’s going to be a very good player and is one that seems relatively likely to come over when there’s a spot for him. I’m taking him next.

I easily rate Nousiainen over him.

 

[KINGS17]

I am going with the obvious choice in Madden, but was tempted to go with Grans because I feel his ceiling is quite high.

Add LAKings88. Showed more heart than any two players on the roster.

 

[ricardfromage]

Madden should have been one or two spots higher but as long s he is in our top 10 it is fine. Simontaival is so ridiculously talented that if he were 2" taller he would be in our top 6 but he isn't so..... Kirsonov will be on the Kings the soonest and will be a solid addition when he makes it (I mean out of the remaining prospects or D prospects). He is just as solid of a blue liner as you could ever want. Should be a translatable talent. Pinelli should go next after Madden imo. He has NHL hands and can play in two zones really well. Spence is really really good too, so is Durzi and I think he is just waiting for his shot to make and stick with the big club. We are so stupidly deep in our talent/prospect pool that we have 6 or 7 guys that should be in our top ten who will be outside of it. Never seen it before in our history.

 

[BringTheReign]

Add Moverare

 

[LB]

Madden looked really good in college but even before his injury he didn't really do much in the AHL and is turning 22 already this year. He still has high potential of course but he's got a lot to prove still and is also injury prone. I think while he might have the highest upside of the remaining prospects, he has one of the highest chances to be a bust too.

 

[All The Kings Men]

Madden looked really good in college but even before his injury he didn't really do much in the AHL and is turning 22 already this year. He still has high potential of course but he's got a lot to prove still and is also injury prone. I think while he might have the highest upside of the remaining prospects, he has one of the highest chances to be a bust too.

HOWEVER

He won't require waivers til 2023-24 (which is also when he'll need a new contract) giving them/him two more years to "develop" before any hard decisions need to be made.

 

[Choralone]

Went Pinelli.

 

[Lt Dan]

Madden.

Add Mr. Miyagi

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Madden looked really good in college but even before his injury he didn't really do much in the AHL and is turning 22 already this year. He still has high potential of course but he's got a lot to prove still and is also injury prone. I think while he might have the highest upside of the remaining prospects, he has one of the highest chances to be a bust too.

You're absolutely right, of course, but as I mentioned in my defense of him on the previous poll--while we only saw the regular season Madden that struggled alongside all the other prospects in Ontario, we didn't get the benefit of seeing him when things started going right for the Reign. What I DO know is that when everyone was playing their best in the preseason, that Madden looked the best of the bunch, and of course we have his college history to draw from. High, high ceiling. But I agree on bust potential as well.

I also think calling him 'injury prone' is unfair.

 

[cyclones22]

Yeah injury-prone is is an overstatement to say the least. I can't remember how he was injured in college if it was a puck to the hand or someone slashed him but that it's not a chronic injury. And the concussion, yeah if you get checked to the face that's going to happen.

Madden looked very dynamic when he was on the ice. He was snake bitten like the rest of the Reign early on after scoring like six goals in the preseason or something ridiculous. Then when the Reign as a whole started coming together he was on the sideline because of that dirty hit.

I don't think it's going to take very long for Madden to remind all of us why he is so highly-regarded by the organization. The kid just always looks dangerous when he's out there around the puck.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Yeah injury-prone is is an overstatement to say the least. I can't remember how he was injured in college if it was a puck to the hand or someone slashed him but that it's not a chronic injury. And the concussion, yeah if you get checked to the face that's going to happen.

Madden looked very dynamic when he was on the ice. He was snake bitten like the rest of the Reign early on after scoring like six goals in the preseason or something ridiculous. Then when the Reign as a whole started coming together he was on the sideline because of that dirty hit.

I don't think it's going to take very long for Madden to remind all of us why he is so highly-regarded by the organization. The kid just always looks dangerous when he's out there around the puck.

It wasn't a concussion, it was a broken collarbone, which makes me feel a little better in the grand scheme...though he definitely needs to drink some milk and bulk up!

 

[Statto]

I easily rate Nousiainen over him.

I like him (based on highlights) and he’s highly talented but his size is a big question mark and raises a few questions. For me is his offensive upside enough to negate that downside? I don’t know enough about him to answer that but he’d also need to be defensively strong in terms of his reads and positioning to nullify the size issue.

Kirsanov has reasonable size and is 2 years younger than Nousaianens, so obviously has more room to grow. He’s playing in a better league and last season 29 of his 41 regular season games were here, being promoted during the season and staying there. Very few 18 year old players play that many games in the KHL and even fewer get the ice time he was getting. In the equivalent season Nousaianens played just 6 Liiga games out of the 46 games he played.

I’m not knocking Nousaianens at all, playing in Liiga at the age he did is not insignificant. However, I really think we have in Kirsanov a pick that has gone under the radar quite a bit, perhaps in part because he’s not a sexy pick and in part due to our ‘success’ in getting Russians to come over. Yanetti thinks there’s a good chance Kirsanov will be NHL ready in 2 years, whereas Nousaianens is about to enter his D+3 season and isn’t yet signed. Again, not a knock but it’s why I have Kirsanov ranked higher as a prospect (not based on who is as better player today).

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

I like him (based on highlights) and he’s highly talented but his size is a big question mark and raises a few questions. For me is his offensive upside enough to negate that downside? I don’t know enough about him to answer that but he’d also need to be defensively strong in terms of his reads and positioning to nullify the size issue.

Kirsanov has reasonable size and is 2 years younger than Nousaianens, so obviously has more room to grow. He’s playing in a better league and last season 29 of his 41 regular season games were here, being promoted during the season and staying there. Very few 18 year old players play that many games in the KHL and even fewer get the ice time he was getting. In the equivalent season Nousaianens played just 6 Liiga games out of the 46 games he played.

I’m not knocking Nousaianens at all, playing in Liiga at the age he did is not insignificant. However, I really think we have in Kirsanov a pick that has gone under the radar quite a bit, perhaps in part because he’s not a sexy pick and in part due to our ‘success’ in getting Russians to come over. Yanetti thinks there’s a good chance Kirsanov will be NHL ready in 2 years, whereas Nousaianens is about to enter his D+3 season and isn’t yet signed. Again, not a knock but it’s why I have Kirsanov ranked higher as a prospect (not based on who is as better player today).

I can appreciate all that as a "plus" for Kirsanov while "not a minus" for Kim. Hard to hold league against a guy, especially because different franchises treat youth differently.

But re the boldfaced I really have a hard time holding that against Europeans who are for the most part developing where we want, there are only so many spaces on the Ontario blueline! I'm not sure offhand what his contract with his team was, but that's a factor--ie even Kirsanov could be 'ready' next year but if his contract isn't up he isn't going anywhere. Similarly, Simontaival has a three year deal with KalPa. Can't do much about that

 

[LB]

It wasn't a concussion, it was a broken collarbone, which makes me feel a little better in the grand scheme...though he definitely needs to drink some milk and bulk up!

Right it was a collar bone and he broke his hand/finger twice - once the last year in college and once before this season started when playing his first preseason game in Germany. That's a bit too many broken bones in a one year period. Hopefully that was the end of it but we'll see.

 

[Trash Panda]

Right it was a collar bone and he broke his hand/finger twice - once the last year in college and once before this season started when playing his first preseason game in Germany. That's a bit too many broken bones in a one year period. Hopefully that was the end of it but we'll see.

Bones heal, brains don’t.